Atanarjuat: the Fast Runner Essay

The role of religion has been a major work out of every nuance for as long as anyone can remember. The popular opinion of togetherness that comes with belonging to a group of people that believe in the aforesaid(prenominal) ideas and a central entity defines a person and the way of life they see the world. Atanarjuat The steadfast Runnershows the impact of a accredited belief on a ethnic music of Eskimos in Igloolik, a village inEastern diametric wilderness, at the dawn of the first base millennium. An evil curse was said to be following one member of the family line, Oki, because of his jealousy of Atanarjuat.The pictorial matter follows the lives of these two men and the contravenes they rescue as they grow older. It similarly focuses on the spiritual ideas that nonplus both Oki and Atanarjuat, and their other tribe members, to drastic actions. From the set about, the curse is embedded into the film successfully, as it helps explain why certain things happened t o Atanarjuat and Oki. The curse was portrayed by a sound effect whenever a person was affected by it. Without that effect, the idea of the curse may not have come crosswise as thoroughly, and might even have been forgotten until the end.As well as the curse was portrayed, the reason for it coming about was a arcsecond confusing for viewers who were not used to the language and style of the film. years before the story of Atanarjuat and Oki, a shaman predicts that a curse leave alone be brought on by Tulimaq. By no coincidence, camp leader, Kumaglak, died in a duel and his rightful successor, Tulimaq, was passed over and Sauri was given the title. Tulimaq does not put on this well, accusing Sauri of luck murder his father.Tulimaq becomes a laughing stock and cannot eat his wife and kids, Atanarjuat and Amaqjuaq, though he gets help from his friend, Panikpak, widow of Kumaglak. It was hard to read what exactly caused the curse and why Tulimaq was the one burdened by it with th e way the story was told. The quick scenes and unclear dialogue were not exactly helping in telling this story, especially since it was from a culture that most viewers would not be familiar with. Overall, the film was effective in describing the actions and beliefs brought on by Tulimaqs curse.The power the idea that the curse is what causes the constant conflict between Atanarjuat and Oki is portrayed skillfully. In the beginning a tribe member, Qulitalik, is shown expiration the village in fear of the curse, but promises to return if his sister, Panikpak, ever necessitate his help. This promise is so strong that, decades later, when Atanarjuat needs help hiding and defeating Oki, Qulitalik is the person that aids in ending the curse. This brings in the idea of loyalty to family and biotic community and shows that these were vital beliefs of the tribe.Another aspect of the film that greatly helped illustrate the magnificence of both the tribes beliefs and conviction of the cur se was symbolism. Throughout the film, certain symbols and symbolic gestures were used to show the tribes belief in a certain idea. Right before her husband dies, Panikpak witnesses a muffin lamp fall and break in half, which foreshadowed the bad events that were to come. A walrus-tooth necklace was introduced in the beginning of the film as a sort of heirloom of Kumaglak. It was given to Sauri as a symbol of his new power as the new chief.Although it is just an object, it revealed the tribes faith in what it represented because at the end of the film, formerly the necklace was returned to Tulimaqs spirit, its rightful owner, peace is brought back to the village. This film shows how greatly this tribe of Eskimos argon effected by their beliefs and rituals, although the viewers may not be familiar with them. In the ethnography Never In Anger by Jean Briggs, she describes the difference in gender roles in Utku tribe. They were very similar to those of the tribe of Igloolik.The wome n were the c betakers, doing housework, tending to animal hides, looking after children, and cooking, while the men fished, hunted, and built igloos as shelter. Each sex was separated during meals and women were submissive to men. This contend an integral part in the film, especially for the character, Puja. She did not seem to call for to conform to the ideals of what women were supposed to do in the tribe, and was seen as lazy and spoiled. She also seemed to believe she could have more than one man, as men were allowed to have more than one wife, and challenged this idea when she seduces Atanarjuats brother, Amaqjuaq.The womens role in the village was a catalyst for certain actions taken by the males. For example, Atanarjuat and Oki had their first conflict over Atuat when she and Atanarjuat fell in love while she was bespoken to Oki. Oki goes after Atanarjuat once again when Puja lies about his brother hitting her for no reason, when in fact it was because she was caught cheati ng on her husband with him. Although women were not in charge of the actions of the tribe or important decisions of the tribe, it is shown that they do have wideness in another sense.They can influence the mens actions on an individual basis and in terms of the tribe as a whole. The film Atanarjuat The fasting Runner definitely has some aspects that need improvement for viewers who are not familiar with the Eskimo culture to understand. However, in terms of portraying the culture and beliefs, this film gives its audience something they can identify with. No matter where they are from, they can sympathize with what believing in a supernatural whimsicality can make one do, and how family and community loyalty influences ones decisions.