SLCC 2nd Semester Final 2015

It's tough for a Native in the modern world, but through sticking together and staying true to one’s roots a person can heal from the pain society unleashes. In the film Reel Injun, Sacheen Littlefeather doesn’t accept the award on Marlon Brando behalf. She says, “He very regretfully cannot accept this very generous award and the reasons for this being; the treatment of American Indians today by the film industry, (boos/applause from the audience) excuse me; and on television and movie reruns and also with recent happenings at wounded knee. I beg at this time that I have not intruded upon this evening, and that we will in the future, our hearts and our understandings will meet with love and generosity. Thanks on behalf of Marlon Brando”. Brando is trying to make a statement by not excepting this award. He is trying to make people aware of the issues individuals from the Native Nations have to go through on a daily basis. Littlefeather is utilizing empathy and trying to connect to her audience to show the pain that she has gone through because of the oppression of individuals in Native Nations. When Native were first introduced to cinema, they were portrayed as inhuman, barbaric, and/or the evil villain which would cause many problems for Native in real life. Russell Means says, '"When we watched the Indians getting slaughtered at the end of every movie... well, my brother would refuse to watch it. Every time that bugle went off and the charge started, my brother - he was a year and a half younger than me - he'd go like this... [bending over, head between knees] ...and he wouldn't look. He wouldn't watch. And we'd come out of those theaters after the, uh, cavalry had rescued the white people, and all of a sudden we'd hear, 'There's those Indians,' and we'd start fighting. We had to fight them white kids. Every Saturday we knew we was gonna get in a fight"' (Reel Injun). No matter the age of the individuals from the Native Nations, the depiction of individuals from the Native Nations in the film industry made many suffer through being treated like inhumane garbage in reality. Everything the majority culture knew about Native people as a people and their culture they learned from cinema, which was an extremely skewed view. Jesse Wente says, "...this is an ingenious act of colonialism, you are essentially robbing nations of an identity and grouping them into one" (Reel Injun). In cinema Native people wore essentially the same clothing, performed the same rituals and ceremonies no matter what Native Nation the director was trying to portrayal. Individuals from the Native Nations had and have put up with a very negative portrayal of their people and culture for years, but through it all many still stand up for what they believe. Charlie Hill says, "We're creative natives. And we're... and we're like the Energizer Bunny. The mightiest nation in the world tried to exterminate us, Anglicize us, Christianize us, Americanize us, but we just keep going and going. And I think that Energizer Bunny must be Indian. He's got that little water drum he plays." (Reel Injun) Although Native people had to endure such prejudice throughout their history they have stayed a strong people, and many, true to their customs. Through connection and empathy for people of the Native Nations all of these struggles can be resolved.

Through connecting to nature, one can heal. In the novel Ceremony, Leslie Marmon Silko illustrates how Post Traumatic Stress is affecting the character Tayo. "He could still see the face of the little boy, looking back at him, smiling, and he tried to vomit the image from his head because it was Rocky's smiling face from a long time before, when they were little kids together. He couldn’t vomit any more, and the little face was still there, so he cried at how the world had come undone" (Silko16-17). Tayo wants to forget the innocence of young Rocky because he feels he can't move on if he doesn’t. Tayo starts to heal from his PTS through connecting with Ts'eh, a spirit of nature; in this instance he feels her presence as he sleeps. "The sunlight moved up and down his back like hands, and he felt the muscles of his neck and belly relax; he lay down beside the pool, across from her and closed his eyes. He dreamed he made love with her there. He felt the warm sand on his toes and knees; he felt her body, and it was as warm as the sand, and he couldn't feel where her body ended and the sand began" (Silko 206). He feels at peace with himself and nature and Ts'eh is helping him heal. Another way Tayo connects and heals in the novel Ceremony is by taking care of spotted cattle. “The cattle give Tayo a reason to follow the land, to bring back the rain and thereby to heal his emotional wounds in the process. In searching for the spotted cattle, he is searching for a direct connection to the land. Before Josiah passed away, Tayo promised to watch over and take care of his spotted cattle. He realizes, therefore, that by finding the spotted cattle and bringing back water, he will also honor the commitment to Josiah and continue his healing ceremony. As spirit guides, the spotted cattle help Tayo connect with the desert and mountains, to learn to forgive, to release the guilt, and to realize the healing power of love” (Blumenthal, 377). Throughout the novel Ceremony, Tayo learns how to connect with nature to get the healing he needs to overcome the PTS from his past. Through connection one can overcome detrimental trauma.

Humanity can take care of one another. Joseph Garner went out to see if the Internet made the world more sociable or more isolated because of social media and other ways to connect without going out and having face to face contact. Garner took on this task in the movie Craigslist Joe. "Some say we've lost the sense of community, that used to carry us through tough times. Some say technology and social media fuel this isolation. Have we become so caught up in our own lives, that we don't notice life outside our bubble? In my own small way, I'm going to try to find out." He finds in this movie that there will always be people out in the world that want to help you if your in need and reach out through the internet. After his long journey, surviving with only the clothes on his back and the handouts from people on craigslist, Garner results were incredible. "The generosity of people, and like the stories they shared, and the connections I made, in one month, was so deep. Meeting everyone and telling them my story, and the journey, and having people invite a complete stranger into their homes and feed me and go out and share their-selves and their lives with me; It was truly inspiring on humanity, to know that we can take care of each other" (Craigslist Joe). The people Garner meets give him food out of the goodness of their hearts. Random people are very supportive of a complete stranger to try to spread a message that humans are naturally supportive and empathetic to those in need. Daisy, one of the people Garner meets through his travels, is a dominatrix, who kicks men in the balls for a living. "Their is always like the phycological approach to like why would somebody do that like I want to know that person" (Craigslist Joe). Daisy chose her job because she wants to connect with strangers to get a better understanding of why people want to be physically abused for pleasure. Through connection and empathy one can understand what several are going through and help many overcome.

Through empathy humans can help others that they can see are struggling. In the RSA Animated video The Empathic Civilisation, Jeremy Rifkin explains how empathy is a big part of human chemistry. "We are soft-wired to experience another's plight as if we are experiencing it ourselves... We are actually soft-wired for sociability, attachment (as John Bulby might of said), affection, companionship and that the first drive is to actually belong; It's an empathic drive." This evidence suggests humans are not naturally soft wired for aggression, violence, self-interest, and utilitarianism. Rifkin later illustrates how living organisms are connected and need to be aware not only this notion, but also how fragile life is. “So when we talk about building an empathic civilization, we’re not talking about utopia, we’re talking about the ability of human beings to show solidarity, not only with each other but our fellow creatures who have a one and only life on this little planet” (Rifkin). Through the acknowledgement of death and the understanding of suffering and mortality organisms utilize empathy to stay connected. Rifkin then goes on to explain how through empathy we can accomplish anything as a human species. “We have the technology that allows us to extend the central nervous system and to think viscerally as a family, not just intellectually. When that earthquake hit Haiti and then Chile, but especially Haiti. Within an hour the twitters came out and within two hours some cell phone videos, YouTube, and within three hours the whole human race was in an empathic embrace coming to the aid of Haiti.” Without empathy human beings could never accomplish any task involving the extension of a helping hand. Through an empathic connection the human race can overcome any struggle.

Some must sacrifice, for others to live. In the beginning of the film Seven Pounds, Ben aka Tim was very cruel to a blind man named Ezra as a part of a test to see if Ezra is a good person. “Well I apologize for being so cruel to you, but I had to be certain. I had to be certain that you we’re a decent man, kind, slow to anger.’ ‘What do you want from me?’ ‘I want to give you a gift. You’re going to be contacted by a man named Dan Morris; you can trust him.’ ‘Was that you at the diner?’ “Goodbye.”’ Ben wants to give back seven lives to the world that he has taken away through causing a car wreck where he was the only person out of eight who survived. So he decides to give his eyes to Ezra as a part of his goal to give seven pounds of flesh for his wrongdoing. Emily, a woman with heart issues, owns a dog with heart issues to feel a connection and to help her heal. “Did you know that great Danes on average only live about seven years? They have heart issues. I think I got him cause thought he could help me with my illness. It’ll be something I can take car of as opposed to always being taken care of… I haven’t felt like this in a really long time” (Seven Pounds). In this scene Emily is feeling a connection with Ben, which is raising her spirits and helping her cope with her illness. Ben donates bone marrow to a kid he’d never met before in need. “No anesthetic. You ever donate bone marrow before? You’re a brave guy. How long have you known Nicholas?” (Seven Pounds). Ben doesn’t use anesthetic as a form of punishment for killing the people in the car wreck. Through connection and empathy for others everyone was able to heal at the end of Seven pounds, besides Ben who took his own life to help others in need.

ThingLink

Music Video / Image

AlunaGeorge - Attracting Flies

The lighting gives it a euphoric fairytale type effect. Montage of Modern day princesses/fairytales; Rapunzel, Red Riding Hood, Sleeping Beauty, Goldilocks. Low lighting during Red-Riding Hood etc. Shows a man with his dog in a car watching Red Riding Hood in low lighting. The man is the modern day wolf. Shows her as Repunzel letting her hair out of her castle (which is a pat farm symbolizing that she is numbing her senses till she finds her prince. Sitting with three burly men representing the three bears from Goldilocks. The story/plot seems like she's been let down by a lot of men who had big promises they could never keep. We see a shot of a man in all black and at night he finds a knife in a stone that he pulls out and they edit the video so that it zooms in on the knife (the sword in the stone). Using frontality to sing to the camera. Colorful lighting, but dark sets (Contrast) with a mixture of bright and dark colors. She has a pill (pea) under her mattresses, that's probably helping her get through the grieving process.

Delta Heavy - Get By

The images go to the beat of the music. The man is not in a good place, because he is killing all these innocent game pieces, like a monster. He's chopping up games because it's like chopping up music samples to create one fluid song. First person POV, looking down on the games, focusing on the sad faces to show that games have feelings to and brings the song to life. Each game moves to the music's rhythm. The story is bringing a bunch of music together to become a final product, almost like a hotdog. He's remaking the whole song by listening to his original copy, using a record player too. Games represent a different genre of music and he's combining them all together. Close up shot of the games faces to bring it to life. Focus on the game pieces being chopped up using animation to bring these inanimate objects to life. Framing to the shot to show that he's the creator. Mise en scene, creating a wood plank which is like the canvas for the music and the games are the samples he's chopping up. The pile of chopped up stuff games, to create one game. The original pile is his original idea and he is adding to it.  

Movie - Under The Skin

Reflecting off of herself, looking at her own image. Feeling tortured, try to feel human emotion through pain. Looking at her past and who she is as a person to try to gain that emotion.

Movie - The Godfather

Torn on a decision, guy is telling him to go to the dark-side, but isn't sure what to do. Rose over his heart symbolizing a good man. Their is still a small light in the darkness showing good person that's been turned bad. Look like they're playing a game, like poker. Can tell his attitude is confused, telling him to come closed, secrets, doesn't like what he is hearing or seeing. Lighting in the background is very bright, deep darks and lights.

Movie - The Dark Knight

Evil, hiding behind his jokes trying conceal his craziness. Focusing on his eyes, which are dark and full of pain and sorrow. Blood is covering the Joker card, meaning there is blood on his hands, he has killed many people.

Craigslist Joe and The Empathic Civilization

In the RSA Animated video The Empathic Civilisation, Jeremy Rifkin explains
"We are soft-wired to experience another's plight as if we are experiencing it ourselves... We are actually soft-wired for sociability, attachment (as John Bulby might of said), affection, companionship and that the first drive is to actually belong; It's an empathic drive" (Rifkin).
"The generosity of people, and like the stories they shared, and the connections I made, in one month, was so deep. Meeting everyone and telling them my story, and the journey, and having people invite a complete stranger into their homes and feed me and go out and share their-selves and their lives with me; It was truly inspiring on humanity, to know that we can take care of each other" (Craigslist Joe).Daisy, one of the people Joe meets through his travels is a dominatrix, who kicks men in the balls for a living. "Their is always like the phycological approach to like why would somebody do that like I want to know that person" (Craigslist Joe).

Chapter 2 and beginning analysis of Craigslist Joe

In the second chapter of the book Your Edentity, Stephanie Vie explains more of the development of communication through the development of the steam powered cylinder press and radio.
"Movable type and hand-cranked presses were state of the art until the early 19th century, when a steam-powered cylinder press was perfected in England" (Vie 25). This invention sped up the process of people obtaining new information from the newspapers printed quickly from these machines. The development of technology available for mass communication was now in the works. Eventually they developed a medium where everyone could stay updated on current events, the radio. "radio's more important function was as a mass medium for news and entertainment. For the first time, people could hear news as it was happening..." (Vie 29) The radio was one of the biggest inventions of the 20th century because obtaining information as it is happening near you, is huge breakthrough in communication. Eventually the internet was invented and now we can contact anyone else in the world, who has a computer and a signal. A man named Joseph Garner went out to see if this technology made the world more sociable or more isolated because of social media and other ways to connect without having to go out and talking face to face. Garner took on this task in the movie Craigslist Joe. "Some say we've lost the sense of community, that used to carry us through tough times. Some say technology and social media fuel this isolation. Have we become so caught up in our own lives, that we don't notice life outside our bubble. In my own small way, I'm going to try to find out" (Craigslist Joe). He finds in this movie that there will always be people out in the world that want to help you if your in need and reach out through the internet.

History of Communication

In the first chapter of the book Your Edentity, Stephanie Vie explains the effect of technology on communication, culture, and how profitable communication in society is. Towards the beginning of the book, Vie explains how much communication through technology effects peoples values and personalities by exposing them to new information quickly. "...media effects can also be far more significant, such as changing a person's cultural attitudes and behavior. This later more complex effect causes many people to be disturbed by the mass media and their influences on our culture. Concern about excessive sex and violence in the media and their influences on our culture" (Vie 13). People stay connected online to the point where in person connection has decreased exponentially over the past 15 years. Vie towards the middle of this chapter conveys that the way we communicate through technology is a powerhouse for profits. "The mass media are the channels used in mass communication. In addition to providing information and entertainment, U.S. mass media are in the business of making money, earning more than $150 billion by the end of the 20th century" (Vie 18). It makes sense that communication through technology is a multi-billion dollar power structure because it's a human trait to want to be connected. Neil deGrasse Tyson conveys this point further through the use of science. "I look up–many people feel small because their small and the universe is big, but I feel big because my atoms came from those stars...is a level of connectivity. That's really what you want in life, you wanna feel connected, you wanna feel relevant, you wanna feel like you're a participant in the goings on of activities and events around you. That's precisely what we are, just by being alive" (Tyson).  The internet that is used by billions of users everyday, is an easy way to stay connected with everything in the world including billions besides you using it.                                                        

Smoke Signals Analysis

In the movie Smoke Signals directed by Chris Eyre, Eyre explains how Post Traumatic Stress has affected the character Victor Joseph, how our father's pasts effect our futures, and how racism has affected individuals from the various Native Nations. Victor's father Arnold fought in a war and also killed Thomas's parents which caused him to drink and ultimately affect Victor's well being. Eyre conveys a conversation between Thomas and Victor, "Your father saved my life' 'Thomas you don't even know my father. Did you know that my father was the one that set your parent's house on fire? Did you know that my father beat my mother? Did you know that my father beat me too?' 'All I know is that when your father left your mother lost you too.' 'Thomas I wish that fire had killed you.' 'Victor LOOK OUT!"' (Smoke Signals). Arnold has had a tough past and because of this his Post Traumatic Stress has affected everyone he loves, especially Victor. Arnold tries to heal by leaving his family and finding Suzy Song, who became Arnold's Ts'eh and allowed him to heal like Tayo in Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko. Can Victor ever forgive Arnold for beating his mother and him or his actions that led up to the beatings. Eyre conveys, "How do we forgive our fathers? Maybe in a dream. Do we forgive our fathers for leaving us too often, or forever, when we were little? Maybe for scaring us with unexpected rage, or making us nervous because there never seemed to be any rage there at all? Do we forgive our fathers for marrying, or not marrying, our mothers? Or divorcing, or not divorcing, our mothers? And shall we forgive them for their excesses of warmth or coldness? Shall we forgive them for pushing, or leaning? For shutting doors or speaking through walls? For never speaking, or never being silent? Do we forgive our fathers in our age, or in theirs? Or in their deaths, saying it to them or not saying it. If we forgive our fathers, what is left?" (Smoke Signals). Victor's father's past dramatically affects Victor's future. If Victor's father never fought in a war than Arnold wouldn't have Post Traumatic Stress, which in turn would mean he wouldn't beat his wife or his son. If Victor forgave Arnold for being the man he has become and suppressed those memories of him, then Victor couldn't understand why Arnold has changed from his traumatic experiences. In this film, we also see how individuals from the various Native Nations are treated by the white people. Eyre conveys, "This man apparently wants to press charges against you. He said and I quote 'you assaulted him and pushed him to the ground.' 'That's bullshit.' 'Mr. Joseph there's no need for that type of language. Mr. Johnson's wife Holly says he's, and I quote, 'a complete asshole"' (Smoke Signals). This shows that the cops needed to have the proof from his white wife that the white husband was an asshole because there was no way this cop was going to believe two Native American men.