VISUAL SOVEREIGNTY IN SMOKE SIGNALS: A CRITICAL VISUAL ANALYSIS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.52567/pjsr.v4i1.944Abstract
The current research paper aims to see a film Smoke Signals by American Indian writer Sherman Alexie and director Chris Eyre as an attempt to define visual sovereignty. By applying Critical Visual Theory, the paper seeks to provide not just a close visual reading but also a broad study of American Indian indigenous film’s meanings with the understanding that the film functions as a politicized way of giving voice to the marginalized indigenous community. The film nullifies Hollywood representation of Natives by its celebration of Native storytelling. My contention is that the film is not a passive response to mainstream representation and geographical inaccuracies but rather a creation of indigenous reality in a media saturated world. The film shifts indigenous experience from a victimized stance to a strategic one. It has its visual effects which cannot be extricated from the social context in which it is produced. The analysis intends to delimit the bus scene that includes 10 frames ranging from 21:31- 40:31(time line).
Keywords: vision, visuality, visual culture, visual sovereignty, critical visual theory.
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