#Smoke signals cast movie#

Thomas, pictured on the right, looks like that for maybe ten minutes. For example, the poster for the film is deceptive and Thomas’ appearance isn’t quite so conventional. His mother (Cardinal) gave up drinking when she saw how it affected Victor and indeed, one of the main themes of the film is overcoming the past. He clearly had and still has an issue with his parent’s drinking as he proudly asserts he’s never had a drink in his life. Victor’s parents were both alcoholics and as a result, Victor was neglected as a child. Smoke Signals deals heavily with the impact of alcohol abuse, but it also makes sure to treat the issues in a balanced manner. In my entry about Drunktown’s Finest, I discussed depictions of alcoholism on the reservation. Smoke Signals features one of these cars and it’s so terrible that it has to be driven backwards. The “rez car” is the one car that everyone has to share and it’s usually a piece of junk. One such instance is the existence of the “rez car”, a common fixture on many reservations. I hate it when people spoil jokes, so I’ll do my best not to reveal too many, but I will say that the film is unafraid to make fun of stereotypes and poke fun at reservation life. Smoke Signals deals with a number of issues, from alcohol abuse on reservations to white perceptions of Native Americans. Gary Farmer, Tantoo Cardinal, and Irene Bedard star in supporting roles. Along with the eccentric storyteller Thomas Builds-the-Fire (played wonderfully by Evan Adams), Victor embarks on a trip to bring his father back to Couer d’Alene. Victor Joseph (the lovely Adam Beach), a young man, discovers that his father who ran off to Phoenix, Arizona when Victor was young, has died. The film centers on characters from the Spokane reservation in Idaho. It also has an entirely indigenous production team from its director to its producers, something that was pretty much unheard of at the time and is still notable.

#Smoke signals cast movie#

“Hey, Victor!” I’m finally getting to the movie that provides the main image for this blog! Took me long enough, didn’t it? Released in 1998 and directed by Chris Eyre, Smoke Signals is an adaptation of Sherman Alexie’s story, “This Is What It Means To Say Phoenix, Arizona”, found in the collection The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven. Smoke Signals is still one of my favorite movies, and though Alexie is one of the most important figures in the production of the film, not supporting the film means not supporting the cast and crew, who worked hard to make it. In my opinion, instead of outright banning creators, we should acknowledge a creator’s wrongdoings when we assess their works. But if we only ever support creators who are ideologically pure, we can’t support anyone. If it makes you too uncomfortable to engage with his work, that’s valid. Some people have tried to boycott Alexie’s works, which is a move that I don’t necessarily agree with. He at least apologized, which is more than some people can say.

My take? What Alexie did was wrong, no question about it. Alexie, under the pretense that he wanted to advise them on their writing, made unwanted sexual advances on at least three aspiring authors. Sherman Alexie, who wrote the screenplay for Smoke Signals, as well as the short story the film is based on, came under fire in 2018 for sexually harassing female writers.

Before we begin, I will address the elephant in the room (tw: sexual harassment).