The Character Analysis Of The Film Smoke Signals

Thomas goes on to change his way of dressing, and even his hairstyle. The old Thomas wore his hair in two braids, and sported suits everyday. The new Thomas wears his hair unraveled so that is it appears to be long and flowing, like the typical “native american”. When they arrive back on the bus the two are bullied by two caucasian men who steal their seats. The two try and get back at the men by singing a song they casually made up in Native American style. When Thomas and Victor finally arrive in Arizona at Arnold’s trailer, they are greeted by his girlfriend. Once inside the home she presents them with Arnold’ s ashes. Victor becomes emotional and is ready to head back to the reservation. As he goes through his father’s belongings, something comes over Victor and he retaliates by cutting his hair. Victor and Thomas portray to be “American” in a sense. The two play sports, have typical family problems, and reference pop culture. However they also portray two indian stereotypes; the warrior and the shaman. Victor represents the warrior, and Thomas the shaman. Victor’s short temper and

Victor and Thomas had never been off the reservation before. They experienced what it’s really like to be a Native American in the real world. On the bus ride there, two white men took their seats and made rude comments about them being Native Americans. They received a lot of stares and uncomfortable looks from people as well. The bus ride to Phoenix was hard for Victor because he had to deal with Thomas talking the whole time. Victor especially didn’t like it when Thomas brought up his father in conversation.

Thomas seems to have a gift in his storytelling, they may seem like crazy stories he tells over and over but his stories may carry some kind of meaning. “We are all given one thing by which our lives are measured, one determination. Mine are the stories which can change or not change the world.” (Alexie P. 518) His stories about Victor’s father are why he went out of his way to help Victor. It took Victor a trip to Phoenix to see that Thomas was there for a reason, to help him because they were cousins.

Thomas is a nerd in his reservation, wearing oversize glasses and telling everyone stories do not wants to hear. Thomas bring a very interesting flavor to the story. He tells many stories to the people, but most people ignore him, because most of his stories are made up. He sees Victor as a brother. Each time something happen between Thomas and Victor like a fight or an argument, Thomas would go back to him and talk to

Victor Joseph’s portrayal of the classic Native American man is exemplified by Alexie’s use of dialogue, costumes, and flashbacks. For example, when Victor sees Thomas smiling as they ride their way to Arizona he says, “Indians ain’t supposed to smile like that. Get stoic” (Smoke Signals). This example of dialogue reveals how Victor believes a Native American man should present himself traditionally, which strongly contrasts with Thomas’s demeanor and appearance. Victor continues on, saying, “Look at your hair, it’s all braided up and stuff. You gotta free it. An Indian man ain’t nothing without his hair.” (Smoke Signals). Hair design is used to symbolize Victor’s close ties with his ancestral past as a Native American. Additionally, Victor’s comment on hair foreshadows when Victor himself cuts his hair, symbolizing a moment in which Victor embraces his traumatic past by accepting who he is as a person. In a more literal sense, flashbacks are also used to symbolize the trauma that Victor experienced in his direct past - living with an alcoholic father, Arnold Joseph, who abandoned him. However, by the end of the movie, Victor embraces this past through the spreading of his father’s ashes.

     Sherman Alexie based on some short stories included in his book, 'The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven,' wrote the screenplay for the movie 'Smoke Signals.' Both the movie and the book portray problems that Indians had to deal with, and how they dealt with it. The book is far more complex than the movie, showing a wider variation of characters facing different situations.

Smoke Signals is about two Native American friends, Thomas Builds-A-Fire and Victor Joseph, from the Coeur D’Alene Indian Reservation in Plummer, Idaho who go on a journey to Phoenix, Arizona to retrieve Arnold Joseph’s ashes (Victor’s dad). Arnold was an alcoholic who left Victor and his mother as a child, but saved Thomas as a child. Victor and Thomas were raised on the reservation, yet they grew into two different personalities. The first part of the movie shows an authentic portrayal of life on the reservation through Victor and Thomas. The second part of the movie shows the journey taken by Victor and Thomas and their arrival to Phoenix, AZ. The last part of the movie shows Victor and Thomas’ journey back to Idaho.

Smoke Signals, released in 1998, is a classic film that provides insight to the lives of Native Americans living on reservations. There are very few films that attempt to portray Native Americans at all, yet alone in a respectful manner. The characters are all played by genuine Native American actors including: Adam Beach, Evan Adams, Irene Bedard, Gary Farmer, and Tantoo Cardinal. Additionally, it is directed by Chris Eyre, another Native American. This film tries to overcome stereotypes of Native Americans that are prevalent in society, and does so in a humorous way. Smoke Signals takes the viewer along on a journey with the two main characters, Victor and Thomas. They leave their reservation in Idaho to travel to Arizona in order to collect Victor’s father’s ashes. This film is a classic because of it’s timeless theme: forgiveness. Smoke Signals portrays the theme of forgiveness by featuring Victor, a character struggling to forgive his late father for being an alcoholic and leaving him as a child; Victor takes Thomas along on a trek to Arizona to retrieve Victor’s father’s ashes.

With their contemporary representation of indigenous people and the issues they face today, Jeff Barnaby’s Rhymes for Young Ghouls and Chris Eyre’s Smoke Signals are films that try to fracture the stereotypical Indian image that has persisted since the beginning of the Hollywood industry. Written and directed by Native American filmmakers, both stories comment on the condition of indigenous people in and outside the United States by confronting topics on poverty, death, drugs, alcoholism, and parent abandonment. While released almost a decade apart from one another, both cinemas follow the similar stories of their protagonist as they try to deal with these problems by trying to understand themselves and the obstacles in their respective

Sixteen candles was written by John Hughes, this movie was his first 1980s teen movies. Hughes was inspired by Molly Ringwald, to write the screenplay. As, he was finishing up writing the screenplay for Mr. Mom and National Lampoon’s Vacation, Hughes' agents at ICM gave him a stack of photos of young actors. When he was going through the stack he noticed Molly Ringwald, then began write the screenplay for the Sixteen Candles. John Hughes finished the script over a single Fourth of July weekend. Hughes also was so impressed with Anthony Michael Hall's performance in National Lampoon's Vacation that he created the role of Ted “The Geek” just for him. Michael Schoeffling got the role of Jake Ryan, as the leading male because of his good

Stereotypes are shown in the story through the binary depictions of Victor and Thomas Builds-the-Fire. The most important binary that is emphasized by Alexie is the stereotypes that Victor is “bad,”while Thomas is good. Victor is portrayed as the negative views of Indians. “Victor was really drunk and beat up Thomas up for no reason at all” (Alexie). In this situation, Victor is shown as the typical drunk Native American. Other stereotypes that are presented by Victor are that Indians are lazy when he fails to be persistent to try to get more money to get to Phoenix. When Victor beats up Thomas as a teenager, this depicts Victor as the bloody savage. Thomas Builds-the-fire, on the other hand, is portrayed as the more positive view of Native Americans. The romantic portrayals of Native Americans include the idea that they are noble savages. Indians are characterized as gentle and connected to the world. For example, instead of being captured as a bloody savage as Victor, Thomas is seen as the noble savage as he appears to be more connected with the environment and nature. Being connected with the nature and the world shows that Thomas-Builds-the-Fire is is not a selfish person. Also, instead of being viewed as lazy, Thomas Builds-the-Fire appears as diligent. This is because Thomas continued to

Smoke Signals was the first feature film to be written, directed and co-produced by American Indians. This film is based on the literal and figurative journey of two Native Americans. Alexie uses humor, storytelling, and tradition throughout Smoke Signals to represent a coming-of-age story for two young Native American men at the turn of the Twentieth Century. Much of the film’s power has to do with its honesty, both in the way the characters are depicted as well as stories shared.

The three stories “A Drug Called Tradition,” “What it Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona, and “The Trial of Thomas Builds-the-Fire” in a book of short story collection called: “The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven,” published in 1993 and reissued in 2005, by Sherman Alexie, a Spokane/ Coeur d’Alene Indian. Those three short stories introduce us readers to Thomas Builds-The-Fire, a character who tells too much stories. Through analyzing Thomas Builds-The-Fire’s stories, we will understand why his community treats him like an outcast. The story about three proud Indian boys: It is night time, they aren’t doing drugs. Instead, they drink Diet Pepsi, and strangely, “They are wearing only loincloths and braids” even though they’re sipping on the Pepsis in the twentieth century. Because, as Thomas suggests, they “have decided to be real Indians tonight”, “they all want to have their vision…receive their true name,” and they want to “breath in that sweet smoke” (20) from the fire they built. The word “sweet smoke” gives us readers a sense of release and relief of their suppressed feelings coming from the longing to reconnect to their roots. Later, the boys become non-alcoholic, and in a matter of seconds, “Thomas throws away the beer,” “Junior throws his whiskey through a window,” and “Victor spills his vodka” (21). At the end of this story, “the boys sing. They sing and dance and drum. They steal horses” (21), thus become heroes, proud Indian heroes. Story of Thomas and

For most of my life, the word “Native American” had immediately made me think of feathers, powwows, and a society uncorrupted by civilization. However, in watching the movie Smoke Signals, a movie that depicts the modern Native American culture, I learned many other things. For one, I learned that many of the customs that modern Native Americans have are very similar to my own. I also saw that the family life of the Native Americans in the film had many of the same problems that my family had undergone in the past years. This film was unlike any that I have ever seen; therefore, it reached me on a very personal level.

The movie Smoke Signals is based on the series of short stories written by Sherman Alexie. Just like any movie, there is a meaning to it. Before this movie, when I thought of the phrase "Native American" I thought of things like feathers and societies that were impeccable. But after watching the movie, Smoke Signals, it portrays what being a Native American really means. It is not all fun and games. The protagonist, Victor Joseph, has many hard aspects of his life, but throughout it all he grows mentally. His personality in the beginning of the movie is mean and despicable, he is filled with wrath, but as the movie goes on his personality grows gradually. By the ending of the movie, he was a nicer and kinder.