Society often looks to labels mothers and pregnant women as warriors, but that label was considered to be largely metaphorical. At least that's how it was until James Cameron decided to up the ante.
While speaking with fellow director, Robert Rodriguez, for Variety's popular "Directors on Directors" series, Cameron went down the proverbial rabbit hole of female empowerment and explained why he felt it necessary to depict pregnant Na'vi warriors riding into battle in Avatar 2: The Way of Water.
Cameron completely transformed Sarah Connor from a meek and mild-mannered damsel in distress to a bona fide action hero/world savior in Terminator 2: Judgment Day. He gave the cinematic world one of the most headstrong and determined female characters it had ever seen in the form of Rose Dawson in Titanic. Now, he's looking to once again revamp the entire landscape pertaining to female empowerment by depicting pregnant female warriors riding into battle in Avatar 2: The Way of Water.
"Everybody’s always talking about female empowerment," Cameron began. But what is such a big part of a woman’s life that we, as men, don’t experience? And I thought, ‘Well, if you’re really going to go all the way down the rabbit hole of female empowerment, let’s have a female warrior who’s six months pregnant in battle.'"
It hasn't happened for centuries, but there have been instances in the course of recorded history where women did indeed fight while pregnant. Most notable was the Solitude of Guadalupe, who fought against French Troops in the slave rebellion of 1802. Today, a statue stands in her honor, depicting a very pregnant warrior woman.
"Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel — all these other amazing women come up, but they’re not moms and they’re not pregnant while they’re fighting evil."
During an interview with The New York Times, Cameron went on to talk about the balancing act of heroism and parenthood, and why it was important for audiences to see his Neytiri striving to rectify those two aspects of her character.
