Bizarre phenomenon which left Avatar viewers with ‘depression and suicidal thoughts’
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An unusual phenomena hit Avatar fans shortly after the movie was released back in 2009, with some saying they were left feeling seriously depressed.
The science-fiction epic, which is set to get a sequel this week, is set on the lush, beautiful and fictional (we must add) moon Pandora - home to Na-vi, a species of blue-skinned human-like creatures.
You can see a trailer for the second movie here:
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Avatar was a massive success, pulling in a whopping $3 billion and earning itself a mammoth nine Oscar nominations, of which it won three.
However, shortly after it landed in cinemas, it turns out that some fans were left feeling the blues.
According to a report from CNN in 2010, fans of the flick grew depressed because they longed to visit the fictional Pandora themselves but realised that could never happen.
A fan forum website, Avatar Forums, featured a thread entitled: ‘Ways to cope with the depression of the dream of Pandora being intangible’ racked up more than 1,000 posts - the thread became so popular, the site’s administrator Philippe Baghdassarian had to create another to meet the demand of depressed Avatar fans.
Baghdassarian told CNN: "I wasn't depressed myself. In fact the movie made me happy. But I can understand why it made people depressed.
"The movie was so beautiful and it showed something we don't have here on Earth. I think people saw we could be living in a completely different world and that caused them to be depressed."
One post read: "That's all I have been doing as of late, searching the Internet for more info about 'Avatar.' I guess that helps. It's so hard I can't force myself to think that it's just a movie, and to get over it, that living like the Na'vi will never happen. I think I need a rebound movie.”
While on another fan forum, one man even said they had experienced suicidal feelings - writing: “Ever since I went to see 'Avatar' I have 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 all the things that happened in the film and all of the tears and shivers I got from it.
"I even contemplate suicide thinking that if I do it I will be rebirthed in a world similar to Pandora and the everything is the same as in Avatar."
Speaking to Variety, Max Perrin, who didn't see the movie until 2017, revealed he had also felt depressed and says a 'lot' of fans did.
He explained: “A lot of people have experienced this in the community. It really made me rethink a few things. I had no idea that I could be so deeply influenced by something like this. I had no idea just how deeply it was going to change me.”
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, please don’t suffer alone. Call Samaritans for free on their anonymous 24-hour phone line on 116 123
Topics: Film & TV, Film and TV
