Special-effects were not the cause of Avatar's huge success

Carlin was a comedic genius by the way and comedy legend for sure. I have to first address the issue my opponent brought up about critics criticizing Avatar's predictable nature. Yes there were critics who criticized Avatar for the storyline, but I'm sure there were critics who ripped on Avatar for a wide number of reasons. I suppose there is a reason that film critics have their jobs, but how many times have you read a scathing review of a movie you just know is excellent. Critics may feel pressure to judge movies from a high standard of culture and class. They would probably judge the story of the Little Mermaid as predicable but that doesn't mean it sucks. To put it simply, professional critics have their jobs for a reason but are by no means infallible nor unbiased. To clarify my position in this debate, I agree with the fact that, "Avatar won dozens of awards for it's visuals. " and the special effects could have had a part in the overall success of the movie. I feel that the success of the movie because of a resonant story is the main overshadowing reason. The bulk of my opponents proofs of his claims cite the number of awards that the film won. Well John Williams has won many awards for his compositions in dozens of movies, but is his music the only reason all of those films were a success? Why should the composers of special effects in movies have any greater claim to a films' success. Great music, nor great special effects make a successful film. I don't like to research and cite a ton so I will paint what I hope is a good analogy. I leave it up to the voters to judge if it has merit. The old Star Wars movies (episodes 4-6) had ground breaking special effects for their day but are nothing special at all now. However they are still beloved as one of the greatest cinema classics of all time. Why, because, among other things, they have a fantastic storyline. The stories of the old Star Wars are full of the kinds of Jungian archetypes and mythical motifs that I have mentioned and am arguing for. Compare the success of the old Star Wars films to the new ones. Although the special effects in the new ones are by far and away superior to the old ones, fans prefer the old films hands down. The new films sacrificed good story and writing for special effects. The new movies were built around the special effects and not story line. So if we choose to define success as "positive popular opinion" we would have to acknowledge that fans prefer good story over special effects, Star Wars fans being a perfect example. I will admit that the special effects were great in Avatar. I felt like I was right there getting ready to put my dreads into the "video in" slot of an alien dragon. And the love scene with the blue alien girl was so crazy and real I felt like I shouldn't tell my girlfriend about it. To seriously sum my case up, the masses know superficial, special effects driven movies when they see them and these movies don't succeed. Avatar was a film that combined both groundbreaking special effects and great story. To be fair I must point out a weakness in my case now that we have discussed it. The true test of my claim may not be possible at the moment. The real test of Avatar's resonant story will be if, like the old Star Wars films, Avatar still has value years in the future. I believe it will. I'm running low on words but if anyone wants to read a bit about the paradigm I am coming from, a great page to visit is . http://en.wikipedia.org.... Avatar's success aside, I would encourage anyone to read some Joseph Cambell and about Jungian archetypes. You will never watch a movie or read a book the same again. Next time you watch a movie or read a book that resonates deeply with you, it may be because it tickles your collective unconscious. Whether Avatar does this or whether anything I have said is true I leave up to the voters to choose.