In a collaboration between the Anthropology and Media Arts departments, the film “Smoke Signals” was screened in the Multicultural Center on May 14.
After the screening, Department Chair of Anthropology Erin Hayes introduced the film’s panelists—Kenneth Windrum and Nora Sweeney of the Media Arts department and Vincent Whipple of Native American Studies. Students attended and directed questions to the panelists.
Windrum shared how he perceived the humor in the film.
“And I thought the comedy of it, the use of irony in comedy, referencing a lot of darkness, there’s resilience in that,” Windrum said.
The panelists’ discussion highlighted the theme of cultural heritage in the film, with cinematic elements of Native Americans using comedy to combat stereotypes.
“That was really powerful, juxtaposing the landscape with this family history at the same time,” Sweeney said. “You can kind of put sound and image together and create more depth of meaning.”
Historical trauma was another theme Whipple noticed, and mentioned he knew a few of the actors.
“I think when I watched that, again, going back, a lot of the imagery for me was very satisfying,” Whipple said. “But I know some of the actors too. So I know that in a sense they were trying to make a convincing, believable image and a believable characterization through there.”
