Smoke Signals: Small Scale Expansion

 

       

Smoke Signals is a very interesting movie for me personally, outside of some brief remarks in history class about the state of the native population in modern America, I knew nothing about their culture in current age. This movie showed me how years of abuse by the US gov has manifested itself as self-destructive behavior and a negative outlook on life. 


    To start, let us discuss the color pallet of the movie. All the shots that take place on the reservation generally feature a wide range of colors but they are extremely faded. Compare this to shots that take place outside of the reservation, same color pallet but all the colors are richer in tone. I believe this is supposed to represent the disillusionment of the native people. Outside the reservation, the American dream is still real and hope for the future is ever present, therefore the colors appear to be more vibrant. On the other hand, the natives on the reservation have been pushed onto small squares of land against their own will and cheated out of everything they hold dear. While it might not be the same people living on the land, the outlook is still the same “what use is money on reservation anyway” and Arnold’s constant drinking. Continuing about Arnold, his character is another great example about how different the perspectives are based on living on the reservation and off the reservation. While living on the reservation, Arnold is emotionally distant, abusive to his wife and son, and is an alcoholic. Once Arnold settles outside of the reservation his character suddenly shifts, he becomes extremely outgoing, he talks to Velma on a daily basis, he reminisces about the good times he had with his son, and he stops drinking beer. I won’t go as far to excuse his abusive actions since in the end they were his choice but the dramatic change from negative to positive should be noted.


Personal note: This isn’t the whole finished post but I wanted to release it anyway since I didn’t want it sitting around
Location: Phoenix, AZ, USA

Comments

  1. Rachel GilesOctober 1, 2020 at 9:27 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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    1. Rachel GilesOctober 1, 2020 at 9:29 AM

      (I had a typo, so I deleted it because I couldn't find an option to edit it after it was posted)

      Hi Alex!

      I didn't notice the shift in color pallet when the boys were on the reservation versus when they left it, good catch!

      Even though this isn't really the subject of your post, I was wondering what you thought about the film when compared to the short story? Do you think that the film did the short story justice?

      Delete
  2. Brianna CampbellOctober 1, 2020 at 9:29 PM

    Hi Alex! I like that you pointed out the difference between the reservation in the country, and off. Similar to Arnold, I felt that Victor had to leave to gain a new perspective on life as well. He would have not been able to change his perception about his father, if he stayed home and didn't look for answers.

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  3. UnknownOctober 2, 2020 at 6:26 PM

    Hey Alex! I never noticed that shift!! That was really cool, and a good use of symbolism. I found the shift in character in Arnold to be very heartwarming, and I was glad to hear that he wasn't some guilt-less person, and that he actually did feel bad about the fire and his past actions.

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