third posting about thunderheart
Emily Schaffer (ejs2572@silver.sdsmt.edu)
Tue, 25 Nov 1997 21:07:49 -0700 (MST)
The interview that we watched on last Thursday was a little
different than what I had expected. I think that maybe because it was
filmed so long ago, 1976, it was hard to imagine people sitting around
talking and telling stories like that. I am sure, though, that it does
happen.
This storytelling is what holds a community like that together.
It is important to see things in a humorous way. These stories are what
links the people together. You never get the feeling of being alone, or
lost.
A lot of the stories Leslie Silko was telling are a lot like
gossip that goes on in everyday life. So, I think this kind of
storytelling does live on today in all cultures.
I noticed that in both of the films we watched these last two
class days, parts of nature are often mentioned. In that first flick, it
was said that the river is important to stories, things happen on the
river that wouldn't normally happen in the middle of the village. It is
said to be a special place.
The movie _Thunderheart_ shows that the ways of thinking are
different between whites and Native Americans. The Native Americans don't
believe in the white way, they believe power comes in the form of rivers
or rain or other forms of nature. They feel that there is a way to live
with earth and a way not to live with earth. It's about power.
The movie coincides with the book in that the people had many
spiritual beliefs as they did in the book. They also participated in many
ritual ceremonies as they did in the book.
Even the half-white man, Ray, played by Val Kilmer :) was pulled
into their ceremony, it made him think back to hes past and he was very
shocked that this happened. I think that maybe this is why white people
don't believe as do Native Americans, because they get scared so easily.
With the visions that he had, the spirits were leading him to places in
his mind while he slept and then he would travel to those places. These
visions did actually help him in the end, as he was led to safety.
I think that Tayo had similar experiences to Ray. He was a
doubter at first, but then grew to be one of the strongest believers.
These two characters definitely go hand in hand.
The White people in both the movie and the book, look down on
Native Americans in one form or another. For example in the movie it is
said at one point, "It's hard to tell the good guys from the bad, they're
all Indians" I think this shows that no matter how many unprejudice
people in the world there will always be someone who is.
Emily Schaffer
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