In his recent interview on Bravo's "Inside the Actors Studio," James Cameron made the observation that over the course of its development, “Avatar” became a chick flick.

This seemed like an odd thing to say, and in saying it, Cameron implicitly raises the question of what defines a “chick flick,” what the term has come to mean in today’s filmmaking industry -- and why, all of a sudden, it’s a desirable thing for a film to be.

Cameron elaborated by explaining that Jake Sully has a strong relationship with the maternal figures in his life, and that even the energy of life and nature is considered female.

Beyond that, and despite its primary themes of advanced technology and...