REEL
INJUN
Stereotypes
can make it difficult for individuals to find themselves through what the rest
of the world expects them to be because of where they come from. However, once
they can poke through the stereotypes they can then be happy in their skin,
find joy, and forgive those who may have oppressed them. In the documentary
Reel
Injun,
Native Americans and various people in the film industry discuss how cinema affects
the stereotypes given to Native Americans. John Trudell is a multi-talented
personality who has done a lot of work with Native American rights
organizations. He spoke in the documentary about the discrimination Native
Americans face, even to this day. “We don’t wear feathers…but because of movies
people think we still do” (Trudell, Diamond). Because of the stereotypes
portrayed in film people believe that all Native Americans wear feathers, they
all hunt buffalo, they all master horseback riding and they’re all warriors
when the truth is, they are average people but living on reservations in
extreme poverty often due to the discrimination they face. The real goal these
organizations are trying to achieve is to reach common ground and help people
see the big picture. “We’re not Indians and were not Native Americans. We’re
older than both concepts. We’re the people, the human beings” (John Trudell).
It is easy to watch a movie and succumb to the stereotypes given to various
groups but what the population needs to do is see people as what they are,
people. By overcoming stereotypes, people from all walks of life may be able to
heal their pain caused by oppression.
SMOKE
SIGNALS
Giving
forgiveness and letting go of the past are imperative to heal and move forward.
The movie Smoke Signals follows the
story of two Native American boys, Victor and Thomas. In the beginning of the
film, Victor is very hateful, primarily from harboring pain of his late father.
He isn’t quite sure of the guy he is and because he is uncomfortable in his own
skin he transcends that hate in insecurity to Thomas. While on the bus, going
to get Victor’s father’s ashes, Victor talks to Thomas about who he should be. Trying
to teach Thomas to be a “good Indian”, Victor says, “First of all, quit
grinning like an idiot, Indians aren’t supposed to smile like that...”(Alexie).
It is evident that Victor struggles in his own skin and struggles with the
stereotypes given to him and so he criticizes Thomas for embracing them. After
the duo gets to their destination and meets who Victor’s father was living
with, Susie Song, they do some reminiscing. Victor learns more about his father
and the kind of man he was by stories that Susie tells him. After reaching a
point of healing through the storytelling done by Susie Song, Victors breaks
his shell and finally mourns his father’s death (Erye). He cuts his long hair
off which is a symbolic practice done for those in mourning off any kind off
loss in the Native culture. The healing done inside Victors heart is made clear
by the end of the movie because he is able to be kind and he makes it more
clear by letting his father go so they can both move on. While Victor narrates,
the camera follows a large rushing river, which serves as a symbol of moving on
(Eyre). The story of Victor and Thomas support the idea that finding yourself
and letting go are crucial for healing pain and feeling at peace in one’s skin.
SEVEN
POUNDS
In
order to be a happy soul one must find their joys in life and achieve healing.
However, it is necessary to understand that there are people on earth who can
find redemption in themselves to neither be joyful nor love themselves.
Sometimes, life’s mistakes cause such hatred on ones self that healing isn’t
possible. The movie Seven Pounds is
about a man named Ben Thomas who caused a car accident and killed seven lives,
including his fiancé. After the accident, Ben lives in extreme hatred of
himself. The only way he feels he can find redemption is by saving the lives of
seven people and in the process kill himself. In the story, Ben pretends to be
his brother who is an IRS agent. He does this so he can find people of need and
access their information but it is also very symbolic. In a behind the scenes
video about the making of the film, Seven
Views on Seven Pounds, the writer, Grant Nieporte, describes that aspect of
Ben’s character. “The character of Ben takes on the identity of an IRS agent.
Even going back to biblical times, the tax collector is the last guy you want
to break bread with, the last person you want to invite into your house. So a
guy who loathes himself would…it’s a great identity to take on that of a tax
collector, I think it’s befitting of how he feels of himself” (Nieporte). It is
clear how awful Ben feels of himself and therefore how uncomfortable he must be
in his own skin and how much hate he has on the inside. In the end of the
movie, Ben commits suicide in order to give his heart to a woman who deserves
to live more that he feels he does. The scene is shot with choppy editing, low-key
lighting, and bird’s eye view. The scene displays his emotions on the inside,
his depressed state of mind, and his isolation. Some people cannot find healing
or joy and they may not see fit their will to live.
CRAIGSLIST
JOE
In the documentary, Craigslist Joe, a young man named Joseph Garner ventures across the
world for 30 days using one resource, Craigslist. Because of this website, he
had access to food, water, shelter, supplies, and good people from a single
website. At the begging of the story, he wasn’t quite sure of himself or his
purpose on earth and was begging to doubt humanity. “Have we become so caught
up in our own lives that we can’t see people out of our own bubble” (Craigslist Joe). He asks this rhetorical
question because he isn’t sure if he will be able to survive solely on the
altruism of strangers. He meets so many different kinds of people that he would
never be able to meet if it weren’t for his experiment. A woman invites him in
to her home and she has him sit on her meditation alter. He sits down and hold
they crystals she hands him, she then chants (Craigslist Joe). He is open to this different lifestyle and because
of that enjoys they new experience. Ultimately, Joseph was blown away by the
innate good of people and his faith in humanity was restored. In order to
become truly one in our skin, we must venture out of our comfort zones to be
happy.
CEREMONY
The
story Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko
follows a young man named Tayo who suffers much from his past. He takes many
steps towards healing and loving himself. In order for Tayo to heal he must not
try to find peace through empty means but through storytelling and joy. Tayo,
like many other men during that time, fought in the Vietnam War and from it,
suffers post traumatic stress. It is evident how much Tayo suffers from P.T.S.
“Then from somewhere, within the sound of the rain falling, he could hear it
approaching like a summer flash flood...”(Silko 42). His stress acts like a
thunderstorm that he’s trying to run from but inevitably, it always catches up
with him. Even the slightest thing such as a familiar sound can bring a person
suffering with P.T.S. back to the time of their trauma. He attempts to heal
himself by self-medicating with mass amounts of alcohol. Many men suffered from
alcoholism after fighting in the war to cope the pain. “The drinking and hell
raising were just the things they did” (Silko 271). The other men that Tayo served
in the war with were constantly drunk and stayed that way so they didn’t have
to suffer. However, Tayo needed a more fulfilling solution. In his Native
culture, many people believe in the power of storytelling to heal. “I will tell
you something about stories,/[he said]/They aren’t just entertainment,/Don’t be
fooled./They are all we have, you see,/all we have to fight off/illness and
death…The only cure (Silk 28-29). In this poem the culture of the Laguna Pueblo
tribe is shown and how crucial storytelling is for healing. Tayo could finally
be happy in his skin and believe in his future after he found peace through
storytelling, rather than empty means.
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