Smoke Signals Essay

     The film  Smoke Signals is able to mix the ideas of heritage and culture with the changing world in which that culture doesn't always fit, or has been corrupted by circulated interpretations of the culture. The audience sees this struggle through the eyes of the main characters Victor and Thomas, and through symbolism of many aspects of the culture.

     One of Thomas's most important characteristics is his affinity for story telling. The Indian tradition of oral records is forcefully continued by him, much to Victors chagrin. The stories he tells are never true, but the true meaning of his accounts lies not in their veracity, but rather in their ability to evoke emotions in the listener, whether they be wonder, awe, sadness, anger, or appreciation. His manner of storytelling is reminiscent of the sage Indian in Dances With Wolves, which is completely different from Victor's idea of what it means to be an Indian. Thomas struggles between being the kind of Indian portrayed in Dances with Wolves and the fierce kind depicted in most american film and television. At one point, he is confronted by Victor, who tells him that he needs to be more stoic and mean looking; as if he had just killed a buffalo. Thomas replies that his people never hunted buffalo, and were a fishing culture. Thomas demonstrates through his clothing and general mannerisms that what most affects people are their ancestors. Thomas does not have any parents, so he emulates his grandmother to an uncanny degree.

      Victor uses many aspects of his culture to deal with the modern day problems he faces. When he is grieving over his father's death for example, he cuts his hair as a sign of mourning. His father did the same thing after the death of Thomas's parents. Arnold never grew his hair back because he was never able to forgive himself for killing Thomas's parents. Victor is able to forgive himself for playing a part in making his father leave. The audience sees this by his ability to become friends with Thomas again, something that culminates with Victor splitting his father's ashes between the two of them. They return Arnold to the earth he came from; dumping his ashes into the river, where as Thomas says, he might become a salmon.

     Eyre uses symbolism in the movie to illustrate parts of the Indian heritage. Thomas was separated from his parents in a fire, just as many Indian children were taken from their families under the Dawes Act. Another instance was when they rode in the car with the two girls. The car was only able to go backwards. This was symbolic of the Indians not being able to keep from being overrun by the whites.