Bring your notebooks to class and prepare to take notes as we watch a film whose storyline and themes resonate with those included in Reservation Blues.
Smoke Signals (1998) is the only film written by Sherman Alexie with Coeur D'Alene. Adapted from his book of short stories, The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven, it describes the developing friendship between two yoing men whose names may be familiar to you: Thomas and Victor.
Facts about the film:
- Directed by Cheyenne/Arapaho Chris Eyre
- The entire cast is American Indian
- Was filmed on the Coeur D'Alene reservation, described as "a mixture of rugged mountainous landscape with meager ramshackle housing and tacky general stores run by whites."
"Structured as a picturesque 'road movie,' Smoke Signals depicts a journey from the Coeur D'Alene reservation in Idaho to Phoenix by two teenage Indians, Victor Joseph (Adam Beach) and Thomas Builds-the-Fire (Evan Adams). Victor's father, Arnold (Gary Farmer) has just died and Victor is sent to return his ashes to the reservation. Thomas, whom Victor regards as something of a pest, pleads to be taken along. Their relation to each other and to Victor's dead father supplies the central dramatic impulse for the film."
As you watch the film, reflect on the following:
1. What are the similarities and differences between the film and the novel?
2. How do the motifs of journey and storytelling factor into the story? What do they reveal about the major themes?
3. "Think about the troubles that Victor and Thomas have traveling across the country, why is this? Would you have this same problems?" Why?
4. "Smoke Signals is the first commercially successful film in which the writer, director, actors and crew are almost exclusively Native American persons. Why do you think this is important to the Native American community?"
5. "Discuss how the representations of Indian people in Smoke Signals differs from "Hollywood" style movies, include the old "Cowboys and Indians" western genre as well as more contemporary films such as "Dances with Wolves" and "Geronimo" in your analysis." In other words, how does this film function as a counterstory?
6. "Arnold (Victor's dad) goes through a process of "disappearing" in which he slowly disappears from his family, his community, and eventually from the world. Discuss this "disappearing" and how it relates to the invisibility of Indian people in contemporary society."
7. "Discuss the relationship between Victor and Thomas as it relates to Thomas's role as the film's primary storyteller. How does their relationship illustrate the tension between Native American traditional cultural values and contemporary realities?"
8. "The reality of Indian people in contemporary U.S. society is part of the consciousness of the characters in Smoke Signals. For example, Victor and Thomas refer to the U.S. as a foreign country, Arnold and Victor's basketball game against the Jesuits is described as the first time the Indians won since Columbus, etc. Discuss the interactions Victor and Thomas have with members of the dominant society (the White couple in the car accident, and the police officer). What stereotypes are operating?"
9. "What expectations do the various characters have based on the way Indian people are stereotyped?"
10. What do you make of the soliloquy at the end of the movie?
11. What are the sins of our fathers that must be forgiven?
12. Where did you see the U.S. government as an occupying force?
13. What did they mean by practice vanishing?
14. How do Victor and Thomas treat their parents?
15. What did Thomas mean when he said they plea bargain it down to being an Indian in the 20th century? What do you think was meant by "The Cowboys always win?"
16. What would you have done if you overhear the two guys on the bus kick out Victor and Thomas from their seats.
17. How do Victor and Thomas deal with their environment?
Observations for You to Think About
- Seeing U.S. as a foreign country.
- Basketball game, Jesuits against the Indians, Indians won for the first time since Columbus.
- Indians are invisible in U.S. society, use of culture as a way to destroy communities, cultural annihilation.
- In order for Anglos to become "American" Indians had to disappear, one way or another.
- Perception in Southwest that there was no one living on the land before the Anglos arrived; myths about Basque Shepherds being first inhabitants.
- Alcoholism in Native American communities is related to racism; alcohol introduced to Native communities as a way to destroy them as an intentional strategy.
- Added stereotype around Indian gaming.
- Importance of the community.
This information was retrieved from www.uua.org.
© COPYRIGHT 1996 - 2015 UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST ASSOCIATION. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. PRIVACY POLICY.
ReplyDelete6. "Arnold (Victor's dad) goes through a process of "disappearing" in which he slowly disappears from his family, his community, and eventually from the world. Discuss this "disappearing" and how it relates to the invisibility of Indian people in contemporary society."
In the movie Smoke Signals Arnold, the father of Victor Joseph is an alcoholic. There is a scene in the movie where Victor is sitting on a chair watching television when his mother and father begin to argue. Victor's mother tells Arnold "it's over no more drinking did you hear me no more!" Both are struggling to grab Victor's mothers purse when Arnold says "let go!" and slaps Victor's mom who then falls on the floor. His mother then gets up off the floor and tells Arnold "hit me again come on!" Victor just watched as all this unfolded. Arnold then walked past Victor and was headed toward the door. He walks out of the door with his suitcase in hand. Victor's mother yells as Arnold is heading for his truck. He yells at him stating "if you leave now don't you ever come back you hear me!" Arnold threw his suitcase into the back of his truck and started it. Victor runs toward the truck yelling "don't leave dad!" He catches up to the truck and gets inside it. Arnold stops his truck, gets out and grabs Victor from behind the truck who is pleading for him not to go. Arnold sets Victor on the ground and gets into his truck and leaves as tears from down Victor's face. Arnold disappeared and was never seen again. Arnold's disappearing from the reservation relates to the invisibility of Indian people in contemporary society in some ways. Throughout history most of the Native Americans who were living peacefully on their lands were relocated by the government. These people were forced to give up their lands and move to a new location. What the government was thus doing was making these people "disappear. The government would make all these Native American's live on a reservation that would be isolated from the rest of society. Forced to live in isolation, these Native Americans would in a sense be forgotten by the rest of the world because no one would hear from them. Arnold isolated himself by leaving his family and moving to Phoenix without telling anyone. Even after all these years, there are still Native American people who live on reservations that are completely isolated from society. It is unfair that they have to live a life of isolation because the government decided to take away their lands. These people have to live a life of loneliness which in reality lead to drug and alcohol use. Just like in the case of Arnold who was a drunk, most Native Americans would turn to drinking. Due to the fact that these Native Americans drank they would eventually become homeless. It is truly sad that Arnold along with many Native American had to disappear and ever be seen again.
Amber Moore
ReplyDeleteProfessor Ogbara
English 1A
25 April 2015
The Film VS the Novel
The film Smoke Signals and the novel Reservation Blues have their similarities and differences. Both are based around Indian people living their everyday lives on a reservation, both named the Spokane reservation. The main characters in the film are Victor and Thomas. Thomas seems to be the main character in the novel, but the brief film showed both men’s journey. We are taken into the lives of how Indians live on this reservation and we learn about their daily struggles. The film features an all Indian cast. The book goes more in depth about the relationship between the whites and the Indians.
The names of the characters in the film were the same as the novel. In the film, there was the same Builds-the-Fire name referenced, also names such as Thomas, Victor, Arnold, and Lester were mentioned. These names in the book were very significant and were names of most of the characters consistently mentioned. In the book, we learn that Thomas is Indian with glasses, and he looked just that way in the film. All of the Indian men had long hair or their hair braided as we read about in the book as well. The setting of the place on the reservation in the film was similar to what I had imagined while reading the book. The author’s description of the reservation, which he mentioned mountains and more, related to the film. The scene was very rustic and deserted. Both the novel and the film both set place in the 90s, with flashbacks of earlier times. There were flashbacks to the past and the present. The film flashbacks to the characters’ childhood and back to them as adults. The flashbacks and storytelling were very similar in the novel as in the film. Storytelling is a major part of the Indian culture, and there is a lot of it in Reservation Blues. I noticed that when the characters, such as Thomas, would tell a story, he would close his eyes. We also get a sense of that in the book as well. The whole time they are telling a story or reminiscing, they would close their eyes. Another similarity is the basketball playing. In the film, the whites were dressed in the black robes, as mentioned in the book in a dream, and the Indians would play the sport with the white men/officers. There is also a lot of alcohol drinking in both Reservation Blues and Smoke Signals. It’s something that was apart of that culture. Drinking was one of the ways the people on the reservation coped with their issues. There was also drunken violence in both the movie and novel. Music is one of the biggest motifs in the book, and there was also singing and guitar playing in the movie. One thing that wasn’t in the movie was the idea of the horses. Horses played a huge role in the novel. One thing that was major in the movie that was major in the novel was running away. Some Indians would run away and leave when things got tough. It proved to be a devastating blow to the children when their loved ones would just disappear. Also, the Indians in the movie would cut their long hair when grieving.
One thing that was different in the movie than the novel was that we were introduced to Victor’s father and we got a more depth look into his life. We also were introduced to a lady friend of his. He befriended this lady when he left his wife and family. Also, one main difference in Reservation Blues than in Smoke Signals was that there was no mention of very many female characters. Big Mom, as mentioned in the novel, and also Chess and Checkers and more were not mentioned in the movie. The movie seemed to be very male dominated. There were women in the movie, but the focus was mainly on Victor and Thomas’ friendship. Overall, the movie and novel shared a great deal of loss, relationships, drinking, and strong Indian culture.
Question 3
ReplyDeleteThere were a few altercations that happened Victor and Thomas while they were travelling to Arizona, Phx. When they first got on the bus they received nasty, uncomfortable looks from the other passengers who were on the bus. Majority of these other riders were white. Thomas and Victor hardly paid them any attention though. Victor gave Thomas a reality check about being too smiley and his outfits so after the bus’s first layover Thomas transformed himself into how Victor believed he should present himself. When Victor and Thomas both reboarded the bus they returned to the seats where they had both been sitting when they first got on the bus but there were two cowboys in their seats. Thomas told the cowboys in a nice manner that the two seat were his and Victor’s but the cowboys simply laughed and said “I think you meant these are our seats.” Victor then intervened and told the cowboys that that was not what he meant and demanded their seats back. Apparently, Victor’s actions didn’t intimidate neither of the men. So Victor and Thomas took their seats in the back of the bus. Once they got to Arizona to retrieve Victor’s deceased father’s property, they met the woman that his father had relocated near and encountered a “father, daughter relationship” with when he had left his son and wife on the reservation. After Victor grabbed the items that were significant to him, Thomas and he, headed back home on the road with the truck that was once Arnold’s (Victor’s father). While they were driving late at night Victor gets irritated with all of Thomas’s stories and questions. In the midst of Victor screaming at Thomas, not paying attention the road,Victor swerves and crashes the car into the side of the mountain. There were two cars in the road that appeared to have already been in a wreck and once Victor regained his conscious and got out of the car he was instantly accused by a drunk man who initially cause the car wreck that Victor tried to miss while he was driving.Victor seen that there was a lady injured and his first reaction was to go and get help. Thomas stayed behind with the family who was in the car accident while Victor ran for miles to go and get help. After Victor was submitted into the hospital, the drunk man”s wife thanked Victor and Thomas for all of their help and told them that her husband told the police that they’re the ones that caused the accidents. Thomas tried to hurried and get him and Victor out of town before the police found them but it was already too late. The Police told them that the husband alleged that they were the cause of the accident and they were the ones that were drunk but Victor stood his ground and told the Officer that that was bullshit and that he has never had a drop of alcohol in his life. Luckily for them the wife also left a statement saying that her husband was an asshole. I believe that since the man husband was white and the Thomas and Victor were Indians, they would’ve actually ended up taking the wrap for the case. Whites have always been the most superior race and it never mattered whether they were lying or not it would always be their word against anybody elses. I beleive that a lot of these issues that they encountered on their way to Arizona was because of their ethincity. If they were white or American more than likely they wouldn’t have been treated the way they were during their journey, but whose really to say. I know forsure if that was me in the same skin that I’m in, back then I would have been going to jail for that car crash without a doubt in my mind. that is just how the economy is. It is sad and unfortunate that this happens to people whose skin content happens to be darker than the people that America considers to be “righteous and Important”. I’m African American and we have always faced these Issues and nothing has really changed over the centuries from when slavery began so I would be suprised if I was put in this scenario today and got the same result as another black person would, decades ago.
http://ryanmills-pcc.weebly.com/smoke-signals.html
ReplyDelete"Think about the troubles that Victor and Thomas have traveling across the country, why is this? Would you have this same problems?" Why?
ReplyDeleteIn the film, “Smoke Signals” written by Sherman Alexie, the same author as Reservation Blues, tells a story about two Coeur d’Alene Native Americans, Victor Joseph and Thomas Builds-A-Fire set out on a journey to collect Victor’s late father’s ashes. The two Native American teenagers travel to Phoenix, Arizona where Victor’s father, Arnold Joseph had last resided. Arnold had run away from the reservation out of guilt when Victor was twelve. This was due to the fact Arnold, who was drunk like the other Indians at a party Thomas’s parents threw, set the house on fire and killed many in the fire. Thomas’s parents were unfortunately one of the few that were killed during the fire, but Thomas had always view Arnold as a hero because he rescued Thomas from the fire. Victor, however, resents his father as he had endured through his father’s alcoholism, abuse and abandonment.
Throughout the film, Victor and Thomas had experience bumps on the way to Phoenix and even on the return trip home. From the very beginning Victor was having a hard time coming up with the money to Phoenix, since his mom, Arlene only had $40 in her account. Thomas then bribed Victor with money that he had been saving up ever since he was a child so he can join on this journey. Another obstacle they had encountered was getting to the bus station. Victor and Thomas didn’t have a mean of transportation to the bus stop so they had to walk there. Another difference that Victor and Thomas experience was that they were welcomed with strange stares from the white passengers and the white bus driver. While on the bus Victor warned Thomas that white people run all over Indians if they don’t look mean. After picking up Victor’s advice Thomas had let his long hair run wild and changed into a more “threatening” outfit. When they returned to the bus, two white men had taken their seats. Victor then proceeded to tell the two white cowboys that they had taken their seats and wondering if they can have it back. This did little to no help since no one stood up for the two Indians and they were left sitting in the back by the toilet. One of main obstacle they experienced was on their journey back home. While Victor and Thomas were arguing, Victor barely avoided a collision with a broken down vehicle in the middle of the road. The driver, a while male, who was drunk, threatened to blame Victor and Thomas for his own mistake. Although Victor and Thomas avoided the collision and instead hit head on against the canyon knew instantly that they were screwed because the policemen wouldn’t believe them. Victor then explained how being an Indian an assault charge is equivalent to first-degree murder.
The reason Victor and Thomas had troubles traveling from Idaho to Arizona was simply because they’re Native Americans. People automatically view them as savages and human beings who aren’t civilized. Thinking that they are not civilized causes people to think it is okay to just step all over them and ignore the fact that they too are humans. From the accident, for example, the white drunken man think that he will automatically get away with the problem by using Victor and Thomas as escape goats and blaming them for his mistake. The Native Americans are often forgotten as the government had sealed them away in this tiny bubbles call, reservations. The reservations are barely ideal and many are left in poverty, this causes Victor a hard time to even set foot on this journey. If I was in the situation as Victor and Thomas, I doubt I would have as much troubles as them. The reason is because I don’t live on a reservation and isolated from the outside world. I also wouldn’t have a problem with coming up bus money or even become as an escape goat. I wouldn’t be afraid of the police, as I knew they would take my word over someone who was white and drunk.
http://vickyting.weebly.com/extra-credit-smoke-signal.html
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteThe book “Reservation Blues” and the movie Smoke Signals were both written by Sherman Alexie. The book “Reservation Blues” is about five Native American adults living on the Spokane reservation. The main characters in the book are Thomas-Builds-the-Fire, Victor, Junior and eventually Chess and Checkers. These five characters are in a band called Coyote Springs, which was Thomas’s idea to start in the beginning of the book. Minor characters are Big Mom and Robert Johnson, even though they are minor characters throughout the book they are very important throughout the story. The movie Smoke Signals is about these two Native American men that live on the Coeur d'Alene reservation. The two main characters are Victor and Thomas. Victor plays the leading role in the movie and is abandoned by his father at a young age. Victors father dies in Phoenix Arizona, where he has stayed after leaving his son Victor and wife Arlene, Victor and Thomas go on an adventure to retrieve his fathers ashes. There are many similarities and differences between the film and novel.
In the film and novel, Alexie used the same names for the characters. Thomas and Victor are used in both of his pieces. The difference between the names is the characteristics. Thomas is a very sweet man, and is raised by his grandmother and lacks on acting like a “warrior”. In the book, Thomas is not so shy and sheltered to the Native American toughness. Thomas closes his eyes and tells stories in both the film and movie. In the film and book Victor has the same personality, being a jerk at times and seems to be hurt by his father. In the book, Victor’s father is already dead but was still a drunk, in the beginning of the film Victor’s father dies which is every important to the meaning of the film.
In the beginning of the film, Thomas is saved in a fire by Victor’s dad. Which is why Thomas sees Victor’s dad as a hero and wants to help Victor travel to Arizona. Thomas’s parents were killed in the fire that Arnold saved him from. In the novel, Thomas still has his dad but is not close to him since his dad only calls when hes in jail or too drunk to get home.
A big similarity in the film and novel is the themes portrayed throughout both pieces. The main theme between Smoke Signals and “Reservation Blues” is that even though one may have problems occur, one must overcome these obstacles and find out who they truly and their purpose in life to become a better person. Another big theme of the film and novel was the feeling of being abandoned. In the film Victor wanted his dad home and thought he left because he was a bad person, in reality Arnold left because he was the one who started the fire that killed Thomas’s parents. In the novel Thomas, Victor, and Junior do not have parents by their side and are on their own throughout the story. In both film and novel, all the characters face poverty. Victor would have not gotten to Phoenix if Thomas did not lend him the money he had been saving up. In the book, poverty is portrayed throughout the entire story. Thomas, Victor, and Junior have to ask Phil Sheridan and George Wright for money so that they could eat for the week. Chess suggest to checkers that they should go back home to their reservation but checkers says that they could not afford it. The film and novel have many similarities and differences portrayed throughout Sherman Alexie’s work. These similarities and differences can be seen throughout the film and novels characters, settings, and themes.
Question #1Diana Betancourt BETANCOURT 1
ReplyDeleteEnglish 1A
M Ogbara
4/25/15
Extra credit: Smoke Signals
The film “Smoke signals”, written by Sherman Alexie, has many similarities with “Reservation Blues”. The main point being both are tales of Native Americans and their journey. In “Smoke Signals” two Indians by the names of Victor Joseph and Thomas Builds-the-fire set forth to Arizona in order to find Victor’s deceased father. In “reservation blues”, the main character in the book is also names Thomas Builds-the-fire, along with another main side character, also named Victor. These are the only main characters that are in both film and book. The town where both boys from both the film and the book live in the same town and go on a journey that will test them both mentally and emotionally. The main plot is different from each other, in Reservation Blues, Thomas Builds-a-fire forms a band and the journey is told. In Smoke signals, the two boys go to Phoenix to recover victor’s father’s remains.
The nature of Thomas and Victor are very similar in the film and book, Thomas is a kind hearted, sort of outsider to his community. To some he is rather annoying, but all he wants to do is tell stories that no one seems to what to sit through. Victor is sort of a bully, full of angst due to a rough up bringing. In book and film, victor teases and fights with Thomas. Both characters do have differences from the film, Victor is more of a thug in the book, where as in the film he tries to fulfill what it means to be Indian, to be a warrior and to show Thomas that Indians are tough. Thomas is a lot mousier in the film
BETANCOURT 2
and seems to be blissfully unaware of how different he is from the other members of the community. He wears over sized glasses and somewhat of a nerd.
The use of alcohol is also seen, in Smoke Signals alcohol leads to the disappearance of Victors father, alcohol is a major theme in the book, seeing as a majority of the character’s family members are alcoholics due to traumatic events that take place. In Reservation Blues, Victor drinks but in Smoke signals dose not, due to seeing what it it did to his father. Victor’s father is dead after disappearing to Arizona in film and book, his mother not really having much interest in the matter. His neighbor due to the rotting smell finds him. Though in the book, victors’ dad dies of a heat stroke. The topic of racism in shown in both. How Indians are portrayed in the media compared to real life and in history is mentioned.
Thomas seems to be the only friend Victor has in the film, though in film and book he finds Thomas very annoying, to the point where he really questioned whether or not to take up Thomas’s offer of lending him the proper funds for the trip to Phoenix. Reservation Blues brings up the topic of white women and Indian men in a bad light, many of the main characters frown upon the idea of both ethnicities coming together in romantic relationships. Seeing as there are very few Indian men, even less good ones, and white women are snatching them away. This topic is not seen in the film.
Though the plots are different, they share many themes and some character names and events. Both are based in the American Indian Community and show an emotional journey in Reservation Blues and Smoke Signals.
http://ishneet07.wix.com/eportfolio
ReplyDeleteWhat are the similarities and differences between the film and the novel?
ReplyDeleteSimilarities between the film and the novel:
The film and the novel were well connected to each other. The main characters of the film, Victor and Thomas, are also the names of two of the main characters of the novel. The film and the book both took place in a reservation. The main characters of the film had a sour relationship between each other and this sour relationship can also be seen in the book. One of the ways, the relationship is sour is because Victor bullies Thomas in the film. This bullying can also be seen in the book. In both the movie and the book, Victor’s father abandons him and he dies in Phoenix, Arizona. The book mentions a little bit about how Thomas and Victor both travel to Phoenix to pick up Victor’s father’s dead ashes and this was the main goal that the two were trying to accomplish in the movie. Hatred against the Indians by the white population is shown in both the book and the film. In both the film and the book, Thomas is the protagonist.
Differences between the film and the novel:
The film and novel had some similarities, but it also has many differences. First of all let’s talk about the main setting. The main setting in the book was in the Spokane Indian Reservation outside Spokane, Washington. The main setting in the film was in the Coeur D’Alene reservation located in Idaho. The film and the book have two different “main” goals. The main goal in the book is for Victor and Thomas (along with three other characters not mention in the film) to be a successful band. The main goal in the film is for Victor and Thomas to get Victor’s father’s dead ashes from Phoenix. In the book, Thomas’ father is the only parent remaining. In the film, Thomas’ parents are not alive and at first both of Victor’s parents are alive until his father die. With his father being no longer alive, only Victor’s mom remains. The main symbol in the film is fire, while the main symbol in the book is the guitar. In the book, some old man drives a car backwards. In the film, two girls (actually only one of them is the driver) drive a car backwards. In the book, Thomas’ mom dies from stomach cancer. In the film, she dies in a fire. In the film it seems at the end of the film that Victor has changed in terms of his behavior. At the beginning of the film he was mean and by the end of the film, he becomes this “good” guy. So far in terms of what I have read in the book, Victor has not changed his behavior. He remains this mean guy in the book.
http://stewie88.weebly.com/reservation-blues-extra-credit-smoking-signals.html
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