The ideology of Avatar

So I finally got to watch Avatar via Netflix and its timing was impeccable in relation to the African politics course I just finished. Although usually, I get wrapped up with the ingenuity of today's special effects, the storyline reminded me of the demise of African culture. From the outside, is the military and scientists who are interested in the mining of a rare mineral [unobtanium] in the lands of Pandora [Africa], but the 'savages' who live on these lands don't realize the value of such a unique treasure [diamonds, silver, gold, oil...]. They are tranquil in their world and express a oneness with their environment around them by understanding the tranquility of keeping peace with the simple way of life. However, once discovered by the military and scientists [imperialists], there are immediate actions to befriend and experiment through infiltrating 'the people' of Pandora; learning their language, customs and culture. Once the decision has been made to expose reality and to take Pandora by force, 'the people' attempt to fight back with weaponry unmatched to military technology with expeditious attempts to adjoin other tribes to help fight the cause. With divine interventions possible only through the assistance of the imposter's who now appreciate and want to help the 'enemy', the feats of the most spirit-filled and universally willed sacrifice their way of life while winning against all odds. But the most puzzling I found were the people themselves...although beautiful, there was an obvious resemblance and connection to how Africans-both pre-colonial and current-are viewed today; colored, elementary, savage, 'monkey' like, barefoot, in need of transition and I don't even want to go there with the tail? I know my view is an interpretation but until I had taken this course, I probably wouldn't have given these creatures a second thought. I guess my point is, education and awareness opens so many doors to the possibility of our imagination and our realism of life and reasoning.