Smoke Signals Themes

There are many purposes for art. To express, communicate, share beauty, values, and much more. The film is an art. In the movie, Smoke Signals, there is many themes that are all interconnected with each other which include loss, grief, love, and transformation. In the beginning of the film, there is a fire. A baby, who is later revealed to be Thomas is thrown out a window and Arnold, Victor’s father, saves the baby. The movie transitions to Victor and Thomas all grown up in modern day America. Throughout the film shows Victor having flashbacks of his childhood and memories of his father as a drunk, abusive alcoholic while Thomas story tells how great of a person he was. Victor’s mom receives a phone hearing call that Arnold, her husband,

After hearing the news, Victor sets out to receive his father’s ashes. Although he does not have enough money, Thomas offers for help. Initially he is hesitant to accept, but lets him. The two go on a long drive to Phoenix, Arizona to get the ashes. Their journal involves a lot of transformation, but mostly for Victor.

When they get on the bus, Thomas talks to a girl but then Victor intrudes rudely so she changes her seat. He tells Thomas that he needs to toughen up, change his style, look meaner or else he will be walked over. Thomas takes his advice and begins to take out his braids, wears more casual clothes and tries to look more like a “warrior”. He isn’t being true to himself though so he goes back to his nerdy, friendly, eccentric self. Victor is a skeptical, pessimistic person. This shadow part of his personality will change though as the film goes on. As the film

His unresolved childhood and relationship with his father has been transformed because of this journey and also with the help of Thomas, and the neighbor, also the processing of his memories. This film is like the quote by psychologist, Carl Jung, “The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed.” Thomas and Victor’s contrasting personalities integrated and made Victor reborn into a more healed self. Thomas didn’t really change that much though which is alright because he is not having much inner conflict. This film is about how you can’t change the past, but you can change how you handle it. Growth is not suppose to be comfortable, Victor had to push through and ride this wave of intense emotions. Kind of like in the Truman Show, where the main character had to go through the hurricane in the ocean and the storm, then everything comes to peace and stillness, a rainbow