The film Thunder heart is a mind-absorbing movie that is founded on factual events that took place in the 1970s on the Ogala Sioux Reservation. The primary character is Ray Levoi, who is played by Val Kilmer. Val Kilmer is a quarter Indian, and he sent to the badlands by FBI to resolve a murder that happened at the reservation. This essay seeks to examine the planning issues which include how the Native American culture can be judges, the insight about the Native American culture in relation to lack of understanding of the culture, cultural awakening, social network and social kinship, cultural awareness and assimilation and education. The mentioned pillars will guide this analysis from the beginning to the end.
As a point of departure, the film Thunder Heart represents the crack in the cultural pattern. The gap between the Americans and the Native Americans is seen to increase, and the conclusion on how the Native American culture is judged remains a predominant in the film the Thunder Heart. The Americans believe that their culture, which includes spiritual and religious matters, is superior. This perception motivates the need for assimilation of the Native American culture. This is an indication of how inferior, the Americans perceived the Native American culture (Sternlieb and Hughes, 35). In addition, the Native Americans were viewed as outsiders and savages with inferior beliefs. In essence, in the film Thunder Heart, the Native Americans are viewed as inferior; and for them to continue living in the United States, they should abandon their cultural beliefs and are assimilated into the American culture, which is perceived as superior. One can ask the motivation of the American’s perception on the Natives’ culture. In the badlands, we see an Eagle perceived as a sacred messenger of the Lakota (Sternlieb and Hughes, 32). It helps in transmitting prayers and supplications from the people to the Great Sprit called Wakna Tanka. Don’t you think, such beliefs can be perceived as primitive and urgent need fro assimilation is a solution? The audience keeps following to see whether the anticipated assimilation will take place. This incident brings us to the question that, the Americans did not have adequate knowledge about the American Native culture, and that is why they wanted to eliminate it. For instance, the religious aspects of the real life and ghost life associated with the Natives were unheard amongst the Americans. However, the question posed to the audience is whether the lack of understanding of the native culture was the sole reason for the conflict and desire to push them out of their lands. To answer this question, the film indicates at the beginning that, the Americans had felt jealousy on the way the Natives had acquired fertile lands across the North and some parts of the South. The Americans were aggravated by the fact that the Natives being an inferior group attributed to an inferior culture were not supposed to own land in areas perceived to be important to the Natives.
If this question of lack of adequate information about the Native American’s culture is answered then, this study will seek to line the aspect of fractured identity with a culture. The primary actor in this film, Val Kilmer-Levoi who is a quarter Indian, is sent from Washington to the badlands to help the people come out of their traditional cocoons and move them to the modern world and the future (Sternlieb and Hughes, 37). The aspect of culture awakening is seen in this incident. Levoi asserts that he is from the United States instead of confirming his Indian ancestry, Levoi is sent as FBI to represents the interests of the Natives, however on his way to the badlands, he feels change of atmosphere and his cultural root begins to haunt him. However, the aspect of cultural identity fracture continues to be seen when, Levoi refuse to admit that he is of Indian ancestry. At this point, the question that pegs the audience is whether cultural awakening will be realized at the end of the film.
As indicated in the film, the events unfold and motivates Levoi’s comeback to his original roots founded in the Indian ancestry. The spirit of cultural awakening integrated with individuation motivates Levoi to consider between colonized self and colonizing self, enforcer of socio-political status quo versus the post-colonial agent of change. The process of individuation involves the confrontation with the shadow and conquest of the ego. As the film continues, we see Levoi going past his stubbornness and coming to terms with his cultural roots. He realizes that his people’s culture is not inferior as purported by the Americans. He sees the sense of the Aboriginal Rights Movement (ARM), and he begins appreciating the culture of his people. This incident gives the audience the answer that they needed most (Sternlieb and Hughes, 34). Levoi evidences the aspect of cultural awakening in the film the Thunder heart as he comes to terms with what his people were undergoing under the Americas government.
The aspect of social network and kinship is evidenced in the film by the death of Thunder heart and the continued connection with the living. Thunder heart connect with Levoi though the spirits in a bid to save his people. This kind of social network is attributed to the Native American’s culture, which seems to be primitive to the Americans. They do not understand how the death and living connect and thrive in the social life. It is imperative to note that the Great Spirit enhances kinship connection, and this is believed to be a fundamental element of the Native American’s cultural and religious beliefs, which Levoi tried to avoid. The strength of the social and kinship connection is seen to work in the relationship between Thunder heart and Levoi, they connect spiritually. This aspect of connection is hard to comprehend, particularly for individuals who do not understand the Native American cultural pattern.
The issue of politics and governance is eminent in the film. The American government is seen using its security and intelligence agents to galvanize the Native Americans. The government is seen supporting the American’s pursuit for the land that belongs to the Natives. The government plays a critical role in hiding the real intension from the natives (Sternlieb and Hughes, 35). The security department to dig deep in the conflict that is affecting the warring communities uses Levoi. However, the intention of using Levoi is not genuine. He is used because he is of Indian origin and can be easily accepted. This incident is an indication of the government’s political scheme to silence the natives. The aspect of education is used to undermine the natives since they are perceived as less educated and primitive.
In conclusion, this study has successfully examined the planning issues, which included how the Native American culture can be judges, the insight about the Native American culture in relation to lack of understanding of the culture, cultural awakening, social network and social kinship, cultural awareness and assimilation and education.
Work cited
George Sternlieb and James Hughes. New York City. 2003. Print
