From ‘Titanic’ to ‘Avatar:’ How James Cameron taps into China’s audiences, landscapes and philosophy

For many Chinese audiences, the name of James Cameron is inseparable from his two landmark works, Titanicand Avatar.

For one generation, the bond was forged by the sweeping romance between Jack and Rose in the icy waters of the North Atlantic and a soaring melody. Titanicwas nothing short of a cultural tsunami upon its release in the Chinese mainland in 1998. The haunting strains of "My Heart Will Go On" echoed from bustling metropolitan streets to smaller provincial towns; the film's posters adorned countless bedroom walls. It presented a scale of romantic tragedy, historic catastrophe and technical grandeur that left an indelible mark, defining for many Chinese moviegoers what epic cinema could be.

For a younger cohort, Cameron re-emerged as the architect of a new film world. The 2010 release of Avatarin the Chinese mainland coincided with China's box-office boom and the nationwide rollout of digital 3D screens. Audiences lined up for hours as social media buzzed with awe. It marked a revolution in spectacle, an experience that validated the collective investment in a modernizing cinema infrastructure.

This intertwined history was poignantly summarized at the Chinese premiere of Avatar: Fire and Ashduring the 7th Hainan Island International Film Festival by Chinese actor-director Deng Chao. In a heartfelt speech, Deng traced his own growth alongside Cameron's filmography: the rebellious awe inspired by a copy of a VHS tape of Terminator 2 in a youth club; the ubiquitous cultural presence of Titanicduring his teenage years; and the sheer, overwhelming spectacle of Avatar, which saw "audiences sitting in cinema aisles and on staircases."

"From a regular audience member to an actor and director today, Mr Cameron's works have always been like an old friend accompanying me, and even more like a mentor," Deng said during the premiere ceremony in Hainan - words that moved Cameron to tears and resonated deeply with his Chinese peers.

Cameron himself has long emphasized that such resonance transcends borders. "It's not about the specifics of a particular country or cultural language, but the things that we all share - human emotion, how we deal with our own identity, how we fit into our family and our community," Cameron, 71, said at the Hainan masterclass.

Inspired by Chinese landscapes

Cameron's bond with China is indelibly tied to a landscape that transcended fiction to become a cultural phenomenon: Zhangjiajie National Forest Park in Central China's Hunan Province.

During a 2009 Beijing press conference promoting Avatar, the director noted that the film's floating Hallelujah Mountains initially drew inspiration from China's Huangshan Mountain in Anhui Province, but that the towering sandstone pillars of Zhangjiajie National Forest Park have since become widely recognized as the true visual prototype.

Deng Daoli, a publicity official from Zhangjiajie scenic area, recalled that he had received a Hollywood photographer who took photos and purchased related video materials from the region years before Avatar's release.

"The Qiankun Pillar in Zhangjiajie became the direct visual model for the Hallelujah Mountains," Deng Daoli told the Global Times on Friday.

When asked about the possibility of incorporating more Chinese landscapes into future works, Cameron smiled and acknowledged the creative process. "While all landscapes in the Avatarseries are original CG creations with no on-location shooting, which is somewhat ironic, our team always seeks photographic references for inspiration," Cameron told the Global Times in one roundtable during the Hainan Island Film Festival.

"Perhaps we can use photographic materials from places like Hainan to inspire the setting of the Avatarworld in the future," Cameron said. He added that Hainan's emphasis on preserving its natural ecology resonates strongly with the film's themes of environmental protection and harmony between humans and nature.

Avatar's huge success triggered a tourism renaissance, with the park rebranding one of its iconic landmarks "Avatar Hallelujah Mountain."

"After the visa-free policy was implemented, we have been welcoming more tourists from abroad. When they come, they are always amazed," Deng Daoli told the Global Times.

The relationship has matured beyond location scouting. Following the premiere of Avatar: Fire and Ash, which has garnered over 713 million yuan ($101 million) at the Chinese mainland box office as of Monday, the Zhangjiajie International Forest Conservation Festival extended an invitation for Cameron to attend as an honorary guest at the 2026 autumn event, citing the film's alignment with the festival's mission of ecological conservation, the Hunan Daily reported.

"The film's themes of protecting the environment, the Earth and natural heritage resonate deeply with our own goals for Zhangjiajie," Deng Daoli explained.

Universal values rooted in nature

Indeed, the Avatarsaga unfolds as a sprawling parable of interconnection, a theme that finds deep resonance with Chinese philosophy such as "harmony between humans and nature."

In Avatar: Fire and Ash, Cameron delves into the cyclical nature of hatred and trauma, showing how grief can curdle into destructive vengeance. Through Neytiri's painful journey, Cameron argues for breaking that cycle, for choosing understanding over blind retribution.

"Our relationship with the natural world and the environment as human beings hasn't gotten better. It's only gotten worse. And I see a lot of hatred and violence in the world right now," Cameron said in the masterclass, adding that the themes of human connection, seeing each other, and being connected with nature seem just as relevant now as when he wrote it.

Cameron revealed that this focus on universality is deliberate. The first Avatarfilm became a global phenomenon, topping box offices in markets worldwide, because it leaned into shared human experiences rather than cultural specifics.

Gao Mingyang, a filmgoer from Beijing, told the Global Times that the enduring global and domestic appeal of the Avatarsaga stems largely from its universal values. While watching the film, she said, she felt a profound emotional connection "to our beautiful home, Earth, as human beings."

Cameron's personal identity as a National Geographic explorer-in-residence and record-setting deep-sea diver lends authentic weight to these themes. "Nature's imagination is far richer than ours," he noted during the premiere ceremony. Cameron's firsthand encounters with the ocean's wonders directly inform Pandora's bioluminescent ecology, transforming cinematic spectacle into a form of advocacy rooted in genuine awe for the natural world.

Simultaneously, becoming a father profoundly shifted his narrative center from grand interstellar adventure to the foundational "defense of family" embodied by Jake Sully's clan in the Avatarsaga. Cameron admitted in the masterclass, watching his own children grow made him reflect deeply on the role of a father. It is this grounding in lived experience that allows his fantastical epics to take root in universal human soil, exploring love, loss and resilience, and in doing so, bridge the widest cultural chasms.

Technology in service of acting

At the core of Cameron's philosophy is a human-centric view of technology, a principle that has won respect among Chinese filmmakers and audiences.

Speaking at the masterclass, he emphasized that his team spent five years refining for the Avatarsaga, which Cameron describes as "the purest form of screen acting."

"We wanted to ensure that every subtle expression, every micro-change that even the actors themselves might not notice, is captured with 100 percent accuracy," he explained. This allows actors to focus entirely on embodying their characters, without exaggerating their performances for the technology. They simply need to be honest and authentic in the moment.

Zoe Saldana, who plays Neytiri in the movie, echoed this sentiment. She said during a roundtable discussion that this kind of acting is "the most liberating form I have ever experienced."

This philosophy resonates with Chinese filmmakers such as Guo Fan, director of The Wandering Earthseries, who engaged in a fruitful dialogue with Cameron during the film festival.

The two directors agreed that technology should serve storytelling and emotional resonance. "No matter how advanced technology becomes, only emotion can make audiences empathize," Guo noted, a view Cameron endorsed by emphasizing that "the most important technology is acting."

Cameron has long shown a keen interest in China's sci-fi landscape. As early as 2019, he had a dialogue with renowned Chinese sci-fi author Liu Cixin during a film promotional event for his new movie Alita: Battle Angel in China. Cameron expressed his admiration for The Three-Body Problem, humorously remarking that if sales of the book were to skyrocket in the US, it might be due to his recommendation, and that Liu ought to thank him.

Cameron also shared his perspective on the thematic focus of Chinese sci-fi, saying that much of Liu's work explores darker facets of human nature and a more pessimistic view of the future. Cameron, however, voiced his hope to see more Chinese sci-fi films that offer more optimistic narratives.

Reflecting on the 2019 dialogue, veteran film critic Zhou Liming, also known as Raymond Zhou, who hosted the event, told the Global Times on Sunday that Cameron's films are "conceived for the big screen," representing a form of resistance to the encroachment of streaming platforms.

Cameron also spoke passionately about defending the cinematic experience. He argued in the masterclass that theaters forge what he calls a "contract of focus," in which immersive darkness prohibits pausing and compels a full emotional journey alongside the characters.

"Film is a simulator of life; this emotional preparation for joy, love, tragedy and loss is an experience no other medium can provide," Cameron explained.

As Avatarmakes waves globally, a pressing question hangs over the film industry: In an age of streaming dominance and AI advancement, can live-action films still perform well?

Cameron told the Global Times at the Hainan roundtable that actors' performances always come first, including the emotions expressed in the film. Storytelling is based on these emotional expressions that machines and technology cannot replicate.

He spoke highly of China's film industry for investing in advanced formats such as IMAX, laser projection and Cinity LED systems, adding that brightness and scale are key to the 3D experience, he told the Global Times.

The belief in technology as a conduit for human connection ultimately clarifies Cameron's unique bond with China. It also reflects a shared conviction that the most advanced tools should serve the most universal stories: of family, of belonging and of a home, whether on Pandora or on Earth, worth protecting.

As audiences gather in dark theaters to watch Avatar: Fire and Ash, they become part of a conversation that spans cultures, generations, and the line between fantasy and reality. It is a conversation that began with Jack and Rose's tragic love, expanded with Pandora's floating peaks, and continues as long as stories speak to what unites us all.