Smoke Signals Comparison PDF

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Comparing the film Smoke Signals with a reading called Phoenix Arizona...

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Dakota Carnes ENL 272-01 14 March 2019 Smoke Signals a  nd “Phoenix Arizona” Comparison There seem to be fewer restrictions when transitioning short stories into film. Scenes don’t need to be removed in order to fit a time limit, and the main points of the film are easier to

 y director Chris Eyre hit with the extra film time given. This is something Smoke Signals b incorporated into his translation. The main points of the death of Victor’s father, the help of Thomas and the journey they went on together, as well as splitting the ashes at the end were all taken directly out of the source text, almost word for word in some instances. The main event and similarity that set all the events in motion is the death of Victor’s father. While the circumstance is a little different, the resulting events are still the same. The story starts with Victor hearing about and feeling the pain of his father's death. Alexie states, “Victor hadn’t seen his father in a few years, only talked to him on the telephone once or twice, but there was still a genetic pain, which was soon to be pain as real and immediate as a broken bone” (59). After he gets the news, that is when he goes to the council asking for money to go get his father’s belongings. In the film, Victor’s mother gets a phone call, and when they hear the news, she gives Victor $40 and tells him to cash it in (8:40). This singular event kickstarted the entire rest of the story. And it is because of this that Thomas offers Victor his help, as long as he can come along. Without the help Thomas gave Victor, he wouldn’t have made it to Arizona easily. After he hears of his father’s death, he walks into a store to either get help or cash the check, and that is when Thomas offers his services. The film took the scene almost word for word from the source material, making it one of the most recognizable scenes in the film. Alexie states, “Victor, I’m sorry about your father,’ Thomas said. “How did you know about it?’ Victor asked. ‘I heard it

on the wind. I heard it from the birds. I felt it in the sunlight. Also, your mother was just in here crying’” (61). After this initial exchange, Thomas tells Victor that he has some money and that he is willing to give it to Victor just as long as he can come with him. The film made the exchange longer, adding in some lines of dialog, but still being able to merge the source material with the screenplay. In the film, Victor tells Thomas to use the money himself, instead of spending it on a trip to Arizona (10:05). Of course, the story continues with Victor accepting the offer, and they end up going to Arizona together on a bus, meeting Victor’s father’s neighbor and getting the ashes. Throughout their journey, you can tell that they have come to enjoy, or at least tolerate, each other’s company, at least enough for Victor to split his father's ashes with Thomas at the end of both stories. While reading the short story and watching the film, we learn that Thomas has had a few run-ins with Victor’s dad and that he took him to Denny’s when he found him at the Falls in Spokane. After hearing these tales, Victor decides that Thomas deserves to have some of his father’s ashes as well. He splits them in half, and they begin talking about what to do with them. In the film, this exchange is also taken almost word for word from the source material (1:17:04). Alexie states, “I’m going to travel to Spokane Falls one last time and toss these ashes into the water. And your father will rise like a salmon, leap over the bridge, over me, and find his way home. It will be beautiful” (74). These are the closing lines of Thomas and Victor’s adventure together, and after this, Thomas leaves the car and Victor goes back home. This is also almost the conclusion of the entire story, leaving it on a note of how Victor’s father will rise.

 irected by Chris Eyre, can be categorized as a traditional film The film Smoke Signals, d translation because of the use of main points taken from the short story as the plot of the film. Direct scenes were taken and created in film word for word, and the overlying storyline matches with the source material. The three large points mentioned in this essay help establish the

similarities between the two mediums, and it is not considered a literal translation because of the scenes added to the film in order to make the run time longer. Short stories are usually created to be traditional film translations, and that is exactly what Chris Eyre did....