A few weeks ago, I went to see Embrace of the Serpent (2015) at the Laemmle Royale. It is set on and around the Amazon River and follows two explorers and their interactions with Karamakate, a native from a dying tribe. The film makes a powerful statement about colonialism on the region, but its most striking messages, sometimes wrapped in symbolism and others plainly visible, were about the death of the culture and the death of knowledge. Karamakate is the last of his tribe, and he learns that his god-given mission is to pass his knowledge on to the explorers.
The movie, much like the world, is full of ulterior motives, conflicting beliefs, humans acting without humanity. But the backdrop is the Amazon, and, like the world, it is beautiful nonetheless. I connected with the idea that the pursuit and the dissemination of knowledge is a holy quest. I empathized with Karamakate, who is reticent to give his knowledge to the first explorer. He is, after all, surrounded by the edifices of colonization, heavy-handed missionaries and rubber barons. But eventually, Karamakate finds the courage to share with the second explorer. Eventually, the second explorer gives up his ulterior motives. Eventually, the two can connect.
In the world, we strive for connection, but we struggle to overcome the obstacles that divide us: belief systems, politics, history, language. There are explorers the world today, trying desperately to preserve the cultures of native peoples before they are swept out to a sea of uniformity. Why? Because these people understand that our world is rich because it is diverse. These people understand that connection through homogeneity is hollow and fruitless. I see myself or my goal for myself in the explorer at the end, liberated from his goal of exploitation, open instead to understanding. I see my world in the jungle that surrounds him, teeming with understanding to be received.
It was very interesting to here the director speak afterward about the film, which was shot on a shoestring budget in very little time. All native peoples were played by actual native peoples. The movie represents a commitment to the preservation of culture and, as Colombia's first feature-film Oscar nomination, a resurgence of art and expression in a war-torn nation.
The movie, much like the world, is full of ulterior motives, conflicting beliefs, humans acting without humanity. But the backdrop is the Amazon, and, like the world, it is beautiful nonetheless. I connected with the idea that the pursuit and the dissemination of knowledge is a holy quest. I empathized with Karamakate, who is reticent to give his knowledge to the first explorer. He is, after all, surrounded by the edifices of colonization, heavy-handed missionaries and rubber barons. But eventually, Karamakate finds the courage to share with the second explorer. Eventually, the second explorer gives up his ulterior motives. Eventually, the two can connect.
In the world, we strive for connection, but we struggle to overcome the obstacles that divide us: belief systems, politics, history, language. There are explorers the world today, trying desperately to preserve the cultures of native peoples before they are swept out to a sea of uniformity. Why? Because these people understand that our world is rich because it is diverse. These people understand that connection through homogeneity is hollow and fruitless. I see myself or my goal for myself in the explorer at the end, liberated from his goal of exploitation, open instead to understanding. I see my world in the jungle that surrounds him, teeming with understanding to be received.
It was very interesting to here the director speak afterward about the film, which was shot on a shoestring budget in very little time. All native peoples were played by actual native peoples. The movie represents a commitment to the preservation of culture and, as Colombia's first feature-film Oscar nomination, a resurgence of art and expression in a war-torn nation.
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