Part 2 Final

Seven Pounds


          Our lives can never be sure, and they can change in an instant. Mistakes are made and circumstances can be altered. Some people can bounce back emotionally, while some people will be completely consumed by guilt. Seven Pounds is a film that portrays this guilt and the way it can affect someone’s mind set using cinematographic . Ben Thomas crashes his car years before the majority of the movie is set and inadvertently kills seven people, including his newly proposed fiancee. He emotionally dies the day he kills his wife, and since then he is just a dead man walking. We can see this connection through the parallel editing and mise en scene of the car crash and the suicide scene. In the crash scene, there is broken glass all over the ground surrounding Sarah, she is wearing a purple dress, and we can see the frame of the car as it rolls. In Ben’s suicide scene, there is ice around him from the water, his shirt is purple after getting wet from the bath, and the poles from the shower curtain are near him (Seven Pounds). This shows that he died on that same day he killed Sarah. His physical death is presented in the same way as Sarah’s, teaching us that he died in spirit as Sarah died. He is confined in his bathtub the same as the car, and the ice around him is placed in the mise en scene just like the broken window glass surrounding Sarah. For years following the accident, he cannot escape his grief. He spends his time planning and carrying out plans to redeem himself through organ donations, but he cannot escape what he did. He is shown in his beach house with all the shutters closed and very little light, and he is also shown later on, after meeting Emily, in the motel with just one lamp and all the walls and shelves are bare (Seven Pounds). Both of these decors are important. The one in the beach house shows that no amount of material wealth will help him get better, and he will remain in the seemingly endless abyss. The abyss is shown by closed shutters, like he is in a hole. Also, no relationship can fix it because even after he meets Emily, he still is empty. The motel he stays in is barren, with no decorations or extra features. Like his feelings, the motel room is empty and will never be full of life. Another way it consumes him is the way he calculates the time down to a science. Even when he is with Emily and his friend, he is on his watch timing every aspect of how long things take. The editing leading up to the suicide scene shows this by switching back and forth between him doing it and how he is on his watch looking at how much time he has. His mind has been reduced to intelligence, which he has a lot of. Being a NASA engineer he can easily plan out the extravagant death to preserve his organs. This is all he has left because his emotions are scraped out. It is true that what Ben goes through is particularly tough, but he cannot overcome it. His guilt destroys him and this is common with very traumatic mistakes.

PressPausePlay

Art and entertainment have been around for centuries, and many different styles have been created. There are different formats for the creation of art, including collaboration and technology. Collaboration lets people with different views come together and create a single piece encompassing varying ideas. It diversifies a style of art and allows for more variety when working on the same platform. Olafur Arnalds breaches the traditional method of a musician being in charge of every part of their final product. He allows and encourages different views to be able to come together to assemble what he will release. He says, “Why can’t the fans also inspire me, and we can work together to make an interesting collaboration” (PressPausePlay). He realized that although his music contains great power to inspire others, he has much to learn as well. He can’t think of an manifest every option and every possibility, so by allowing creative input his own work will be more complex and inspirational. This is different from many artists who just create music and visuals from their own mind. The film industry is generally based upon the same concept of isolated jobs. Normally each person does their own job and then eventually they all get put together. Shiloh production is a company that mushes it all together, allowing everyone to provide input on each step in production. Tracy Chandler of Shiloh says, “It’s not about whether something is better or worse...it’s just that it can be different because you’re coming from another perspective” (PressPausePlay). It is true that many people work on a traditionally produced film, but each piece is just an individual working on it. Her philosophy is that each section can be improved through added input from everyone. It might end up better or worse, but the idea is that it can lead to pieces that would never have come about because they include many views. Having many people work together can lead to greater beauty in art, but sometimes there requires a way to get the message across. Technology and it’s development have allow easy sharing and distribution of art to people who otherwise wouldn't have the means to experience it. Sean Parker created a site called Napster which facilitates sharing of mp3 files online. Parker says, “The vision behind Napster in the very early stages was just to come up with a system that made the sharing of mp3s so easy” (PressPausePlay). Before any sites like this music could only be shared by physical distribution or live shows, so this is huge in catalyzing inspiration. It puts music out there so easily and lets people discover new music after a few clicks on the computer. Art has always held an important role in human history, and recent developments allow for more easy and quick distribution and creation of new forms of art.

Visual Literacy


Since the development of film and video as a form of entertainment, methods of using this have been created. Cinematography is a way for filmmakers to use subtle hints to convey messages that might be uncomfortable if shared outright. It leads to greater depth and meaning that just moving pictures that tell a simple story. In Rise Against’s music video for Hero of War, they employ these methods to describe the PTSD that many soldiers return from war with. One recurring image in the video is a infrared shot of the soldier, taking place after his return from battle. It is edited in throughout the video and in one scene it shows him applying shaving cream becoming disturbed (Hero of War). The editing is important because it shows the distress the soldier is in. It shows it throughout the video to say that the soldier was having a hard time throughout the entirety of his service and it got worse as time goes on. The diegesis of using the shaving cream is that it triggers a memory of putting on warpaint. This makes him remember what he did after putting on the warpaint. There is also an important sequence towards the end of the video that shows it flashing between war and home. It shows him fighting, then him with his girl, then back to fighting, then him emotionless after having sex with his girlfriend back home after the war (Hero of War). It shows them intertwined like this to stress that it is because of what happened at war that is preventing him from a full life afterwards. He is with his girlfriend who he was so happy with before, and he can’t connect with her emotionally because of his guilt and pain for what he did when he was away. The video also employs a flash forward to give a hint as to what he will go through after the war. It is in the middle of a scene of him at war, in a gunfight. It shows the soldier fighting, then it flashes forward to what is presumably a welcome home party. All of his family and his girlfriend are happy and interacting with him, but his face is showing pain and he is not in on the fun (Hero of War). The meaning of the flash forward is just as it seems, it is showing what will happen in the future. The lyrics describe the camaraderie between the soldiers and how good of an experience it was, but it reveals that it will soon be bad for him because the joy will not last. The use of these visual tools is important in depicting the message, because the lyrics suggest otherwise. They talk about the honor and  good things of war, but they are sarcastic. Using the video techniques the artist can tell the audience their opposition to war but more artistically and discreetly.

Craigslist Joe


In the past century, the way people interact with strangers has been changed completely. It used to be that people would show hospitality and care to people they had never met, and it was expected to do so. Now things have done a one hundred and eighty degree turn. We teach that strangers are dangerous and to be avoided. Although there is unfortunately true for some instances, we can still put faith in humanity and trust strangers to pull through. In the documentary Craigslist Joe, a man puts his faith all in the goodwill of others and lives of craigslist for a month. He analyses the current status of how we view those we don’t know and tries to disprove it. Joe says, “Some say we've lost the sense of community that used to get us through hard times” (Craigslist Joe). Joe looks at society as a whole and realizes that there is considerable pessimism towards the goodwill of others. He acknowledges that most people probably wouldn't trust in the community to get them through, and  sheds light on the fact that many people will try to go it alone when the going gets rough. He puts it on himself to go out and change this view, by dedicating himself to help and be helped. He comes across a woman in dire need of organization. He says to her, “I’m here to help...whatever you need” (Craigslist Joe). It is quite obvious that the woman is in need of psychological help, but he puts all judgments on hold. Instead of complaining that people don’t care for each other anymore, he goes out and cares for this woman. He is a shining example of how to act in these situations by doing selfless service. By looking past all the things that people would normally to get out of helping her, he changes a life and inspires others to do the same through his film. He shows compassion that will carry her through, and she will think on that if the opportunity comes for her to help someone else in need. This chain reaction of service and caring is what we need to revert back to a society that relies on caring for others to keep people going through hard times. Despite many people thinking that it is embarrassing to ask for help, or putting a burden to ask for it, he goes and puts his safety on the line. He knows the dangers but realizes one important statement after his trial. “We can take care of each other” (Craigslist Joe). This simple statement just demonstrates everything that Joe went through during his experiment. By putting our trust in others, we will understand that others are putting their trust in us. More often than not, a person will have the means to provide for someone else. If the attitude can change, then it will result in a change in culture that everyone will be taken care of. In times of prosperity, you can help someone who is in a time of need. A symbiotic relationship like this will help bring us back to a community that works on everyone helping and receiving aid, leaving no one behind.

Ceremony


Unless directly attacked by a stronger force, a culture and traditions can withstand great opposition and keep true throughout centuries. This prevents too radical and too quick of evolving in societies, but they still change. This is change is because individuals will always be changing and altering the way they live the culture. As people find themselves, their views change and their culture helps them stay close to where their roots are. In Ceremony, Tayo is faced with great opposition to his culture, and has to find where he belongs personally. With the contrasting views of the traditional native culture and the drinking and war, he is stuck halfway on both sides. He eventually finds the middle ground which is where he belongs. “He had studied those books. The science books explained the causes and effects...everywhere he looked, he saw a world made of stories” (Silko 87,89). Here Tayo accepts the benefits to both cultures that are pulling at him. Unlike his friends, he retains and appreciates the ancient stories and explanations for nature, but also realizes there is value in understanding the way things work. While his grandmother promoted that the only explanation was the ancient stories, and the school said that those were useless, he had to learn about himself before he could have an opinion as to where on the spectrum he stood. The traditional ways will stay the same, but he can gradually change himself through acceptance of all sides. When he goes to a native healer, he is taught of the importance in looking at ourselves before blaming others. As opposed to sitting around, drinking, and complaining about white people, Tayo begins to look at himself as to why he is the way he is. The healers teaches that “That is the trickery...they want us to believe all evil resides with white people...then we will look no further to see what is really happening” (Silko 122). This is wise because if we always look to others as to why we are not happy or progressing, we will continue on that path of going nowhere. Again, this is where we see how it is necessary for a person to examine their own faults and benefits. Humans are complex beings and no aspect of who we are can be explained by a single outside cause. By learning more about himself, Tayo can see what he are doing wrong and how it changes who he is. After going through this examination of self, Tayo realizes that the problem is not in the way his people are oppressed. He comes to the conclusion that the hatred, drinking, and apathy of all the war vets is what is causing them to feel bad about themselves and others. He returns to them and confirms that this is the problem. “Harley and Leroy were his buddies...but now he was feelings something terrible inside” (Silko 223). After realizing the problem within, it is clear to Tayo when he sees his friends. While he was out and discovering himself from within, they stayed and continued in their ways of self medication and talking about other people’s problems. They made no progress, which made it easy for Tayo to see how much progress could be made. Although he personally made progress in helping himself, he kept and learned to love his culture. It hurts him to see his friends in such a bad life like he used to be in, but he understands that only through personal reflection can a person see what is wrong. The same way that the healer left it up to Tayo, Tayo knows that his friends will never get better unless they can learn more about themselves and find out where progress can be made.

Part 1 Final

Seven Pounds

Braden Pape

Seven Pound Redemption

  Humans sometimes have the opportunity to save, or to take away, the life of another human. This decision is made in accordance to the person’s bravery, sense of duty, moral code, and personal responsibility. Some would say that it is noble to intentionally give your life to save another person.  This sacrifice is sometimes thought to be the ultimate sign of love because you care more about that person than you care about yourself. However, others would say that suicide is the ultimate sin and can be justified by no amount of generosity. These people would usually look at it from a religious side, saying that God alone has the right to decide life and death. Any topic that pulls in morality or religion creates controversy, and the film Seven Pounds addresses one of these topics. Presented in a very sincere and sacrificial way, Ben Thomas kills himself to provide vital organs for those in need. The film is riddled with cinematographic methods used invoke emotion in the viewer. The movie makes a strong point which is contrary to how many people would feel, and presents it in such a way as to make us notice it all at once. Even though Ben Thomas kills 7 people due to not paying attention, he successfully redeems himself and it was morally sound that he sacrificed himself to save lives.
   
  If Ben was capable of having a life devoted to service and deserved to keep his life, then killing himself would not be justified. However, he does not deserve the health and life he is lucky to have because he was mentally in a state which made it impossible for him to contribute. He felt the only thing he can do to make up for the accident he caused was to donate his physical body, because his spirit and his emotions were beyond repair. He emotionally dies the day he kills his wife, and since then he is just a dead man walking around on a mission to redeem himself. We can see this connection through the parallel editing and mise en scene of the car crash and the suicide scene. In the crash scene, there is broken glass all over the ground surrounding Sarah, she is wearing a purple dress, and we can see the frame of the car as it rolls. In Ben’s suicide scene, there is ice around him from the water, his shirt is purple after getting wet from the bath, and the poles from the shower curtain are near him (Seven Pounds). These parallels, and the way the editing makes it look similar, gives the idea that Ben died in that crash in spirit. The deaths are presented in the same way, and tied together with the color of the clothes. He is connected to her through that. The ice is placed out of the water, next to him and looks like pieces of broken safety glass which is the same as the windows of a car. The vehicle for Sarah’s death is recreated as well in Ben’s death. He is enclosed in the bathtub and the pole of the curtain reminds us of the car frame as it rolled. We also see that he can’t move on from her, because he continually dreams about Sarah. These dreams stay with him throughout his mission to save his soul. There is a scene with him driving his car, and then going home to see his wife (Seven Pounds). This is a dream, which we can tell even before he opens his eyes in the real world. We can tell because of the bright exposure, contrasted with the dark lighting before and after this scene. This style of lighting is meant to give a feeling that it is surreal, and is used to indicate a dream. When he wakes up and realizes that he is back in real life, he is visibly depressed about the reality of his situation. His dreams show that he is stuck in the past, and won’t be able to get over being separated from his wife. Right when he wakes up from this dream, we see him in his beach house. He is seen as disappointed and sad that he woke up in his house, alone. Throughout the presentation of the setting, we are provided hints as to how he is feeling. He is seen in various rooms and with various arrangements in the mise en scene. He is shown in his beach house with all the shutters closed and very little light, and he is also shown later on, after meeting Emily, in the motel with just one lamp and all the walls and shelves are bare (Seven Pounds). The first one is important because it tells us that he has little hope of getting better. The darkness signifies that he is in an abyss and cannot reach the surface. He will not get over Sarah. Even with all of the amazing things he has in his life, he will always be stuck in this depression for killing Sarah. The other scene shows that even with an amazing woman like Emily, he is still very sad. The mise en scene of the empty motel room mirrors how empty he feels, and that he has no positive emotions left. Added on to the fact that no material wealth, even the expensive beach house and items inside, will heal his pain, we learn here that no relationship will be able to make him forgive himself. He knows that he will always be depressed, and makes a decision that he thinks will take full advantage of his remaining use. He will never be able to redeem himself otherwise and will not help anyone emotionally.
   
  It is very unfortunate that Ben is incapable of moving past his mistake, but before he leaves the world he gives the priceless gift of life to many. He is aware that there are good people and bad people, and has enough feeling left to be able to sense if a person is generally good or not. He gives his flesh and bone to deserving people in need, and makes sure they will help improve society more than he ever could. Ezra was a man of great patience and depth, but also blind. Ben surveys his character on multiple occasions, and we don’t know why until the unveiling of Ben’s plan. From the phone call scene until the diner, Ben was rude and horrible to Ezra, to test him. In the diner, it is a low-lit room, there is a couple making out next to him in the dark who are both wearing dark clothes, and Ezra is brightly lit with a spotlight from above and he is dressed nicely with warm colors (Seven Pounds). This reflects Ben’s growing image of Ezra. With the bright lighting all on Ezra, we think that he is a good person, despite all the bad around him. The couple shown before is meant to contrast with him and magnify the fact that although he is visibly uncomfortable, seen by his facial expressions, he keeps his composure and remains pleasant. Later on when we find Ezra again in the same colors as he is helping children by playing piano for their choir and it is verified that Ezra is doing well and is deserving of the gift he receives. Another one of Ben’s gifts is given to a hockey coach for a team of underprivileged kids. The coach provides a safe haven for these kids that have otherwise tumultuous and unstable lives. What impresses Ben the most about the coach, George, is that George does good things when he thinks no one is watching. One scene shows an ice rink with a team and a George on it, and there is practice. After the coach talks to the players about it being a sanctuary, it shows Ben looking at the rink while it appears very white with grand chandeliers (Seven Pounds). The first part of the scene is what everyone else sees, which is a hockey team practicing. Then it shows how Ben sees the events. He notices that the coach is giving up his money and time to selflessly provide a refuge for these kids; a sanctuary. Ben then sees him as an angel. The hockey rink is like heaven for the boys, which is shown by the mise en scene, including the big crystal chandeliers. Everything is white, like the great halls as they must be in heaven. In Ben’s quest for qualified and deserving recipients for his organs, this coach fits perfectly because he can help these kids have a better life. In contrast to the light he sees in the coach, he knows that his own body is useless to him because he doesn't have the emotional fortitude to keep helping others. Ben connects with George and Ezra in order to determine that they deserve the parts of his body he can give and they need. However, these gifts both lead up to his ultimate gift in the end which is bestowed upon Emily. Emily clearly has much to give and much to do in her life. Even though she ends up falling in love with Ben, he still can’t fully get over what he did and it would always affect their relationship. In the scene where Ben first comes to Emily’s home, it shows her house and all the decorations inside. The shelves and counters are full of food, flowers, and spices. Emily also is wearing a bright shirt with butterflies (Seven Pounds). Emily is shown is this scene to be full of life and love. The décor of her house, being full of food and other things, shows that she is still very full of life despite her illness. She lives with it and always makes the best of bad situations. The costumes also reflect this idea. The butterflies are a sign of spring and life, but also represent the life cycle of a butterfly. It is a symbol of coming out of trials in life and transforming into a stronger and better person. This gives us hope for Emily that she will survive her illness. After what Ben did, he is just a dead man walking and he knows that he owes a debt to society. We know his soul left his body that day of the crash. However, mindless suicide would not repay the debt, and through giving his body to these good people in need he receives redemption in a way that is justified morally.

  Life and death seem to be present in many situations. Because both are inevitable to every person, it is impossible to go on without both of them being present in some form. Ben often represents death and despair, while Emily is the human representation of life. As Ben and Emily grow closer together, it becomes obvious that only one of them can live. We see the deterioration of Emily’s health, and Ben remains a shell of a man. While walking Duke, they come across a large field, with long green pieces of grass that flow naturally with the wind. Ben and Emily come into the frame wearing dark clothes (Seven Pounds). The setting of the field shows that there is life all around, and it surrounds both of their lives. Also, Duke’s lively attitude and energy add to the fact that life can flourish. In contrast, the sad attire of Ben and Emily represent that even amongst all that is alive, death makes its presence known. Both of them have an ailment, and death will claim one. In addition to the overarching presence of life and death, specific symbols in the movie can hold the responsibility of being both. Ever since Ben was a boy, he loved the jelly fish. The beauty and mindless serenity which the creatures possess astounds him. While it can live for years with no motive other than to survive, it can take life away so easily with absolutely no remorse. Ben keeps the jelly fish in a tank and eventually pours it into his bathtub to kill him (Seven Pounds). Throughout the movie it shows the jelly fish lit up in the tank, which can show that the jellyfish was Ben’s way of dying and therefore saving his soul. While Ben was in shadows and darkness, the jellyfish presented his path to redemption. The jellyfish can easily kill, but can survive easily on its own as well. The key thing for Ben was that the jellyfish will have no remorse while killing. This is added as a contrast to Ben because a great deal of the movie is showing how much grief he is in because of the people he killed. He can’t move past it, while the jellyfish kills and eats without ever knowing what it does. He chooses an animal that will be incapable of harboring the deep-set depression that he feels. This is an important closure to his life. Another recurring symbol in the film is water, and it has connotations of birth and death. At the opening scene, Ben swims through the water with the undershot and the light shining down, and then he emerges from the water and onto the beach (Seven Pounds). The shot from beneath symbolizes a sort of hell or abyss, which is what Ben is in. He suffers from the depression of killing seven people, and this first scene shows that this is how he’ll feel during the whole movie and until his death. When he comes out of the water, it is a birth or purification. It shows that water will be the only way to purify Ben’s soul after his mistake, and we realize later on that it is in water that Ben dies. His death is also his liberation from the pain and anguish he feels so wholeheartedly. Although seemingly just a lifetime apart, life and death coexist in many situations and the blending of these symbols in the movie shows that death is always present in Ben’s life.

  The answer to “who can decide life or death” is largely a moral, legal, and religious question. There are also many different ways that a life can be saved or taken. Few question the morality or goodness of a solider giving his life to protect those he loves. Although many disagree with war and violence, the selfless act of leaving loved ones behind to fight for one’s country shows a great deal of character no matter what. In contrast to a soldier sacrificing his life for his country, no one will ever think that a mentally ill person killing people is noble. These are polar opposites, and each has a fairly clear moral categorization. The decision a person has to make to decide life and death, however, is not always so clearly good or bad. For example, a person defending his property by force when armed people threaten his safety. They don’t necessarily know if they are in real danger, or whether the intruders are simply looking to intimidate. There are civil laws in place to determine the legality of every type of situation like this, but many disagree on the basis of moral and religious laws. Families have been torn apart by people who receive minimal punishment, but of course it is wrong. Determining the difference between what wrongdoings should be punished according to laws, and which should be punished according to religious beliefs has been the cause of countless wars. One instance where the law plays no role is suicide, because a dead man cannot be tried. Out of all the things that must be considered, the most important is if the person killing themselves will leave the world a better place, or with more grief and turmoil than it had before their death. This balance is what ultimately determines the morality of a suicide, and if ones moral code permits it, then actions will follow accordingly.

T.V. Analysis

Decor
In the show this example of decor appears very often. It is in the scenes where he kills his victims, and there is consistency. He wraps up his victims and the whole room in plastic because he is very meticulous about what he does. He works in forensics as a blood specialist, so he knows how much a drop of blood can show as evidence. Another part of the decor is the pictures of the men the victim killed, and Dexter forces him to watch and know why he is dying himself. Dexter does this because he believes very strongly that the people he kills must deserve it and that they must know why they die and understand that they deserve it. He must also make them suffer, shown by the sacrificial methods of killing. Another piece of decor is the location of where he is killing his victim. He is a mechanic and Dexter kills him in his shop. He always kills these criminals in their own setting because he wants them to feel the symbolism of how the killer took his own victims out of their homes and away from their families.

Low-Key Lighting
The contrast in lighting in this shot is very distinct. There is a bright light shining on Dexter and even more on his victim, and everywhere else in the scene is in darkness. The light in this specific scene reminds me of a heavenly light shining down. They are in a church, shown by the stained glass window in the background which appears to depict saints, and part of what looks like a statue of Christ on the cross. There is a small amount of light on that statue, which makes us this that the victim is being related to Christ in a way. This connects these two images because the man that Dexter is killing is a horrible criminal. The same way Jesus had to die in order for man to be saved, Dexter is being justified in his murder because he doing good by removing this bad person from the world. Another meaning of the rest of the room being dark is that Dexter feels hopeless in his real world. From watching the show, we know that he feels alone because of his urge to kill and he can't connect with other people. His victim is a release of these pressures and is a bright light because it is his way out of despair.


High-Key Lighting
As opposed to the low-key lighting, this frame is very brightly lit from all sides. With the exception of a few faint shadows on the subject, he is well lit and clear to see. He is in a wide open room as well as the room being lit, which would make it easy to see him from any side. This is showing him wide open and in full light because Dexter is vulnerable. Even though he is doing what he feels is right, he knows that it is against the law and that he would go to jail for the rest of his life and maybe get the death penalty for what he has done over the years. He feels vulnerable as well because he works for the Miami police department and his sister is a cop there. He likes the rush of investigating cases when he does the same crimes. He knows that he is vulnerable and he likes that feeling, so that is shown with the high key lighting.



Costume
Costume is used in this series to signal what is going to happen. Dexter lives two completely different lifestyles, and he has two completely different kinds of clothes he wears. When he is working, he wears what you see here, and always has his badge. Here he focuses online on law enforcement, and he leaves his secret life behind. We know he will kill someone when he changes into his other clothes. He wears a leather butchers apron when he kills people. Although he is fascinated and obsessed with the sight and characteristics of blood, he is very careful about how he allows the blood of his victims to flow. He even equips himself with a welding mask and rubber gloves so that he can strip back down to his normal clothes and slip right back into his life as if nothing happened. His clothes he wears when he is working is also an addition on to his "act" that he has to put on so people will think he is normal, when really he doesn't care about looking good or pleasing anyone.


Frontality
This scene shows a great example of frontality, with Dexter facing with his shoulders and body square to the camera. It makes him more accessible as a character and helps us understand the situation better. It makes the viewer feel more included in the situation. By having his face pointing straight at the camera it helps us see it better, to know his facial expression and therefore what he is feeling. Knowing this makes the viewer connect with him better and understand his plight, even how crazy that is.


Deep Focus
This scene is very deep focus, because every image and every aspect in this shot is in perfect clarity. With all of his coworkers there, and each receiving an equal focus, it takes the spotlight away from Dexter. This is exactly his goal, because when he is out in the real world he always wants to lie low and blend in just life everyone else. He tolerates this life because he doesn't want people to find out who he really is. As opposed to the killing scenes, where a lot of other things in the background are blurry and out of focus, when he is investigating crimes there is always a deep focus. In addition to that, when he is in the office or out on the streets anywhere else, there is a deep focus. He hides from showing his true side because he knows that he will get caught if people realize that inside he is just empty.


Shallow Focus
This is a good example of a shallow focus shot, because only the subjects are in focus and everything else is blurry and surreal looking. By having a shallow focus, it often signifies that the subject is the only important thing in the shot or that the setting is not a real place. To Dexter, it seems unreal that he actually has real feelings for this girl. After spending his whole life avoiding feelings and putting on a fake face to seem normal, he is finally letting himself actually feel for her and come out of his shell. This new feeling is very strange for him. There is a shallow focus to show that to him, their relationship is the only thing that is important, and there is little to distract the viewer from that.


Close-Up
This shot is a great example of a close-up. It shows every detail of the scene, which is a commentary on Dexter's precision in his work. It shows us how carefully the man was fastened down to the table, with the placement of the wrap on the forehead just the same as it always is. The close up shows the blood-collecting incision made on the cheek, and clearly shows the victim in a lot of pain. In addition to depicting the exactness of the job, it also sheds light on how screwed up Dexter really is. Although Dexter protects himself from touching any of the victim's blood or body, he is very emotional about his kills. He makes a strong point to make them suffer, by symbolically bleeding them out with the cheek cut, and cutting them up, alive. He does this so that his victims spend their last moments remembering what they did to earn this punishment, and to satisfy his hunger for blood and to kill.


Exposure

This scene has a strong exposure modification to it, making the subject and the entire frame glow. This kind of light exposure makes the subject seem angelic or heavenly, and shows that this person means something to Dexter. It is Dexter's dead father who taught him how to quench his thirst for blood by killing serial killers, rapists, and other criminals who would not otherwise have to pay for their actions. He taught Dexter how to cover his tracks, how to seem normal, and how to act in a socially acceptable way as to not arouse attention toward himself. Because of these skills, Dexter was able to live on and still remain unnoticed as he fulfilled his urge to kill. He idolized this man that he even claims to live by the "Code of Harry", who is his father. He often thinks back to times he spent with Harry and how he taught him in a similar way as a father teaches his son to throw a football or how to drive. In this memory, Harry seems angelic with the exposure and we know that it is because Dexter only has the fondest and most respectful memories of Harry.


Crane Shot
This scene is shot from a camera on a crane, because it is looking down on the subject. This scene is after the man was thrown off a bridge onto the concrete below, which we don't know at this frame yet. As Dexter looks up, the crane shot is showing that Dexter realizes how the man died. A shot from above like this gives a feeling of omniscience, like we know what happens because we can see a whole situation play out before our eyes. Dexter is given this omniscience because of his knowledge of blood spatter forensics. He can tell immediately that the man was thrown off because of the blood pattern, and we know as well because we have that all-knowing power from the crane shot.

Hero of War

Although music videos are designed to a great extent to provide entertainment, often they contain diegesis that is not readily apparent. In Rise Against's Hero of War, the message lies within the irony of the word "hero". Known for their blatant opposition to war and support of peace-advocating organizations, they call upon the problems in modern war. They show this opposition through mise en scene, in one example using soldiers near barbed wire to highlight to oppression and prison-like conditions. Another way they show the problem with war is with the girl who was trying to surrender with the white flag. Although she was innocent, he did the right thing because she ignored him and could have been a serious threat. However, if the soldiers weren't there she wouldn't have needed to surrender and he wouldn't have felt he had to shoot her. Through images such as the one below, they depict the oppression of the military, represented by the out of focus, overarching power of the gun, and how it affects the innocent girl.

As well as causing problems for the people in the war zone, they want to shine light on the serious issues that soldiers return home with. With the mise en scene of having the flag upside-down in the background, it represents the distress the soldier is feeling, but he is working out to show he is getting stronger. The video uses a flash forward to show what it is like for soldiers who are home after doing the things they had to do at war. The flash forward shows him at a party, and he cannot enjoy the company of his girlfriend and friend like he used to. Although some things are unavoidable, the lyrics show that some violence is unnecessary and cruel. These things have an even greater effect on the returned soldiers, and it shows in the way he is tormented in the dark room, illuminated by infrared. 

Mass Communications and Our Societal Evolution

Braden Pape   

Culture and Communications

            Humans have always longed to communicate. Starting before we evolved to speak, our ancestors made hand gestures and cave paintings to connect to one another. We have, of course, come a long way since then and we are in a time period where it is easier than ever to keep in touch over great distances. Time and distance are no longer factors in how we communicate, and information travels at the speed of light. In the film PressPausePlay, the evolution of technology in the media industry is analyzed. The textbook chapter Culture and Mass Communication this evolution is also connected to how it changes our society. Another topic about communication is how humans feel about and treat others. Jeremy Rifkin would argue in his lecture The Empathic Civilization that all people are, in their basic nature, driven to be empathic. Roman Krznaric says in The Power of Outrospection that in order to be truly understanding of another’s plight, one must step into their shoes and experience it themselves. Joseph Garner documents a study on human generosity in his film Craigslist Joe and shows through it that people can be more giving and loving than most people think. He also undermines stereotypes about people with various lifestyles and ethnicities by being caring and accepting of all people. Although we are in a good place as a society at large, there are still faults that could prevent and fix many problems. Slavoj Zizek respectfully points out the faults in mindless charity, claiming that the real issue lies in our mindset that people who live in awful situations will be happy if we give a few bucks. In his lecture First as Tragedy, then as Farce, he explains why we need to extinguish poverty as opposed to momentarily mend it. In Changing Paradigms, Sir Ken Robinson highlights another issue we have involving our public education system. He said we are employing a dated strategy of standardization, and some kids don’t feel welcomed and included. Although our society is not perfect with the way we communicate, we are evolving quickly and technology is an essential tool in shaping our mass communication system and our culture.

          

              Before the invention of mass communication-allowing technologies, media was spread manually and very slowly. Variation in what people could do was limited, but with new devices, diversification of entertainment took off. One example is with the electric guitar. Jimi Hendrix was a genius, but he worked on the medium of the electric guitar, which was invented years before. Bill Drummond discusses this, “The point I’m trying to make here is that technology always comes first. Then the artist comes along” (PressPausePlay). Especially in music, an engineer develops an instrument then an artistic genius comes and defines the way art will be made from it. Different artists can diversify how an instrument sounds, but won’t invent the instrument itself. This relationship between the artist and the technology they use is what gives us our media. After some sort of media has been created, an equally important step in giving it out to the public takes over: distribution. Present day technology, such as the website Napster, allows for instant sharing of music and news on the internet to broaden the audience. Even though we can hardly remember what it was like without it, the internet is relatively new as a platform for mass communication. “What surprised many people was the fact that the Internet, which became a bona fide news medium by the end of the 20^th century, also proved to be a successful vehicle for covering the story” (Culture and Mass Communication). It is through big stories like the death of the beloved Princess Diana that the popularity of the internet as a news source came to pass. Another side of the internet is the ability to connect with people through individual relationships. Joseph Garner conducted a month long study to test the limits of this network by living purely from help from people on the internet. The people were very generous, but the internet and the website Craigslist provided a way for Joe to meet with them. With help from these networks, “We can take care of each other”, says Joe (Craigslist Joe). People put trust in him, and he put trust in them. Because of the accessibility to meet new people on the internet, he was able to be touched by their generosity and share that message through the mass media of film to everyone who can watch it. Thanks to technologies such as the internet, and new innovative ways of creating art, people are being exposed to such works much more easily and more often. This creates a more understanding and knowledgeable society which slowly changes our society itself.

        

               The increase of accessibility to Mass Culture does open us up to more ideas and works, but it also changes the way we act and live our everyday lives. One example of change that came about due the way the media covered it was the American ideal of consumerism. The amount of “stuff” we buy today has jumped immensely from the pre-industrial age era. “As our mass culture grows and expands and new forms of mass media develop, consumerism grows with it” (Culture and Mass Communication). With advertisements on T.V. and on the radio, people started to believe that the more material things they owned, the better off they were. A society will also change with media based on what is called the EPS cycle. This is dependent greatly on the wealth and culture of a society. Because of limited access to the internet and other ways of mass communication, some areas cannot progress in the cycle. In the United States we are in the stage of “Specialization. In this stage the media are consumed by highly fragmented segments of the population, each with its own interests and cultural activities” (Culture and Mass Communication). Due to the immense access to technology, we have been able to diversify our media into almost any genre you could ever want. Because of this difference in preference, the media is absorbed in many different segments of our society, and almost no two people will watch and read and hear the same things. One way to complete this cycle even for countries that have immense poverty would be to eradicate the behaviors that lead to seemingly unending poverty. Slavoj Zizek argues that although charity is noble, it is a way of relieving one’s self from the knowledge that other people life drastically different lifestyles. He says that “The real aim is to try and reconstruct society on such a basis that poverty will be impossible” (First as Tragedy, then as Farce). By this he means that instead of giving them of our wealth, we should teach them how to rebuild their infrastructure on a model that has proven to be successful. If the whole world had the ability to actually access the materials that we do in experiencing the media, as a race we would be much more evolved. Life as we know it would change, and everyone would be able to share ideas and feed off the ideas shared by others.

        

             Just as important as is the ability and desire to Mass Communicate is the importance of the presence of an effective interface for people to connect. In theory, we would have similar desires despite varying interfaces, but the EPS cycle shows how technology can influence our media and Mass Culture. Jeremy Rifkin even thinks that “We are actually soft wired not for aggression and violence and self-interest and utilitarianism that we are actually soft wired for sociability, attachment...affection, companionship and that the first drive is the drive to actually belong - it's an empathic drive” (Empathic Civilization). It would make sense that despite the apparent disconnect of a computer, we would still be driven to care for each other and want to be included. It is easier than ever to video call, message, or talk to people despite being far away. These things can help to maintain an empathic connection, but it might not be enough. Roman Krznaric doesn’t think that merely knowing of someone’s plight is enough to feel it. He claims that the only way to feel another’s feelings is by “Stepping into somebody else's world...it's about understanding somebody else's world views, their beliefs, their fears, and the experiences that shape how they look at the world” (The Power of Outrospection). This might be able to be done over some electronic interface such as the internet, but it would be much harder than a face-to-face interaction, which they all were before the age of technology. Sir Ken Robinson, however, agrees that our society needs to move away from our old ways of doing things and just embrace the new age that is dawning. He speaks of a new education philosophy, based upon divergent thinking. This idea also applies to the way we interact with other people. He says that “The problem is they're trying to meet the future by doing what they did in the past” (Changing Paradigms). He would probably favor, then, a change to a more electronic interface for communication, because it makes it much simpler and faster to acquire a great deal of information and connections in a short period of time. It is important to be personally connected to a person in order to be empathic towards them. Whether or not it needs to be in person decides how we move on in terms of our interface, but if true empathy can be achieved by online connections, it would reduce distance and time between loved ones.

       

             Our society today is geared towards learning always, and we thirst for the ability to discover things. We can learn to love things to a great extent because of the accessibility which is given by technological advances. Although not yet available to everyone all over the world, a great deal of people partake in Mass Communication and become slightly more knowledgeable each time they read a news article or listen to a song. This cultural diversification adds more complexity to our society, but also gives each individual a greater view and understanding of who we are as a race. Joseph Garner ponders that “Some say we have lost the sense of community that used to carry us through hard times” (Craigslist Joe) but he came to realize first hand that we can still love each other and take care of each other. If we learn to use the tools at our disposal we can evolve into a more understanding and culturally accepting society. 

Cultural Study

Jeremy Rifkin outlined a theory that all humans are good in their basic nature, and they naturally feel empathy. He would argue that although many people say people are bad unless taught to be good, many species including humans, are in fact born with an innate tendency to feel emotions together. "...Suggests that we are actually soft wired not for aggression and violence and self-interest and utilitarianism that we are actually soft wired for sociability, attachment...affection, companionship and that the first drive is the drive to actually belong - it's an empathic drive" (Rifkin). He recognizes that humans are capable of possessing various negative traits as well, but by default we want to care for others. Roman Krznaric has a similar claim, his differing in his statement that we must experience the plight of others in order to truly understand how they feel in a given situation. He talks about cognitive empathy, which is "Stepping into somebody else's world...it's about understanding somebody else's world views, their beliefs, their fears, and the experiences that shape how they look at the world" (Krznaric). He changes the idea of empathy from an ability to just see peoples plight and understand it into a act that requires effort to dive into somebody else's problems and see how it affects them.

The other topic is about certain flaws in our society. One flaw is our education system, which was discussed by Sir Ken Robinson. His views consisted of several ways in which our current education system is outdated and flawed in such a way that groups of students are shut out due to social and intellectual differences. "The problem is they're trying to meet the future by doing what they did in the past. And on the way they're alienating millions of kids who don't see any purpose in going to school " (Robinson). The old way of teaching kids was how to produce a uniform work force to man the factories, but that goal is no longer relevant. There is greater diversity in the "real world" now that a great deal of our nations infrastructure and industrial foundation has been set. He says that we need to allow "divergent thinking" to take place, which is the act of incorporating many different possible answer into a final outcome. This helps to add to the amount of different ideas and thoughts that contribute to a project. Slavoj Zizek outlines another flaw in our society, and one that is so ingrained in  our attitudes that it is not readily apparent. He addresses the problem of charity, claiming that it provides a temporary "fix" to an ongoing problem that has a much deeper and involved solution. "The real aim is to try and reconstruct society on such a basis that poverty will be impossible" (Zizek). By continually implemented our successful methods of development on communities that do not have to ability to imitate it, we just show them their faults and worsen the situation. He claims that the worst slave owners were the compassionate ones, because people truly evolve and help themselves when they are faced with extreme adversity.

PressPausePlay

Like most aspects of popular culture, the music and art industry are constantly evolving. To a great extent, music is a way of communication, a way for artists to tell the world what they feel. In PressPausePlay there was much emphasis on the fact that many people can become artists now, and it is easier to produce art. "Younger musicians, and some older ones I've noticed, rely too much on the technology." Although it is good to be able to express yourself, many well established artists fear that  this accessibility takes away the important of having real talent, and anyone can make something great. This ability has come from technological advances that allow anyone to tweak, edit, and tune their sounds to perfection. 

For example, high quality recording cameras such as RED are becoming cheaper for the average organization to buy and use, allowing higher quality films to be produced despite skill or education. The democratization of artistry opens up a world of possibility to new ideas and input that would never have been connected to others. With Olafur Arnalds, he was able to find a magnificent piece of art to accompany his music, and a connection could be made from there. 

Because he could just make the music in his home and share it, a man from across the world saw it and was inspired by it. Olafur Believes that anyone should be able to express art, despite the lack of academically verified skill. This exchange of art and culture from across the world can touch people, and the beautiful images and sounds can inspire even more work to be created.

Due to the democratization of art and music, many professionals in the industry believe the industry itself is dead. One main reason is that with mass culture being so prevalent, everyone thinks that they are the artist. "There's ten thousand people there, the difference is that everyone believes that they are the artist...then art ends." They can't enjoy shows and performances quite the same anymore because there is always the thought that they could do a better job than the performer. Some specific artists and producers disdain the the concept of mass media and the share-ability of the internet. Sean Parker has the opposite view, as the co-founder of an online music sharing website called Napsterr. "The vision behind Napster in the very early stages was just to come up with a system that made the sharing of mp3s so easy." (Dworsky PressPausePlay)

Professionals who have dedicated years and a lot of money into an education in the trade take offense to some kid thinking he can produce and equal quality product with his computer, and still encourage an elite culture in music. "The Craft is Gone", they say, meaning that creativity is all you need to produce a work. No longer does an artist need to be familiar with the workings of their instrument or materials. "It's separated the knowledge of craft and creativity...now you just have to know how to turn on a computer." The seemingly inhuman perfection that accompanies computer-generated music is eerie and lacks the human-like imperfection that fans enjoy.

Another way that the enjoyment of music as a whole has changed is that it is now more about the situation in which you encounter it. It is less about the music, now, and increasingly about the experience. Because each concert or live performance is different, it gives a sensation of discovery that recorded music doesn't give anymore.

Smoke Signals

As we watched Smoke Signals last week, There were several links between Vincent and the main character of Ceremony, Tayo. I think one reason why they were similar is because many people in various Native Tribes have started to live similar lives on the reservations. For example, the people around Tayo such as Harley and Emo just drink their problems away. Vincent's dad did the same thing because of the shame he felt for killing Thomas' parents. In one way or another, we all have problems that seem incurable, but being stuck on a reservation might make certain tribe members feel helpless. If they had an opportunity to go out and change their lives, it might motivate them to leave the bar stools.

Tayo connects to Vincent in other ways as well. Tayo's mother, Laura reminds me of both Vincent's father and his mother. She reminds me of his father because of the fact that he isn't there to raise him. Although Tayo's mother leaves before he can really get to know her at all, and Vincent's father can imprint memories on his son, they are both absent for the majority of the boys' childhoods. One difference that forms in adolescence between the two boys is that Vincent doesn't want anything to do with his father, and Tayo yearns to know Laura better and have her back. Tayo recollects watching his mother often be mistreated by men, recounting the stories in the "shanty village". Vincent witnesses this as well when his dad hits his sweet mother who was trying to keep the family together.

Essays, Essays, Essays

After writing numerous essays in the past few days, some quotes have hit me pretty hard. One part in the book that really made me think was Tayo's spirit walk. It is hard to tell whether or not it is real, so I think that some components are real while others were part of his imagination. We know that there really was someone out in the desert who trapped his cattle because he and Robert notice they had been fed while he was away. "They look real good, Tayo...Somebody's been looking after them for you" (Silko 199). Although he doesn't know if it is Ts'eh or not, because they hut is virtually empty, there had to have been some real person.

One aspect of his journey that seems to be imagined was when the man started chanting behind him as he walked. "The voice faded in and out, sometimes muffled or lost in the wind" (Silko 192). He seems like a memory of Tayos, recalling the chants of where his people came from. It seems unlikely that Tayo really was being followed by a mysterious man in the wilderness that he could not see. Although parts of this man seem dream-like, it is also possible that the man he hears is the hunter. The hunter is aware of the Traditional ways, as shown by the respectful manner in which he decorates the dead deer's antlers. This makes it possible that he could be the same person that Tayo hears chanting.

The Ceremony and Helen Jean

This past week we did close analysis of some important parts of the novel. One important part was the healing ceremony performed by Betonie. This is where Tayo turns around from trying to drink away his problems to start real healing. He understands how he will never get better unless changes are made. Betonie relays the belief of a great evil to Tayo, saying that the Indians created the white culture which has swept over the earth. One important symbol of Tayo's healing is the cattle. He is always chasing them, and although they seem out of reach, the closer he gets indicates further healing.

The other section we wrote about is about Helen Jean and the experiences they have together in the bar. Tayo has an interesting link to Helen Jean, both seeing himself in her and seeing his mother Laura in her. She has been through racist discrimination like Tayo has. When she got an awful wage doing dirty work at a theater, it is similar to Tayo not being treated like any other white person. She also remind Tayo of his mother. He has vivid memories of when he was a kid, how she would bring men home. He realizes that he is becoming those men, with Helen Jean being his mother in the situation. Another connection he sees is with Harley and Emo, and how they represent the great evil Betonie warned him of. They are trying to take him down with them by pressuring him to drink away his sorrows like they always have since the war. We see how much Better Tayo is getting, however, when he refuses the take part. It almost disgusts him when they get drunk and puke everywhere which shows that he is capable of reaching a new level of healing.

[Missed]

More Analysis

The couple days of new material this week we spent on the same kind of assignment. We collaborated our analysis with the entire class. Each group presented their thoughts and now we have a much deeper grasp on the novel. This is on a general but also on a specific level, by the quote. A couple passages struck me in this section, one being the encounters with Night Swan. Although it seems she is a woman who is important to Tayo just because she took his virginity, she carries weight apart from that. She also represents an awakening, and a rebirth after much time in darkness. He feels overshadowed by his being biracial because that is all he has ever known to classify himself by. Night Swan, however, helps him to wash some of that away by relating to him and showing him that there is more than the circumstances under which he was born.

Another key passage we come across in this section is describing Tayo's early life. He is passed between his mother and social workers, and learns to feel abandoned. As a very young kid he has to learn things the hard way, like when he doesn't even know not to eat cigarette butts. We see why he is so hungry for affection, and why it hurts him so much to be shut away by Auntie. He has never had a mother to love him, which is important for a child to grow emotionally. Although he receives care from his uncle Josiah, he is never really loved as he should be.

A Closer Look

This week we worked on something I had never done before. We went very in depth into the most important quotes we had read so far. Up until we did this, I hadn't realized how many different interpretations can come from a single piece of writing. Another thing I realized was how important it is to have good annotations. This is important because it makes it easier to recall what stood out to me when I read it the first time. This can be useful in writing essays or other analytic assignments. As well as giving more specific arguments, pulling these important quotes out and talking about them and presenting them also gives a better understanding about the book. This is especially important in complex books like Ceremony. 

Through this in depth analysis of the first parts of the book, what struck me most was the centrality of nature in Native Culture. In more modern times, another part of this that came up was the contrast between the traditional ways and what was being taught about science in schools. "He turned. Everywhere he looked, he saw a world made of stories, the long ago, time immemorial stories, as old grandma called them" (Silko 88). He is referring to a memory of when he was by a water pool; noticing all the little things around him. He watches plants and bugs and thinks about how his grandma used to tell him stories, and then he talks about how his teachers tried to dispel their belief in these old ways. "He had studied those books, and he had no reasons to believe the stories anymore. The science books explains the causes and effects" (Silko 87).

Reality vs Perception

Native Americans have always been portrayed to me to be ignorant. They are shown as lesser, inferior beings who should be treated as a children.

PTS and Alcoholism

Until very recently, post traumatic stress was synonymous with "crazy" or "psychopath". Although it was not yet considered a legitimate disorder, it was very real. Often times soldiers would come home after experiencing traumatic events and go untreated. Most of the time they would have to self-medicate with drugs and alcohol, just to temporarily chase away their nightmares. In Ceremony, Tayo very clearly suffers from severe PTS. He vomits often, which is a sign of PTS as well as his seeing the images from war in his everyday life. At this time period his inability to let go and "man up" from his trauma was written off as a lack of self control, but it was not his fault.

Accompanying untreated PTS is often alcoholism and/or drug abuse. In Tayo's case, and that of all of the Laguna vets he hangs out with, they have become slaves to the liquor. One reason is because it reminds them of the grand times they had with the other soldiers in the big city. This time in their life made them feel equal, and even superior to white people in some ways. As well as transporting them back to their glory days, it covers up what they are feeling inside, if even only temporarily. The place where feelings come from, which is described by Tayo as the belly, is what becomes "empty" when he drinks. He suffers from his inability to accept having killed people, and can't get past it. Alcohol is this escape he looks for.

Transformation

John Dunbar no doubt started out his time at the fort the same as any other U.S. soldier. He was prejudice and scared of native people. Luckily for him, however, he was given an opportunity to expand his understanding and appreciation for the rich culture that they have to offer. One difference is how he refers to them. He starts out calling them "Indians" which is a false term coined by uneducated psychopaths hundreds of years earlier. By the end he calls each of the Sioux people by their Sioux name, or simple as the "Sioux people". This understanding of the importance of names and getting to know them on a personal level is part of why he was able to assimilate himself into their community and grow to love them.

By the end of the movie, there are several changes that have been made to his appearance as well as to his heart. When confronted by the Army officer as to why he is not in uniform, he simply states that he is no longer a member of the United States Army, but he is now a Sioux named Dances With Wolves. He says this in Sioux, a language which he has made a priority to learn so he can better communicate with his friends. Throughout his transformation he does little things to become Sioux. For example, he eats the heart of the buffalo raw which is very strange to Americans, but such a key part of how the Sioux felt one with the animal they harvested. He fights with them, lives with them, and marries under their ceremonies. Although starting out as an American hero, he becomes a true Sioux hero at heart.

Native Study

Shoshone Tribe

The Shoshone people are indigenous people native to the southwest of the United States, coming primarily from what is now Nevada and Utah. Although they refer to themselves as "Newe", meaning "people", they got their name from the Shoshone word for "tall grass", due to their huts composed mostly of grass. 

They were involved in wars throughout the early United States like most of the Native American Tribes. They also suffered tragedy, such as the Bear River Massacre when settlers came onto their land. Fortunately, the site of this massacre has been given to them to keep as a holy land. Today they work with state organizations to preserve the culture and land that is rich with history from their tribe.

Sacajawea was the most famous of the Shoshone people mainly because of her role in aiding Lewis and Clark on their voyage across America. She was instrumental in the survival of the two travelers from North Dakota all the way to the pacific ocean. This trip was intended to find a river system to connect all the way to the Pacific Ocean.
Later in life she gave birth to a son and a daughter. Her son grew up to live the life of a western frontiersman, and Sacajawea got herself on the one dollar coin in 2000 in honor of her impact on the exploring of the continent we live on today.

Sioux Tribe

The Sioux have had a long history of contact with settlers, starting with French fur traders and the Dakotas. The French formed an alliance to help combat the English fur traders, although they fought with the Sioux sometimes. More violent of a conflict, however, was that between the Sioux and the Pawnee, which ended with the battle of Massacre Canyon. Even after this, however, they had armed conflicts such as the Dakota Wars and the Wounded Knee Massacre. 

Today the Sioux Tribe has over 20 reservations on which most of the enrolled Sioux members live. The idea of reservations which is so common today started with railroad construction needing to hunt down the buffaloes, and the Native Americans being given an alternate living space. The Sioux that live on these reservations now depend on annual payment from the government to support themselves because of the loss they suffered with the buffalo.

Sitting Bull was and is an icon of Native American culture, not only just for the Sioux but for the entire ethnic group. He was a Holy man and a medicine man for his tribe, which he led in defiance of the oppressive United States Army. Probably his greatest legacy was the victory at the Battle Little Big Horn over Custard. Supposedly he received a revelation or premonition that they would win, and his inspirational attitude motivated his men to fight. After leading his warriors through various wars and battles, he retreats with them to Saskatchewan. After a stay there he surrenders to the United States army and is later assassinated.