The movie Avatar, released in 2009, set the record of highest grosser in the world, but many people who watched it also faced a strange problem.
Avatar was a science fiction film like never before seen by the audience.
The waving forests, floating mountains and strange creatures of the colorful space world (Pandora) depicted in it were stunning.
But a report stated that when Avatar was released, some people experienced problems like depression and suicidal thoughts after watching the film.
They found Earth pale in comparison to the places depicted in the film, and the Na’vi people living in the space planet felt environmentally friendly and spiritual.
One person said in an online post that ‘I’ve been depressed ever since I saw Avatar, thinking about suicide after seeing the amazing world of Pandora and the efforts of its inhabitants’.
More than 1,000 people from all over the world have posted on this post and expressed similar sentiments.
This discussion then spread elsewhere and the term post-Avatar Depression Syndrome came to be used.
It is not a medically identified disease nor part of a publicity campaign but a feeling that spread among people after watching the movie.
In this syndrome, emotions such as grief over the seeming disconnection from nature, anxiety about the future of our planet, and dissatisfaction with modern life dominate.
Interestingly, this kind of experience was experienced by first-time viewers even years after the film’s release.
An estimated 10 to 20 percent of Avatar fan forums still report such experiences.
Canada’s Ancient Forest Alliance has also proposed a solution to this problem.
According to this solution, go out and experience nature, take steps to protect nature and prepare others for it.
Now that the second part of this film is releasing, the possibility of depression posts in fan forums is also increasing.
But maybe Avatar The Way of Water will play a role in advancing the movement to protect the oceans.
