Ceremony by leslie silko Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Ceremony by leslie silko - Research Paper Example Stories give individuals their identity. Over the years, they cease to be mere stories and become a part of the people. This is why they are an essential part of human cultures all over the world. In Silko’s narratives, individuals are deeply affected by stories. The Yellow Woman explores her sexuality freely in one night of passion because the tribal stories sanction it. Silko herself attributes her passion for telling stories as a product of her tribal culture. It is an integral part of her American Indian identity. â€Å"Storytelling is a whole way of seeing yourself. It is a whole way of being† (Silko, p.150). According to Silko, stories give an individual identity and help them settle into their rightful place in the community. â€Å"You know who you are by the stories told about you† (Silko, p. 56). Ultimately, the individuals affected by these stories become characters in their own stories through their actions. â€Å"You should understand the way it was back then because it is the same even now† (Silko, p.157). Stories connect the past, present and future. By helping people understand the past, they aid in making present and future decisions. Believing in witchery gives it the power to interfere in a person’s life and cause havoc. The resultant fear incapacitates someone and makes them unable to take action. The fear robs people of the ability to control their own lives. Only by reconnecting with tribal traditions is someone healed from the poisoning effect of witchery. The fear caused by witchery causes illness in people. In the narrative, Tayo wishes to disappear from the earth. This is witchery manifesting itself as desperation and hopelessness. This is the reason behind the suicidal tendencies. The greatest fear is that one can do nothing about the situation. Witchery makes someone fearful of taking control of their destiny. It makes them feel that they are not responsible for anything that happens. Tayo believes that the

Passion of The Christ Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Passion of The Christ - Movie Review Example Throughout the film, Jesus undergoes brutality and much suffering. The other leading roles are Caiaphas (the Jewish High Priest) and Pontius Pilate (the Roman Governor). Both do not want to see Jesus being crucified, but live in a perilous time, and Jesus is a major threat to them1. The film relies mostly on the Gospel of Mark; the Jewish crowds shown in almost all scenes of the film support this. The Jewish crowd is shown as indirectly protecting and directly supporting Jesus against the authority of the high priest, which opposes him according to the Gospel of Mark2. In Mark 15:6, â€Å"Pilate had established an open Passover amnesty: ‘at the festival he used to release a prisoner for them, anyone for whom they asked’.†3 The ceremony was open because the crowd and not the governor selected the person to be released. Mark notes that Barabbas (a prisoner) and Jesus are presented to the crowd for it to choose who is to be released and who is to be crucified. There are many differences between the film and the story of Jesus according to the Gospels. There are some portions of Scripture that have been omitted in the film. Gibson cuts words of Matthew 27:25 which states that â€Å"And all the people said, ‘His blood shall be on us and on our children!†4 and John 19:30 which quotes Jesus saying â€Å"It is finished.†5 There are portions of the film that are extra-biblical such as the scene in which Satan is seen holding a baby. The most central scenes of the film are where Jesus is brutally beaten using a whip by the Roman soldiers and the 14 Stations of the Cross. Techniques used in the film include steadcam cinematography and narrative. The utilization of steadcam cinematography assists in the provision of quasi-documentary feel and look. The film has used the languages of the region where Jesus was actually crucified and the setting of the movie appears to capture the Jerusalem atmosphere (though the filmsetting was in Italy). The languages used