After watching these two movies, I was overwhelmed and decided to share my experience in this essay sample. The film The Smoke Signals has a script that reflects the urban poverty and was the first to feature in North America. The theme of poverty in the film is intertwined with Indian stereotyping, the presence of reservations, and the inability to accept the reality of absent and irresponsible fathers.
Attempts to live a better life are rendered futile by the need for more resources to cater to the community’s needs. Winter’s Bone is a drama film directed by Debra Granik. Smoke Signals review and Winter Bone review Poverty in this context is given a different approach that focuses on distant family ties, self-sufficiency, and the underworld responsible for the illegal methamphetamine labs.
Contrasting Settings and Themes
Unlike the Smoke Signals, Winter Bone film has a setting that mainstream America needs to be aware of. Quite often, people hear about reports of meth labs and busts in the news, but in this case, a focus is placed on a devastated community that has to engage in the activity to make a living. Ironically, the drug is deadly if consumed, but they have to make a profit by selling it. As opposed to the large emphasis placed on the economic factors in the movie, The Smoke Signals movie review looks at the social aspects. In the analysis of the Indian’s livelihood, there is a glimmer of spirit, especially in the ones living a reserved life. Even the radio personalities make light of the situation on the screen. Whenever the issue of Indians’ impoverished state was brought up for discussion, they seemed to contend with the status quo with little effort being geared towards improving their lives.
The Theme of Substance Use
The theme of substance use cuts across the two films, with The Smoke Signal analysis focusing more on alcoholism, which negatively affects the behavior of the people, hence causing poverty. The alcohol dependence is presented in a manner that shows it is a problem, although not a norm. There is a juxtaposition of the settings and the characters who drink in the White and the Native Americans and those who do not. Alcoholic Winter’s Bone characters have their behaviors justified by the script because of the stress that they are subjected to, making the audience sympathize with them. A similar theme is brought out in Winter’s Bone summary, where the impoverished society is riddled with the highly addictive drug called methamphetamine. The addiction has even affected Ree’s relatives, who are either using or making the drug.
Social Aspects and Poverty
In both films, social aspects, either within or without the character’s control, are portrayed as causing poverty and a state of hopelessness. Ree Dolly is in a difficult economic time when living with her younger brother and sister. Life becomes too difficult and unbearable when Jessup, her father, disappears. He had been known as a good methamphetamine cooker. Her mother was also in a critical situation, recovering from a mental illness. Life now turns out to be unbearable for her, and she seems to be headed towards a state of abject poverty. Smoke Signal movie analysis has characters stuck and unable to progress because of their traditions. However, the film uses humor to represent traditions, mannerisms, dress codes, and stereotypical behaviors. The Indian community believes in following traditions that depict them as stoic, invulnerable, and with exaggerated physical strength. These beliefs made them detached from reality and unable to blend effectively with the rest of the population. It is also worth noting that the film debunks the stereotypes through realism, foiling characters, and humor. There is a lot of juxtaposition of characters in Smoke Signals with counterparts in the opposite race. Enough representations and extras are employed to prevent linear juxtaposition.
The Vicious Cycle of Rural Poverty
The two films’ rural life and social settings cause a vicious cycle of poverty in the communities they focus on. The failure of the political leaders to seal the economic loopholes has made Ree live a hopeless life. She could not attend school regularly and thought joining the army was a perfect way out of poverty. The movie proves that the defense forces live a difficult life full of challenges and may be forgotten in old age. The lack of resources in this setting has caused the civil servants and the people to suffer and live in poverty (Craig & Doug 53-56). In a political setting with a fair distribution of resources, Ree would have made her life better because he was a determined one of Winter’s Bone main characters ready to change her life and that of the community. Focusing on the setting of the two movies, the lack of resources, either due to the poor allocation of the ruling class or marginalization, has created a state of hopelessness that makes people comfortable with their lives. Lacking resources to cater to the needs of the needy people has also made the dependency ratio so high.
Detailed Movie Smoke Signals Review
I have completed a separate Smoke Signals review that students can use for analysis in their school or college film clubs. The film Smoke Signals is about two boys, Victor and Thomas, who seek their father, Arnold Joseph’s ashes from Phoenix, Arizona. The film is all about life, death, and rebirth, taking place around the family in different scenes in the film. Indeed, the reality about the livelihoods of native Americans is often confused with the white ideals, which the movie strives to show the reality, hence introducing the theme of politics of difference.
Smoke Signals Character Analysis
Victor is reborn when he goes to collect his father’s ashes. Throughout the journey, Thomas tells him stories of how their father is a hero, contrary to Victor, who sees him as a villain. This is because he is an alcoholic, and he beats him up together with his mother, showing violence as part of most native American homes, as seen between the 22nd and 35th minute of the movie. Victor wants to hold on to the idea that his father is a bad person rather than the good man who saved him from fire, a story he is told about when he goes to collect the ashes.
On the other hand, Thomas is reborn when he is thrown out of a burning house. This directly alludes to the Phoenix myth; he was born when he flew from the flames. Arnold is reborn when he saves Thomas from a burning house, a fire he caused himself. Arnold cannot let it go as the fire causes the death of Thomas’s parents, and the guilt leads to him beating up his wife and child (Victor), showcasing alcoholism as a major social problem among Native Americans, as seen in the film’s second half.
Smoke Signals Summary and Analysis
The movie brings about the story of a journey that leads the Smoke Signals characters to realize their full self, a concept they were unaware of. They discover who they are and their fathers who they are. At the film’s end, the two boys return home as friends, and they share a bond with Arnold and what he did to save them both.
Frequently Asked Questions about Smoke Signals
The Smoke Signals movie summary depicts the theme of forgiveness. The main character, Victor, struggles to get along with his late father, who is an alcoholic and leaves him as a kid.
Smoke Signals movie summary shows the stereotypes about Native Americans. These stereotypes are alcoholism, domestic violence, and bartering.
In my opinion, Smoke Signals is a great movie about friendship and reunion. It has a beautiful storyline and cinematography.
The main character, Victor, is a young and honorable man. He is proud of his Native American culture, roots, and heritage. That motivates the viewers a lot and makes them think about their history.
The main character in Smoke Signals is a young man named Victor, who lives in the Native American world. The character is even portrayed by Adam Beach, who is a Native American.
The main movie topic is forgiveness. Also, there are themes of urban poverty, friends reunion, and father and son relations.
My Smoke Signals summary revolves around the movie’s urban poverty, but it has many more themes.
The theme of forgiveness is depicted through the main character, Victor. He tries to forgive his father, who left him and his mother when Victor was a child. On top of that, his father was an alcoholic. Victor struggles because of it but wants to be mature.
Frequently Asked Questions about Winter Bone
The main characters in Winter’s Bone are Ree Dolly, Jessup Dolly, Sonny Dolly, Uncle Teardrop, Blond Milton, Gail Lockrum, and Merab.
The movie depicts the themes of family bonds that are distant and close, gossip and its fast spread, poverty, self-sufficiency, and patriarchy.
Winter’s Bone main theme is family, family relations and close and distant family bonds.
Winter’s Bone was called a feminist movie about an anti-feminist world. The movie focuses on men ruling, patriarchy, and men’s power.
The message of the movie is to show how family ties are important and how a family acts in critical situations. The film shows what things can ruin or unite the family.
Uncle Teardrop is the novel’s antagonist who, after his character development, turns into Ree’s protector and ally.
Works Cited
Craig, David, and Doug Porter. “Poverty reduction strategy papers: a new convergence.” World development 31.1 (2003): 53-69.
Signals, Smoke. “Chris Eyre, dir. 89 min.” Hollywood: Miramax Films (1998).Reeves, Matthew. “Winter’s Bone dir. by Debra Granik.” Hollywood: Winter’s Bone Production (2010).
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