Why Are AVATAR Aliens Blue?

Why are the Na'vi blue? James Cameron answered the question in a recent interview saying he wanted there be an "otherness" to the love story between Sully's avatar and the native alien, Neytiri. Since skin color is "such a big issue on our planet," Cameron decided to use that issue as a thematic driving point. Other skin tones were already taken by humans, while green was already a cliché in other alien movies. "We had big blue women, not little green men," Cameron said. No word on why the Na'vi's skin sparkles, but you have to admit it is a cool effect.

Meanwhile, the Houston Press' Hair Balls blog has video clips of other blue-skins that have come before AVATAR.

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Comments

[Account Deleted]

I am agreed with James Cameron ...

[Tom Dauenheimer]

I think the skin sparkles in order to represent the living spirituallity and connection with all life (and Eywa) in the Na'vi people

[Sparhawk]

Just a dumb thought, the unobtainium is blue, could this be a sensing organ in the skin f for them to sense when the magnetic field around the planet starts to fail allowing them to get out of the way before the get fried by radiation from the planet or sun. One of the discriptions in panoradedia states that magnetic field sometimes fails

[Account Deleted]

I Like it ..... Excellent work James Cameron.
What a great movie ..... I Love it

[PeteHolland]

Yea i agree with that comment made earlier about the planet's abundance of light and that the na'vi have simply just adapted to that by their luminescent, sparkly, skin. and that may also explain there exceptionally large and cool eyes!

[pneuma fenestra]

People. Look at the title: Avatar. Then look at the many Indian paintings of the persons of Krishna and Rama with blue skin -- BOTH are AVATARS of Vishnu. Vishnu means "pervasive" -- named after the sky.

Tell me - this is only coincidental? Cameron has said nothing yet (that I have heard) about the choice of the word "avatar."

Many are the battle scenes when Jake, bow in hand, looks identical to the Rama of Hindu legend, battling the forces of the evil Ravanna.

[Kellen]

I have read on the internet, not necessarily from James Cameron, that the sparkles in their skin change in color in response to their moods, attitudes, and feelings. P.S. -Love the movie, love the score, can't stop watching it.

[HouseOfHam]

From a purely-scientific point of view, if the Na'vy body chemistry is anything like that of Earth's organisms, it maybe for the same reason that octopus blood is blue.

From Wikipedia: "Octopuses have three hearts. Two pump blood through each of the two gills, while the third pumps blood through the body. Octopus blood contains the copper-rich protein hemocyanin for transporting oxygen. Although less efficient under normal conditions than the iron-rich hemoglobin of vertebrates, in cold conditions with low oxygen pressure, hemocyanin oxygen transportation is more efficient than hemoglobin oxygen transportation."

The bit about lower than normal oxygen pressure would seem to fit with the conditions on Pandora.

[Sparhawk]

Question, since there is a huge amount of unobtainum in pandora's ecology, it must be part part of every creature on the moon. It is describes as a grey rock. I am just wondering could the color be partially influenced by unobtainium and used to detect possible fetal changes in the magnetic fields of Pandora and Polyphemus? Though I do agree with a planet that has light lvls around twilight it would be a good color for camo,

[Jared Cosby]

i like the blue. if they were green it would be a little messed up. and the movie would suck

[mlts22]

Blue is also a color that is fairly neutral. Green automatically brings up orcs, goblins, maybe nature sprites (he Green Man). Red brings up evil or infernality. Yellow/brown/black/white are in the color gamut of ordinary skin tones. A blue color is definitely different and stands out for a race because it does not have the "baggage" other colors might bring with it.

[Alexandru Blidaru]

Well, the reason why they are blue, is b/c Alpha Centauri is larger than our sun. This mean that it radiates more into the ultraviolet. Humans can't see ultraviolet. Stuff that's close to the borderline is seen as blue and purple. Thus, it is only the humans that see blue. The creatures on Avatar probably see everything in different colors.

[Kriss Rose]

Ahhh.....Flamingos are pink because of the shrimp they eat, humans can become orange if they eat too many carrots.....creatures of the sea sparkle....The Human Eye's iris is believed to be blue when toxic free. We are a reflection of our environment and belief system. Pandora's reflection? Or is it that pricey mineral deep in the ground that sets the blue tones.

[rj]

blue is ok with me its better than having green or black

[Carol]

I just saw the movie a few hours ago, and I am hooked! Wow!
In the poster at the movie theater, Jake's Na'vi face is Navy blue. Na'vi blue. Navy - Na'vi - I wonder if that was intentional, or am I reading something into that odd coincidence?
Also, the beautiful sparkles on the Na'vi faces reminded me of constellations in the night sky.
It seems that the Na'vi are connected to EVERYTHING.

[Hukati]

I read somewhere that the blue dots on their skin are a way of displaying their emotions but im not sure

[Hukati]

I read somewhere that the blue dots are a way of desplaying their emotions but im not sure.

[Avatarnut]

According to Pandorapedia, their blue skin may have previously served as a means of camoflouge, and as for the bioluminescense, they say that it's for identification and mood displays. Oh, and their blood only appears red when it reacts with the Pandoran atmosphere.

[Christine Robinson]

i'll put it simply.... GO BLUE PEOPLE!!

[adrianna smith]

Blue is a great color for the Aliens
well written thx for sharing,
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[Anne Pogoda]

I'd be really interested to know what their skin is like... is it like leather, or is there some thin fur? Is it soft or oes it fell like marble?

Oh and I know why NaVi's sparkle - to show that it can be done much better and much more tasteful than with sprakling vampires! :D

[Account Deleted]

One online fan named Sarah T asked, "Jim, what inspired you to make the Na'vi blue?" To which, the director of such classics as "Titanic" and "Aliens" said, "We wanted to say that there was an otherness, an alien-ness to them. But we wanted to keep them human enough that we could understand their emotions. So, they were going to have two eyes, and they were going to have a mouth."
But it's all about the blue versus green argument. "So, we were down to blue and green basically — and green had been taken by all those Martian movies with the little green men," he remembered of his reasoning. "So, we have big blue women, not little green men."

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[Ellhnas]

I think is just because blue color suits them.LOL!!

[Account Deleted]

Im from Argentina, Buenos Aires, and I think the natives are of that color because there are many powerful substances in their oxygen that can change things if you breathe. If we talk about science, i dont know the composition of the air or their effects.
Well, I say goodbye, I regret my mistakes but I do not speak English, I'm learning

my mail: jafa24@hotmail.com

[Account Deleted]

"They are blue because we all want them to be blue or because we just want to be blue too! I mean wouldn't you want to be blue like them too? I know I would...that's why I am here!" Tam Finn 2010