Already present in 2009, post-Avatar depression syndrome is characterized by immense sadness after watching the movie Avatar. Explanations.
- In France, the first film “Avatar” was released in theaters on December 16, 2009.
- Post-Avatar Depression Syndrome is a feeling of disconnect between life on Earth and on Pandora, the fictional planet where the Na’vi live.
After 13 years of waiting, Avatar fans were able to rediscover the fictional planet Pandora and find Jake Sully and Neytiri in James Cameron’s second opus. Thanks to numerous special effects, the director takes viewers on a journey through a world where the Na’vi, blue humanoids, live in harmony with nature.
How to recognize post-Avatar depression syndrome?
Despite the public’s enthusiasm, some spectators felt immense sadness once the film was over and the lights of the theater were turned on. This phenomenon, already present in 2009, is known as “post-Avatar depression syndrome” or “Post Avatar Depression Syndrome (PADS)”.
According to various testimonies collected by CNN a few months after the release of the first installment, the post-Avatar depression syndrome translates into a feeling of disconnect between life on Earth and on Pandora. For some, the return to reality is very hard. They then have the feeling of not being in their place in our world and plunge into a state of sadness, even depression.
Avatar: “I live in a dying world”
“Ever since I went to see Avatar, I’ve been depressed. Watching the wonderful world of Pandora and all the Na’vi made me want to be one of them. I can’t stop thinking about everything what happened in the movie and all the tears and chills I got from it”said a man named Mike on the “Naviblue” fan forum in 2010.
On another forum, Ivar Hill, a 17-year-old Swede at the time, had also mentioned his post-Avatar depression syndrome. “I woke up this morning after watching Avatar for the first time yesterday, the world seemed… gray (…) It feels like my whole life, everything I’ve done and worked for , had lost its meaning. Everything seems so… meaningless. I still see no reason to keep doing anything. I live in a dying world.”
Young men would be mainly concerned by the PADS
According to information from CNN, PADS mainly affected young men isolated at school and/or at home. Spectators had also developed dark thoughts after watching the first Avatar. “It took the best of our technology to create this virtual world, and real life will never be as utopian as it looks on screen. It makes real life more imperfect”had noted Doctor Stephan Quentzel, with the American media.
Asked by the New York TimesMagazine, thirteen years later, Ivar Hill, claimed to have overcome his post-Avatar depression syndrome, thanks in part to the support of fans on the forums. From now on, the young Swede spends more time walking in the forest, reading philosophy, and above all, he has found love thanks to his testimony. “My life would be very, very different if I hadn’t seen this movie by chance in 2010 (…) Maybe if it wasn’t Avatar, something else would have come up”he said.
