Smoke Singnals

            After reading The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, and then watching the movie Smoke Signals I saw some similarities connecting the two.  One of the most apparent ones was the two main characters being a “big” tough guy, and the other a weaker guy (in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian it was the friendship of Junior, the weaker one, and his tough friend Rowdy, and in Smoke Signals it was the not as close friendship between the weaker Thomas, and the stronger Victor).  This was the first thing that jumped out as a similarity to me.  Then after watching the whole movie I saw the similarity of one of the two boys from each found themselves, and realized something they didn’t exactly know.  In The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian Junior realized that he can leave the reservation to go to school, and make something of himself even though he is a poor Indian.  But, in Smoke Signals it wasn’t the weaker of the two realizing something, but the stronger one.  After going to Arizona when Victor’s dad passed away, he realized even though his dad left him Victor was always foremost in this life.  Even though Victor would not believe this in the beginning, it was as if he shed the tough guy persona and let some emotion in.

                In Smoke Signals there were many scenes that involved music, or singing by the characters.  When watching a movie about Indians one would think that the music would be the typical drums playing or chatting, but this was not so in this movie.  Although some of the selection still had that Indian feel to them, they were not the stereotypical ones but ones that any culture could listen to.  It was also apparent that the music that was playing went seamlessly with the scene it was in.  There was one particular scene when Victor and Thomas were on the bus to Arizona and they began to sing while sitting on the bus, while they were singing it slowly faded into the same song that would continue to play while the camera pulled away from the driving bus.  I think that all of the song selections that were selected for this movie were done very well.  Every song had a connection to what was going on in the scene, making the music very enjoyable. 

Smoke Signals

The short film Smoke Signals had a striking resemblance to the novel The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. This would make sense considering Sherman Alexie wrote the screen play and the novel. Characters, ideas, and events were similar between the two.

            The main characters of Smoke Signals, Victor and Thomas, had many similar characteristics to characters Rowdy and Junior/Arnold in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. Rowdy was mean and tough as a child. His dad was an abusive alcoholic just like Victors. Junior was a “nerdy” Indian boy who wore glasses who has family members who have passed away. 

            Fire accidents happen in both the movie and the novel. The fire in Smoke Signals signifies a rebirth, especially for Victor because he comes to find out how it happened. Victor’s views about his father change when he realized that his father actually did love him and that he left only because he felt so horrible but didn’t mean to leave him and his mother behind. In the novel, Junior’s sister dies when her trailer catches on fire which could possibly signify a rebirth for her to move on to a better place like Junior was doing, going to a white school in search of better education and hope for himself in the future. He wanted more than what a poor Indian like himself was destined to have.

Smoke Signals Analysis

One of the things that I took note on during this movie was all of the flashbacks that took place. I believe that they were used for several reasons, one would be to fill in the holes of the past and also to help form who the main characters truly are. They show both Thomas and Victor as young children and as they continue to grow. The flashbacks are very crucial to understanding the story of Victor's dad leaving and what his life was like at the time causing him to leave. Victor's memory of why his dad left and never returned is quite different than the reason he did actually leave and seeing these flashbacks helps understand that he wanted a better life for his son, not the life he was leading at the time. Therefore, it is necessary for this film to have lots of clips of the past to fully understand the whole story.

Another thing that I noticed was the background music that was used. Especially during the flashbacks there was lots of tribal music played. I'm not sure if it was used to show what real Indians are like, or what it was used to represent. Because these flashbacks were often of the 4th of July party, filled with lots of alcohol and drinking. This is in comparison to the present day Indians like Thomas. Another memorable moment when tribal music was played was when Victor threw his dad's ashes into the river, it was like an Indian being reborn, just like the old traditions.

Smoke Signals Vs The Absolute True Diary of a Partime Indian

      I Thought that there were many similarities between the Movie and the Novel. The Characters were pretty similar. I saw Thomas as Arnold, because in the movie Thomas wanted to go with Victor so bad, he wanted to get off of the rez for a little bit. They both the more sensitive when it comes to people. Then Victor reminds me of Rowdy, they are the rough and tough guys. They both had very abusive dads who were drunk alot and were never around. Victor doesn't treat Thomas very well sometime, but other times he will stand up for him just like Rowdy does for Arnold. Also there friendships are tried at one point. At one point in the movie Victor blowsup at Thomas, and Rowdy and Arnold are no longer friends. But at the end of both of there journeys, they are friends again.

     But Victor is also in a way like Arnold, they are both trying to find who they are. They are both going through hard and tough time in there lifes. They both have to find who they are as there own person. Victor has to figure out why everthing happened the way it did. Arnold has to figure out what he wants to do with his life. At the end Victor finds out that his father was the one who killed Thomas's parents and he could never live with the guilt so he left, because he thought that was the best for everyone. Hee finally found out that his father was very proud of him and wanted what was best for him. Arnold knew that if he would stay on the rez all his talents would go unseen and unwanted. When he went to the all White school he didn't know what to expect, but by the end of the Novel he had friends in both the White school and on the rez. He knew that he could do whatever he wanted and that he wanted to do something with his life.

   I really enjoyed both the Novel and the Movie, I thought that they were both easy to understand and I could see the similarities in both very clearly.

Smoke Signals

A large part of this story takes place in the past, which seems very important. By having flashbacks and showing past event through the characters it showed that the past plays a big role in the future. It helps to explain not only why the characters act the way they act, but why the Indian culture is the way it is. I don’t think it is used as an excuse, but it is used as a way of explaining why it is how it is now.  If it wasn’t for the past the present would be different, and I think this is what the use of flashbacks are used for.

                It also seemed to me that the title was used to convey a general idea that was important. The title Smoke Signals hints at a primitive idea, the idea of communicating with smoke, but I think it means more than that after seeing the movie in its entirety. I think it means that there are times of trial in everyone life, and these trials or obstacles are like fire. When you are going through the problems smoke rises and shows that you are overcoming them and becoming better. The importance of the fathers trailer being located in Phoenix and having a literal ‘phoenix’ event cannot be ignored. As the memory and pain that Victor had associated with his father burned, he raised out of the ashes a new man. He was going through a lot of pain and trial from the past, but as the fire burned and the smoke rose it signified that he was letting go of the bad, and he was able to become better because of it.

Smoke Signals

                There are many different significances to the past in Smoke Signals. The flashbacks into Victor’s childhood show the side of his father that everyone perceives him as. They show how he had a drinking problem just like the stereotypical Indian and how he fought with his wife and beat Victor. However, there are some flashbacks about his father like when Victor and Thomas go to get Victor’s father’s ashes from Arizona and they meet Suzie Songs. Suzie describes how she was good friends with Victor’s father and that he told her many good stories about his son and the good times he had with him and his family. She told them the story of when they played basketball against two Jesuits and how Victor was unstoppable and ended up making the final basket to win the game. We end up finding out though, that it was true except in the end Victor didn’t make the basket, his father just said that in the story to show that he was proud of his son no matter if he made the basket or not.

                Another view of the past is through the stories that Thomas tells. He describes many different stories of the past and always does so in the same sort of way. He closes his eyes and acts out the stories in such a believable manner as though you were really there.  Thomas’ stories describe a story of the past that had happened, however, they weren’t completely true. He always had a way of putting a twist on the story to make it better. They were believable but not always true. For example when he tells the story to Suzie Songs about how Victor’s mother had made 50 pieces of fry bread but there were 100 people but she knew a way to feed everyone by ripping the bread in half. That story showed that Victor’s mom was the best fry bread maker and everyone from around came to gather just to have some of it.

Thomas Builds-the-Fire

    A topic we only hinted on in class was Thomas' full name, Builds-the-Fire. While we discussed fire acting as a rebirth, the only thing I could think of was the obvious implications of the fire itself. Had his parents not died, Thomas' life would have been quite different. However, their deaths altered the life he otherwise would have had.
    Yet again, though, I can't find the correlation to his name. He was named so before the fire (or, if he was named after that is awfully cruel).
    I think his name references his character and his relationship to Victor, the protagonist. As is common in literature, a supporting character with endless odd quirks "supports" the main character, pushing them along their story. Thomas Builds-the-Fire acts as the kindler to Victor.
    Had it not been for Thomas, Victor wouldn't have made it to Phoenix- the spark.
    Thomas continuous asks Victor questions, especially those involving his father and himself- adding fuel to the fire.
    Finally, when the burden of responsibility for Thomas' parents' deaths are passed to Victor-- the fire is roaring. Victor, throughout his journey, has re-evaluated the path he's taken, his father's role and impact in his life, and the life he'll start to live after his journey. Had it not been for Thomas, his life would have stayed on a linear path, stuck in the rez with no direction. Instead, Thomas aids him in finding something else to do with his life.