Religious Responses to Violence

A Paper by M. Rinn

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Religion and violence often go hand in hand. There is, of course, religious violence, the act of perpetuating something in the name of religion. However, it is more common to see religion being used as a means of responding to violence, usually by those who have been hurt by violent acts. It is also a universal response, not limited to one particular sect or group. This universal response of religion in the face of violence and times of personal distress is showcased in many films, but is particularly strong in Americano, Fast Runner and Daughters of the Dust.

The film Americano (Ferrand 2007) focuses on many instances of violence through North and South America, as well as social injustice. The greater emphasis and point that the film makes is that there is still great inequality in the world, despite all of the advances in human rights. It also subtly demonstrates how people use religion to cope with social injustices, particularly in Latin America. The most powerful display of religious devotion in the face of terrible tragedy and injustice appears when Ferrand turns his cameras on Mexico, examining a series of murders of Mexican women near the border with America. These murders are described as sudden and unexpected, with not all of the victims being identified. A series of eight crosses, one for each of the victims, is shown being planted in the barren field where their bodies were found. Each cross is pink with the victim’s name carefully painted on and there are flowers strewn around the markers. It is never identified who placed these crosses on the site where the women were found, be it family, friends or simply people who learned of the murders. However, the fact that crosses were placed there to begin with demonstrates that someone felt affected enough by what had occurred and sought out religion as a means of consolation, either out of a personal need to deal with what had happened or feeling as if the victims would have appreciated such a memorial.

To make the scene more powerful, the camera approaches the markers at eye level slowly, acting as the viewer’s eye and leading the viewer towards the grave as if the audience too is paying their respects to the dead women. It then pans across slowly to show each of the names written on the crosses, but never pausing to rest on just one. This choice reflects an idea that each woman was a victim and should be given equal time for consideration and mourning, instead of focusing on just one or two, creating a sort of equality in death. The background of Mexico’s desert highlights the sense of loss in the scene, as does the lack of narration by Ferrand. The entire scene has a stillness to it that makes the viewer feel as if they are a part of the scene in Mexico looking at the graves and taking in the sights around them rather than sitting and watching a movie from the comfort of one’s home or in a movie theatre.

The film Fast Runner (Kunuk 2001) demonstrates another way that religion can appear to those suffering from acts of violence, this time focusing on the shamanistic of the Inuit in Alaska. The film itself retells an epic legend from the oral tradition of the Inuit, narrating a story of one of their own, called Atanarjuat (Natar Ungalaaq), and the struggles and triumphs in his life. The shaman traditions found in the story are essential to the film’s plot. Right from the beginning Qulitalik (Pauloosie Qulitalik), is shown as being a central figure to the plotline, serving as a catalyst for the rest of the film’s events. When he leaves the village for a reason not discussed in the film, Panikpak (Madeline Ivalu) gives him a rabbit’s foot for good fortune. In turn Qulitalik informs her that if there is ever trouble, he will help her somehow. This ends up being a key religious experience for Antanarjuat later in the film when he is being chased by Oki (Peter-Henry Arnatsiaq) and Oki’s associates who are intent on murdering Antanarjuat. As Antanarjuat flees from his would be dispatchers, nude across a field of ice, he has a vision of Qulitalik. This vision calls out to him as Antanarjuat faces a very large pool of ice water that he must either cross by jumping or face Oki. Both options seem likely to kill him. However, the vision of Qulitalik gives him the courage and the strength to leap across the ice water. With this new spiritual assistance, Antanajuat makes the jump across the water and continues to run, leaving Oki gaping in dumb surprise before being forced to return to his camp to get a dog sled in order to continue the pursuit. The appearance of Qualialik during this time of great peril demonstrates how the Inuit saw their religion, as something close and personal and there in times of distress. Moreover it, it demonstrates the familial nature of the religion and how people themselves were viewed as spiritual helpers, capable of interfering in events and helping others who are alive.

The cinematography of the chase scene adds greatly to the religious elements to it. The camera initially uses establishing shots to show the bleak Alaskan wilderness with a nude Antanarjuat fleeing from Oki and his henchmen. It soon cuts to relying primarily on handheld shots, creating shaky movement as the camera cuts between Antanarjuat and Oki. This heightens the tension between the two and giving the scene a rawer, realistic feel. When the camera cuts to Qulitalik, the tension disappears completely and is replaced with a sense of serenity due to the stillness of the shot as it focuses on Qulitalik’s face. The stillness of that shot is then mirrored in the low angle show of Antanarjuat leaping. The low angle also helps to place a greater emphasis on Antanarjuat’s skill as well as the spiritual endowment from Qulitalik. It also helps to demonstrates how much power this spiritual endowment has, making an almost impossible feat feasible.

Daughters of the Dust (Dash 1991) shows another means that religion is used as a coping mechanism in response to violence. Early on in the film it is revealed that Eli’s wife has been raped by an unknown stranger, sending Eli (Adisa Anderson) into great distress. This distress comes to a head as he sits with Nana (Cora Lee Day) in a grave yard as she tends to the graves of the ancestors who lived on the island for many years, removing the weeds and visiting with them. As she does so, Eli rants and rages angrily about what has occurred. Nana listens to him and then responds, telling him that the ancestors are watching out for the family and would not allow for such a terrible act to occur and for a child to come if it was a bad omen or an unwanted child. Nana’s words do nothing to calm Eli down. Rather they cause him to become even angrier and to insult and reject Nana’s beliefs that the ancestors are watching over them and helping the family. The conversation ends with Eli storming off in a fit of rage, suggesting that he has tried to deal with this terrible situation by believing that somehow the ancestors were watching over him, but the belief fell through, leaving him feeling alone, vulnerable and angry at what has happened with no means of consoling himself.

The camera use in this scene reflects the emotions of Eli. When he and Nana discuss what has happened to his wife, they are never shown together in a frame. This is used to help emphasize Eli’s sense of isolation from everyone else in the community, as this is a highly personal situation for him and he is the only one suffering from having to deal with the repercussions of the act aside from his wife. Moreover, it demonstrates how he is at odds with Nana in terms of religion and how he has come to reject her religious beliefs on the situation. The shots sometimes switch to subtle low angles as well, especially when the camera focuses on Nana. These subtle angles emphasize her place as elder of the family and how much respect and prestige she holds as matriarch. This makes it all the more dramatic when the scene cuts to an establishing shot of Eli storming away from Nana angrily, leaving her sitting there and reacting to his rejection of the family’s religion, something she thought should help him through cooping with the rape of his wife. The scene that follows shows a high angle of Eli demolishing a tree with a myriad of colourful glass bottles on it, which is a memory tree that Nana has made so that the ancestors might continue to watch and help the family in the afterlife. The high angle is used to demonstrate how powerless and small Eli feels in the situation, as well as the spiritual damage that he is causing by breaking a symbol of religion to Nana and the rest of the family.

Despite cultural, racial and geographic divides, humans often deal with painful and stressful situations in similar ways. For many people, religion is a common response to all sorts of violence, injustice and social situations that they have little to no control over. Why this occurs is unknown, but the aid of the divine in human affairs comforts many people and transcends boundries. From the social injustice of Americano to the helpful hand of the shaman in Antanarjuat, and the combination of Christianity and African tribal religion in Daughters of the Dust, the mirror to reality is shown and what it demonstrates is that religion is a powerful tool to everyone when they are most vulnerable and feel the most alone.