I wouldn’t write this post if they still had a pillory in the town square. I could stand the public humiliation, but being exposed to the Canadian weather in January or whipped on my bare backside with a birch switch is just too much. You see, I have an issue with Sigourney Weaver’s characterization in Avatar. I think James Cameron has made a serious mistake in trying to personify her as “off-putting and even unpleasant”, as well as “obnoxious”, by having her smoke cigarettes. The press jacked up this trait to “evil”. My generation grew up on movies where smoking was ubiquitous. So for many of us, using this habit for characterization only moves Cameron’s efforts from the sublime to the ridiculous. And that is objectionable because of my admiration for Sigourney. Whenever I see her on screen, whatever her role, deep in my heart she will always have a touch of the quick-witted heroism of Ripley — just like Gable will always have elements of Rhett Butler and Cooper of Marshal Will Kane.

Could Cameron have used moderation and avoided the salivous misrepresentations of the press and busybodies? I think so. The trick would have been to have Sigourney’s character, Dr. Grace Augustine, use snus instead of cigarettes. I’m not talking about that vile chewing tobacco of my youth that demonstrated the prowess of real men who could fill a spittoon from 20 feet (6.096 meters). I’m talking about a more modern development that packages tobacco in little tea-like bags that are inserted between tooth and gum. No chewing, no sucking and no spitting. Snus has about 1/50th the health risk of cigarettes says one American study.

With snus, Sigourney’s character would have only been “obnoxious” as the director intended and Avatar would have offered new hope for Canadian smokers. No longer would they have to stand shivering outside their place of employment in the dead of winter to satisfy their cravings. They would have been inspired to luxuriate in their sinful way, warmly cocooned in the comforts of their own offices. But they would know their fault and Cameron could have been assured that, deep in their hearts, all Canadian smokers would have branded Dr. Grace as “obnoxious”.

Avatar is set on a world were the natives live in harmony with nature. Snus communes with the forests. It lovingly reaches out to each tender twig, offering succour and assurance that no burning cigarette will transform their gentle world into a raging inferno. By preventing forest fires, snus is environmentally-friendly. Snus may have its faults but they are limited. Could Cameron have ramped up his character development of Sigourney to unadulterated evil? Yes, but a new tack would have been required. Instead of having Sigourney toying with nicotine, he could have had her chew gum. Not just chomping gum, but cracking her gum, too. And if he had wanted to go all the way, she could have blown a few bubbles.