Movie: The Mission
Meena Throngkumpola
The movie, "The Mission," is about how the Spanish in
cooperation with
Pourtugal try to get the Jesuits off land negotiated by the two
countries. The
Spanish Church sends people into Asuncion, Paraguay to persuade
the Jesuits to
get off the land. The film includes spiritual and political
activities the are
reflected through the church, natives, and the Jesuits.
What themovie mainly tried to show was that the Church
wanted to
maintain control over the Jesuits. To show that control, they
went to Paraguay
and tried to persuade the Jesuits to leave. The Spanish allowed
them to take
care of the matter to prove that. Spain and Portugal had
negotiated the treaty
of Tordesillias. In this treaty the two countries split the
western world into
two parts where Spain can have one half and Portugal the other.
In the newer
version of the treaty, the line that split the land was moved in
favor of
Portugal. On that land, missionaries had already set up
missions. To better
the economy for Portugal, the Spanish Church was sent in to get
the Jesuits out.
The would be effected by the continuation of the Jesuits because
of the slave
trade. If the Jesuits stayed, the Indians would have a spiritual
leader . To
brake their faith the Jesuits would have to be removed.
Near the end of the movie, the Spanish do try to break
the faith of the
Indians. Father John is seen carrying a cross with many natives
following behind
him. He is killed purposely, and even though he is down, the
native faith is
still there. A young native boy picks up the cross and assumes
the role of
father proving that killing the head leader does not kill the
faith.
One aspect of themovie was the technology. The Indians
were attacked by
a powerful weapon, and that was the weapon of being inferior to a
race that had
a different way of life. The Indians were introduced to guns,
complex musical
instruments, and simplicities such as clothing. These new things
changed their
life. In the battle scene, the Indians steal gun powder from the
Spanish. The
gun powder is then used by the Indians to their advantage. By
using home made
cannons, they are not totally helpless to the cannons and bullets
of the
opposing side. One of the most memorable scenes of the movie
shows the small
native girl picking up a destroyed violin and taking it with her
with many more
children on a canoe. The only reason I can see for that scene is
to represent
that even though the children are leaving the area to get away
from the bad
people, they will never fully forget what happened to them as
they encountered
the white men. The sequences where the same girl sees her own
people dying
shows that even though these people were bad, they had made an
impact that would
not be forgotten.
This movie, "The Mission," shows many of the negative
effects of
European expansion. It reflects the many political and spiritual
struggles that
the people faces, and shows that expansion of the west was not a
pretty or
glorious chapter of history.
. Movie: The Mission
Meena Throngkumpola
The movie, " ;The Mission, " is about how the Spanish in
cooperation with
Pourtugal try to get the Jesuits. the Jesuits stayed, the Indians would have a spiritual
leader . To
brake their faith the Jesuits would have to be removed.
Near the end of the movie, the