Phase 1 Prompt 2

    The differences between the novel “The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist Fight in Heaven” and the movie “Smoke Signals” are very recognizable. The characters in the film seem extremely different than those in the book. For example, the Thomas in the book does not even compare to the Thomas is “Smoke Signals”. The biggest similarity between the stories is that both show how passionate the characters are about being a “true Native American”. It is important to understand the similarities and differences in “The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist Fight in Heaven” and “Smoke Signals”, but it is also important to understand why those similarities and differences exist.

    In the Smoke Signals, the character Thomas is depicted as nerdy, eccentric, and very smiley.  Where in the book he still seems odd, but also very wise and noble. The film seems to capture the character of Victor a lot better. He still seems annoyed and a little angry with Thomas much like in the books. He also has the very classic Native American look that is described multiple times in the novel. Sherman Alexie states, “every dang Indian in this book is described as being identically dark skinned with the same long black hair”(xxii). Yet the film goes out of its way to make Thomas very different. He is dressed in a nice suit (which is not too surprising because we know from page 13 that Thomas received money from The Washington Water Power), he also where giant glasses, and has his hair in 2 perfect braids. Victor in the film tells Thomas that he needs to “get stoic” in order to be a “better “ Indian. The definition of stoic is, “a person who can endure pain or hardship without showing their feelings or complaining” (dictionary.com).  That is exactly what Thomas is in “The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven”.  When Thomas and Victor was 15 “Victor was really drunk and beat up Thomas for no reason at all” and “the beating might have gone on till Thomas was dead” is someone hadn’t stepped in and stopped the fight (65). Thomas endured that pain and hardship without ever being hateful or complaining about Victor. While on the trip to Arizona Victor finally felt guilty enough to apologize to Thomas. Thomas had forgiven him long before that moment, but replied on with, “Oh it was nothing, we were kids and you were drunk” (67). Bottom line is that the movie clip has Victor telling Thomas to be stoic, when in the novel Thomas was nothing but stoic. People shut him out because of who he was, and never complained once.

     Even though the clips are very different, the overall theme of being a true Native American in the modern times is an important theme in both film and book. In both of the storylines the characters seem to be living the lifestyle of Indians we all know from history, books, and movies. Victor’s explanation of what it means to be Indian is very different in the film than in the book. In the movie, he considers Indians to never smile, dress in worn down clothing, and to embrace the messy hair look. This scene in the film is completely absent in the novel. But the idea of what it means to be an Indian is incorporated throughout the book as well. But in the book you just basically have to be uneducated, unemployed, addicted to alcohol and basketball, and have some serious family issues. The Indians in the novel are not against laughter. In fact, in that very same scene in the book, “This is what it Means to say Phoenix, Arizona,” Thomas tried to pull his leg up like the Olympic gymnast on the plane and, “Victor laughed”(66).  But in the movie clip Victor tells Thomas, “Indians are not suppose to smile like that”. The Victor in the film is almost too serious. We know that in the chapter “A Drug Called Tradition” Victor is anything but serious and against laughter. Junior and Victor pick up Thomas, drive to Benjamin Lake, and embark on a journey of laughter and fun with the help of a new drug they all decide to take (14). This Victor sounds very different than the one in the film who seems uptight and tells Thomas to stop smiling.  

     One thing that surprised me was that I found that Sherman Alexie actually wrote the script for the novel. So, I decided to find out why he would make so many changes. For example, in the clip Thomas and Victor seem to be on a rain or a bus instead of a plane like in the book. What I discovered was the movie budget was only 2 million dollars. I thought that sounded like a lot until I found out that the average movie budget is about 15 million dollars. I think that Alexie had to work with what little materials he had in order to make this movie. That is the perfect example of why the book is ALWAYS better than the movie! 

References:

Alexie, Sherman. The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven. New York: Atlantic Monthly, 1993. Print

"Q&A Categories." What Is the Average Movie Budget for a Hollywood Movie? N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Sept. 2012. <http://hollywood-movies.yoexpert.com/movies/what-is-the-average-movie-budget-for-a-hollywood-m-1403.html>.

"Smoke Signals (film)." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 09 Sept. 2012. Web. 28 Sept. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoke_Signals_(film)>.

"Smoke Signals (3/12) Movie CLIP - How to Be a Real Indian (1998) HD." YouTube. YouTube, 29 Sept. 2011. Web. 28 Sept. 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwcJaUaVfR0>.