Indian Comics Irregular #138

Soon after Terence Malick's "The New World" came another Native-themed movie,
"End of the Spear." As the NY Times (2/1/06) explains, "The film relates the
true story of five American missionaries who were killed in 1956 by an
indigenous tribe in Ecuador. The missionaries' families ultimately converted
the tribe to Christianity, and forgave and befriended the killers."

The Good

Robert A. Driskell Jr.'s sumptuous cinematography (the movie was
filmed mostly in Panama) makes every raindrop glisten, every leaf
appear translucent and every winding river resemble a flowing
turquoise train. (NY Times, 1/20/06)

"End of the Spear" is built on a provocative question: If you
claim to be a Christian and someone kills a member of your family,
do you look for an opportunity for revenge, or do you forgive? In
the fight between emotion and faith, what ultimately wins?
(MLive.com, 1/20/06)

[Missionary's son Steve] Saint said he initially declined to assist
the "Spear" movie because the Waodani Christians said they
opposed the project. But the Waodani changed their minds when
he told them about the 1999 Columbine High School massacre.
They wanted to help Americans overcome violence like they had,
Saint said. (AP, 1/20/06)

The Bad

"End of the Spear" is a childish and visually repetitive movie,
ham-fisted, proselytizing and overtly simplified. (Chicago
Tribune, 1/20/06)

In the end, some vibrant cinematography aside, "End of the Spear"
bears an unfortunate resemblance to those old '40s jungle B-movies,
a quality underscored by composer Ronald Owen's overwrought and
decidedly un-PC soundtrack, which goes awfully heavy on the
drumbeats and tribal chanting. (Hollywood Reporter, 1/20/06)

Its depiction of indigenous people as savage brutes parrots a
familiar refrain: As an editorial in the Cornell (N.Y.) Daily Sun
put it, "From the start, the Waodani's ways are portrayed as
generally wrong and those of the missionaries are generally
right. ... Such a patronizing view is somewhat disturbing in its
efforts to make the very grey territory of cultural interaction
into a black and white portrayal."

The film's viewpoint distracts viewers from contemplating the
catastrophic effects such an intrusion has had on the
Waodani's land itself, according to New York Daily News movie
reviewer Jami Bernard: "In reality, the intrusion of Western
ways has been disastrous to the region, where oil and logging
concerns are stripping land and culture. In documentary footage
played over the closing credits, the real warrior is introduced to
American fast food and returns to his people too fat and sluggish
to spear himself a snack, let alone a missionary." (Indian Country
Today, 2/8/06)

The Ugly

Some excerpts from the NY Times's followup story (2/1/06):

[D]ays before the film's premiere, a controversy erupted over the
casting of a gay actor [Chad Allen] that has all but eclipsed the
movie and revealed fault lines among evangelicals.

More than 100 pastors of churches across the country signed a
letter drafted by Mr. Janz and addressed to Every Tribe expressing
their disappointment in the casting of Mr. Allen.

Many evangelicals are concerned that young people inspired by the
movie will look up Mr. Allen on the Web and "get exposed to his
views on homosexuality, and that would cause some of them to
question Biblical views of homosexuality and every other sin," said
Will Hall, executive director of BPNews.net.

A film that causes people to question their beliefs? Oh, the horror of it all!

Rob Schmidt
Blue Corn Comics