Those of us who have seen Avatar know that it's an adventure for the visual senses. Some are so drawn to the 3D world of Pandora that they experience withdrawal symptoms after returning to the real world.
The Avatar 3D experience may have been a bit too much for a 42-year-old Taiwanese man, who died last week from a stroke following a viewing of the film. Doctors believe that the man, identified only as Kuo from the AFP report, suffered a brain haemorrhage from the movie's stimulation.
"It's likely that the over-excitement from watching the movie triggered his symptoms," said Nan Men General Hospital emergency room doctor Peng Chin-chih.
The news reports also mentioned that Kuo had a history of hypertension and high blood pressure.
In a separate and unrelated Avatar happening in another country, the China state-run movie distributor China Film Group pulled down 1,628 screens of Avatar in 2D to replace it with the biography of Confucius starring Chow-Yun Fat. Avatar will remain on its nearly 900 3D screens, continuing its run as the most successful movie of all time in China.
Media from Hong Kong point to China's concern that Avatar's popularity may be taking too much market share away from Chinese films, but consultants in Beijing believe that it has more to do with the upcoming Chinese New Year in February, reports the LA Times.
Despite the pulling from 2D screens, the Chinese population seem to love Avatar enough to rename one of its mountains after one of the fictional locations in the movie.
The "Southern Sky Column" in Zhangjiajie in southern Hunan province had its name changed to "Avatar Hallelujah Mountain" as officials claimed that the mountains served as prototypes for elements from the movie, reported Reuters. Members of the city hope that the renaming will draw tourists to see the natural spectacles.
Taiwan man dies after watching 'Avatar'
Originally Posted by Mime Taxidermy
