Contextual Anaylsis free essay sample

Stereotypes are a big problem in our society. Most stereotypes tend to convey negative impressions towards a certain ethnic group. Furthermore, people tend to judge a group based on their assumptions or experiences. It can also cause a misconception of how people are and how they live in other cultures, religions and countries. On the subject of this, in the film Smoke Signals directed by Sherman Alexie two Native American men making a journey out of their reservation to gather the belongings and ashes of one of their father’s stuff. At the end of this film portrays the nature of Native Americans stereotypes and also brainwashes people into believing Native Americans are always angry and stupid. Smoke Signals effectively exposes the non-native audience to Native American perspectives and life experiences through everyday life. Likewise, Chimamanda Adiche conveys the idea of stereotyping people make in her story, â€Å"The Danger of the Single Story†, in which she uses her personal stories and experiences to illustrate â€Å"The Danger of a Single Story†(Adichie) people tend to believe based on assumptions and inferences. In Adiche speech, she conveys the idea Native Americans have been severely stereotyped in the United States and then leads to false misjudgments. Thus, Smoke Signals is a humorous and meaningful film that challenges the â€Å"single story† of Native Americans as savages, alcoholics, and uneducated. â€Å"The Danger of a Single Story†(Adichie) in the same context of Smoke Signals portrays â€Å"the Single Story†(Adichie) of Native Americans to be brutal, violent, and ignorant from another perspective of how Native Americans should act like. It can also be said Native Americans can be uncivilized because of the way they act in public or the way they dress. In other words, Native Americans have been misrepresented for years. Through Adiche speech, she explains her experience in believing a â€Å"Single Story†(Adichie) about Mexico. The â€Å"Single Story†(Adichie) about Mexico is people sneaking across the boarder and being arrested at the border was what everyone had assumed Mexico was like. Once Chimamanda Adiche had found out on her own of how Mexico is really like, she knew that Mexico is like any other place and not as what people had said. With regards to Smoke Signals, the two Native American characters Victor and Thomas stop at a gas station because Victor is teaching Thomas, who is a nerdy native and has a smile as bright as the sun, about acting like a real Native. He tells Thomas in a strong voice â€Å"Keep stoic. You gotta look mean or people wont respect you. You gotta look like a warrior! † (Smoke Signals). Victor is trying to instill Thomas to look and act mean or people will not respect you. From Victor’s choice of words, he tries to seem scary or intimating to get the people around him to be frightening. While getting back on the bus, two other men take their seats and don’t let them have their seats back, even though Thomas and Victor act tough and stand up for what’s right. Despite not getting their seats back and standing up for themselves, Native Americans are not savages or violent. They tried to act tough but really they were standing up for what they believed is wrongful doing and they are not afraid to face any challenges or danger. By that they are said to be savages or uncivilized because they don’t follow as plan or go against something that they believe is right just like what had happen in the scene on the bus, where they tried to get their seats back. All above Smoke Signals, reinforces the â€Å"Signal Story†(Adichie) of how Native Americans are savages and fierce by like by using the characters to show everyone how a real Native should be like such as going against someone but really they just voice out their opinions. Many people tend to perceive that all Native Americans are alcoholics because we drink alcohol and have difficulty with the use alcohol. This is simply not true, not all Native Americans are alcoholics, we are all different and not the same. Most Native Americans don’t even drink or rely on alcohol because of their problems. Similarly, in Adichie story she had explained her roommate had a â€Å"Single Story†(Adichie) of her being into tribal music and not being able to speak English. The â€Å"Single Story†(Adichie) of Africans is how they should be like, seen in movies such as poor and uneducated,â€Å"A Single Story of Catastrophe†(Adichie) but Adiche is fully educated and speaks well English. Her roommate had stereotyped Adichie to be the way she thought African Americans should be but Adichie had blown her way of how and who she really is. In the same way, the film Smoke Signals displays stereotyping a Native American father dealing with alcoholism which then leads to a dysfunctional family because he was the reason why Thomas’s family had died in the fire and for that he feels guilty and results to alcohol for comfort. Thomas’s family is messed up because he’s father left them to escape reality and to also go to Phoenix where he then also carries on his alcohol problems to another family, which also destroys the family apart as well. Another stereotype in the movie Smoke Signals (Alexie) is when Victor is talking to a police officer and says â€Å"I dont drink, never had a drop of alcohol in my life, not a drop† and then the officer says, â€Å"What kind of Indian are you? † The officer had assumed Victor was also an alcoholic just because of his father who was an alcoholic. Based off this scene in the movie, the â€Å"Single Story† the officer had about Victor a Native American is that he was an alcoholic just like his dad. To conclude, the â€Å"Single Story†(Adichie) of Native Americans, people think that they are alcoholics and rely on alcohol for their problems but in reality Native American have a little tolerance for alcohol and are intoxicated on small amounts that influences Americans thinking we are alcoholics. In other words, the use of the alcoholism through the film Smoke Signals sees â€Å"The Single Story†(Adiche) by Native Americans are alcoholics. Eventually, the connection between Smoke Signals (Alexie) and â€Å"The Danger of a Single Story† (Adichie) is that most of the time we all see people different and then base our assumptions off of that and to conclude our final result. It is said Native Americans are not capable of completing school or educating themselves but this is untrue hundreds of Native American students graduate from high schools and universities every year. Most Native Americans are educated at the secondary school level and many of them obtain higher education degrees at the finest universities in the United States becoming doctors, lawyers and even college professors. On the subject of education, in Smoke Signals stereotypes the two main characters being uneducated because they do not have a job, still living with their families and hardly have any money to make it to Phoenix, Arizona. One part of the film displays Native Americans as uneducated and stupid is when Victor yells at Thomas â€Å"You don’t know anything. †(Smoke Signals). In the quote, Victor is trying to tell Thomas all about he’s experience with his father to him but Victor yells at him, telling him he’s stupid and he should just be quite. This part of the film characterizes Native Americans being dumb and unknowledgeable. Identically, in Adichie speech relates by talking about her experience living at a university with her roommate who had also had a â€Å"Single Story† of African Americans being uneducated, not able to speck well English, and unable to use common household stove but Chimamanda had proved her wrong. Chimamanda had spoken well English and was into today’s pop culture music, she was a regular person. Her roommate had guessed her wrong about being an African American who was into tribal music and into her roots. More importantly, â€Å"The Danger of a Single Story† and the film Smoke Signals both portrays that many people have the misconception of certain ethic groups being a certain way because of how todays society displays ethic groups in movies that brainwashes people to thinking this way. It can be consider, that Native American stereotypes can lead to inspiration such as a mascot in sports and fashion in clothing. People think that Native Americans feel honored to have their culture displayed in public but no this is all wrong. Native Americans feel offended and humiliated. People who are not even Native Americans are wearing Native American culture on themselves and is being disrespecting and dishonoring. Imagine, a Native American wearing a cassock because he thinks it’s cool to wear and it’s in today’s fashion. Think about how a priest would feel about someone disrespecting he’s attire and it would be upsetting and rude. Again, Native Americans are mascots for sport such as Cleveland Braves in baseball. People stereotype that Native American to be fierce and mighty, so they use the face of a Native American as a mascot to show the opposing team they are fierce and might so they can win the game. Further, the stereotyping influences other ethnic groups to also be stereotype as a mascot or use their culture designs in fashion. Overall, stereotyping results to violence and hatred against a group of people. The stereotyping and discrimination against Native Americans is the longest held racism in the United States that aspects Smoke Signals can be a deceiving film of how Native Americans can be like. However, each story’s conflicts are caused by the same underlying problems and concepts. It is foreseen that the â€Å"Single Story† of all Native Americans are based off assumptions people make about them which is being savages and lacking American characteristics. Both film Smoke Signals and â€Å"The Danger of a Single Story† illustrates the stereotyping of Native Americans and how one can judge an ethnic group based on speculation.