Victor Rocked

“Phoenix, Arizona” was a story that was adapted to film in Smoke Signals. Victor Joseph experienced a rough childhood that was haunted by his father’s heavy drinking. After his father left around the age of twelve he became very angered at the single mentioning of his dad. In Smoke Signals, Victor traveled with Thomas Builds-a-Fire to Phoenix to recover his father’s dead body. Along their journey Thomas tells multiple stories about Joseph’s father, some he had never been told before. As the story goes Victor seems to get more aggravated with Thomas and his stories. When Victor wrecks he reaches an understanding of how important these stories are in his life.
The film starts with a story being told about Thomas Builds-a-Fire also being narrated by Thomas. The use of this sets a theme that reoccurs throughout the movie. Thomas’ stories reveal things about Victor’s father that were unknown to the audience. When different things are unraveled it helps us realize that Victor’s father is not the terrible person he was first presented as. Thomas is a key character that without him the story would not make sense. The often use of the stories or flashbacks give the audience a better understanding of all the characters not just Arnold Joseph.
As the film progress, we slowly learn why Arnold Joseph became an alcoholic and why he was always mad. Although the story was not told Thomas the impact it makes on Victor is a big one. When Suzy tells Victor that his father started the fire it left him speechless. The use of this story really hits Victor hard and he becomes angered at the fact that it may be true. Victor was obviously angered at the smallest mentioning of his father. He was like this nearly his whole life. He did not like the fact that his father was an alcoholic and abusive man. Victor did not learn to accept this fact until he ran back to get help after the wreck.
Stories reveal lots of missing facts in a movie and they can be very helpful for the audience. The amount of flashbacks and stories connects many people in Smoke Signals and unveils many different aspects of characters that were first presented in a different way. Victor Joseph faced a rough childhood and used his father’s death as a way to release all the anger that had built up over time. The anger that was released was referred back to an old story that Thomas told once. When Victor dumped his ashes in the falls he was “cleaning out the attic.”