Monday, April 16, 2007

Watching Smoke Signals

This week students screen Chris Eyre's 1998 Miramax film "Smoke Signals." This is an interesting film to view in the wake fo the Don Imus media mess. The media buzz is now focused on the discussion about how pop culture and media seem to normalize negative stereotypes. The public is asked to consider the impact of degrading imagery and speech on marginalized audiences. While this discussion centers around how stereotypes are perpetuated by language and media, consider how Native Americans continue to suffer thanks to popular culture and media via the mascots for sports teams.

Another consideration to weigh while viewing Smoke Signals is the issue of cultural identity and authenticity in media. Chris Eyre is an up and coming Native American filmmaker. He writes compelling screenplays about his own struggles and he uses Native American actors to bring the stories to life. Watching "Smoke Signals" is another way of challenging the stereotypes perpetuated by old TV shows and Westerns. One line in the movie presented by the charcter of Victor resonates with a bitter truth.

"There's nothing more pathetic than Indians on TV than Indians watching Indians on TV." Thomas Builds-A-Fire (Evan Adams), Smoke Signals (1998- Miramax).

If we make a media-savvy effort to engage in selective exposure of media and attend to stories created by and representing marginalized audience, imagine the richness of our experiences in understanding the world outside and broadening the "pictures in our heads."

Click here for the Smoke Signals trailer on CNN.
Click here for the review of Smoke Signals on CNN.