Smoke Signals Thesis
In the movie smoke signals, the characters find the ideas of alcoholism and poverty to be burdensome on their journey, while they find the warrior history of Indians, and the image of the wise Indian inspiring. Alcoholism because especially damaging to Thomas and Victor because of the car accident. The stereotype of alcoholism is the driving factor in the case against the main characters. The police, however, eventually believe them, but is takes a large amount of convincing to make that happen. We see alcoholism in the beginning of the movie, with the girls in the backwards driving car talking about wanting to stop drinking. This shows that alcoholism does exist in their community. Victor is upset about the financial state of his family in the beginning of the movie. This is because he has no money to be able to visit his father's final resting place. However, luckily for him Thomas is willing to help him out, however throughout the trip Victor warns Thomas to be especially careful with the money. This level of caution shows that they hardly have enough money to make the trip happen, so they cannot waste or lose a single penny. This is how they feel the weight of their financial situation.
However, throughout their trip, they try to emulate the stereotypical Indian "warrior". They do this because they are proud of their intricate heritage. They do this so they can feel strong enough to stand up to the white people around them. They want to be respected and this is the way they try to make this happen. This is seen when Victor is convincing the police that they were not the cause of the crash and didn't cause any damage. Victor keeps a stoic facial expression in order to gain respect from the officer. Thomas, however, is inspired by the idea of the wise Indian sharing stories and spreading wisdom to other people. This is shown when he is seen completely creating stories out of nothing to prove a point to another person. He does it for his own amusement because it calms him, but he also sees that it calms others and puts a smile on their face, as seen in their interaction with the gymnast on the bus. This "wise Indian" image is also created by the long hair that they have, and is a mark of their Indian heritage. Cutting the hair means that they are cutting off the mark of Indian pride, which is why Victor's father cuts his hair, because he does not feel as though he deserves it. These are the burdens and the symbols of hope that Victor and Thomas carry throughout their journey.
However, throughout their trip, they try to emulate the stereotypical Indian "warrior". They do this because they are proud of their intricate heritage. They do this so they can feel strong enough to stand up to the white people around them. They want to be respected and this is the way they try to make this happen. This is seen when Victor is convincing the police that they were not the cause of the crash and didn't cause any damage. Victor keeps a stoic facial expression in order to gain respect from the officer. Thomas, however, is inspired by the idea of the wise Indian sharing stories and spreading wisdom to other people. This is shown when he is seen completely creating stories out of nothing to prove a point to another person. He does it for his own amusement because it calms him, but he also sees that it calms others and puts a smile on their face, as seen in their interaction with the gymnast on the bus. This "wise Indian" image is also created by the long hair that they have, and is a mark of their Indian heritage. Cutting the hair means that they are cutting off the mark of Indian pride, which is why Victor's father cuts his hair, because he does not feel as though he deserves it. These are the burdens and the symbols of hope that Victor and Thomas carry throughout their journey.
Comments
Post a Comment