People mistake the Indian culture for living in T-Ps and going to powwows and always being drunk. But Smoke Signals really shows how the Indian culture really is. It includes how their culture is different from the white man but the stereo types that people put out for Indians are really inaccurate. Victor and Thomas not only take us on this interesting adventure to see his dad but they show us all of the Indian stereo types. Victor wasn’t anything like Thomas, Victor was a warrior, and Thomas was the brain. They were almost the perfect match, because you have Brain and Braun working together. Though Victor had a soft spot for some people like his mom or Suzy Sunshine, but for anyone else he had no sympathy. Victor was always a very stern man he always had this grumpy boldfaced look. The reason he always had this look on his face was simply because he wanted to send a message out that no one will overlook him or over power him. And he said “Without a stern look the white man will run over you then no one will respect you”. Another thing that makes him a warrior is the fact that this ...
Throughout the film of Smoke Signals, the story centers on two characters, Thomas and Victor. Thomas, through his storytelling shows Victor that there's more to life than cynicism and pure anger, while Victor let's Thomas know what it means to be a real Indian. We can see this in the scene where Victor tells Thomas that Indians are not supposed to smile to white people and that Indians always should look mean in order to gain the respect of white folks. However, we can see that after they return to the bus their seats have been taken by two white men and neither did Victor’s mean face and faded smile help him gain their seats back. This scene shows us that those stereotypes about how what an Indian is supposed to act are not in fact true because
The Essay, I have chosen to read from is ReReading America was An Indian Story by Roger Jack. The topic of this narrative explores the life of an Indian boy who grows up away from his father in the Pacific Northwest. Roger Jack describes the growing up of a young Indian boy to a man, who lives away from his father. Roger demonstrates values of the Indian culture and their morals through exploration of family ties and change in these specific ties. He also demonstrates that growing up away from one’s father doesn’t mean one can’t be successful in life, it only takes a proper role model, such as the author provides for the young boy.
The Dust Rose Like Smoke is an excellent novel that compares two native groups. Both groups get equal recognition of their strengths and downfalls. There is the appropriate amount of information to get readers to grasp the successions and downfalls of the Zulu and Sioux. I thought the points were very clear and that this was a very enjoyable read.
John Smith, the troubled Indian adopted by whites appears at first to be the main character, but in some respects he is what Alfred Hitchcock called a McGuffin. The story is built around him, but he is not truly the main character and he is not the heart of the story. His struggle, while pointing out one aspect of the American Indian experience, is not the central point. John Smith’s experiences as an Indian adopted by whites have left him too addled and sad, from the first moment to the last, to serve as the story’s true focus.
The film Smoke Signals, screen written by Sherman Alexie, examines the small, ordinary Native American life of a boy that lives on the Coeur d’Alene Indian reservation with family problems. The story is set in 1998 but also has flashbacks throughout the lives of Thomas Builds-the-Fire and Victor Joseph. Both Victor and Thomas must go on a trip to take care of Victor’s father’s business since he has passed away. Victor and Thomas both must be saved from situations throughout the film. In the film, the theme of salvation preserves both Victor and Thomas from death and conserve Victor from living a life of hatred toward his father and others around him, which allows him to understand why his life is filled with pain due to his father’s actions.
In chapter six of her book Making the White Man 's Indian: Native Americans and Hollywood Movies, Ange Aliess explores the topic of how Western have begun to change recently. The changes that she references in the film Dances With Wolves are also present in the film Winter in the Blood as well as in the 1491s shorts, even though the 1491s are a comedy group and not a Western genre. Aleiss describes the ways in which Native Americans reacted to Native portrayals in the film Dances With Wolves, and they tended to see the film’s better sides in contrast with critics. In Winter in the Blood, there are many stereotypes that are explored in ways that make the characters seem more real and less stereotypical as the backstories are revealed, despite
Victor experiences very little joy at all after the creation of the monster. He suffers from numerous bouts of depression, he most tolerate the deaths of his brother, best friend, and wife, all of which were murdered at the hands of the monster. His friend Justine is executed because of the death of William, for which she is falsely accused and convicted. His father also dies after the murder of Elizabeth, Victor's ill-fated bride. With so much death surrounding his life, how is it possible that Victor could still be cognizant of his actions when he decides to pursue the monster and end its violent fury? He can't. Victor's mind is so clouded by the sorrow and pain of his past that he is blinded to the fact that he is attempting to destroy a creature with far greater physical strength and speed than any mortal. Much of his conflict appears to be created by the monster, when in fact the torment comes from Victor's own hands because he himself created and gave life to the monster.
By implementing pictures, ideas, and interviews in the film made it seem authentic and presented by individuals who took part. The illustrations of tanks, helicopters, and guns formed an emotional stance with mournful music following while the Americans were forcing the Indians off of American ground where they did not belong. Trudell explains how Indian children are getting to know the relationship between the government and themselves. The Indians want to be treated as human beings, treated equally, and to be treated with respect. Why could they not obtain the same level of respect as others
Growing up, Victor and Thomas didn’t get a long so well. Thomas was often annoying and Victor just wanted to be left alone. Thomas often talked of Arnold and Victor never wanted to talk about his deserted father. The last thing that Victor wanted to do was talk about the father that bailed on...
Victor knew his father for twelve years of his life, but when he and Thomas travel to Arnold’s final home, Victor finds that he didn’t really know him at all. The film also touches on ideas of discrimination. Throughout the movie, Victor and Thomas were discriminated against many times, for example, when two white men stole their seats on the bus, telling them to “go back to their powwow.” Ideas of death and legacy also play a big part in Smoke Signals. The movie is centered around the death of Arnold, and Victor’s belief in the legacy that he left behind (whether he was an alcoholic who abused Victor, or a completely different man than Victor was willing to
After watching “Smoke Signals”, directed by Chris Eyre (1998), one reoccurring motif I noticed was fry bread. Anytime there is a scene with eating there seems to be fry bread accompanying it. It is also the subject of conversation several times. The three instances in the film I’ve chosen to analyze show the symbolism of fry bread as a food that brings Native Americans together. The first scene is between Victor and his mother. Victor doesn’t want to accept Thomas’s help, but his mother uses her famous fry bread recipe as a way to convince Victor that it’s okay to rely on other people. Another example is after Victor tells Thomas he needs to change his appearance to make himself more Indian. Thomas achieves this new look by getting rid of
From Fire to Ash: A closer look at "Smoke Signals" and "This Is What It Means to Say Pheonix Arizona"
In “This Is What It Means To Say Phoenix, Arizona,” Alexie creates a story that captures the common stereotypes of Native Americans. For instance, in the story the narrator states, “Who does have money on a reservation, except the cigarette and fireworks salespeople?” (Alexie). This quotation shows that the narrator addresses the idea that all Native Americans must own businesses that sell fireworks and/ or cigarettes in order to be successful. In this example, Victor is shown to not identify with the Native Americans because he does not pursue the same job opportunities as many Native Americans do. Victor's character is used as a contrast to the stereotypes that , there he represents reality. Another instance in which the author incorporates a stereotype about Native Americans is when Thomas-Builds-the-Fire first makes conversation with Victor. Thomas-Builds-the-Fire informs Victor about the news of Victor's ...
Through connecting with his former best friend, Victor was able travel to Phoenix to reclaim his father’s ashes and belongings. During the trip we see Thomas and Victor reminisce about their former days as friends, and although at the end they both agreed that they could not be friends, they gained a deeper understanding of each other. Even though Victor could not say it, deep down, he knew that his best friend was in fact Thomas.
As most of you know, smoking is bad for your health, but what some of you might not know is that you don’t actually have to smoke to be harmed by smoking. Lung cancer, which is the leading cause of cancer deaths in men and women, is mainly caused by cigarette smoking. Secondhand smoking causes approximately 2 percent of lung cancer deaths each year. It causes respiratory disease, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), middle ear disease, and asthma attacks in children.