Leaving Normal
I didn't really enjoy Leaving Normal. It was very hard for me to find a character that I could identify with or even liked. Marianne was weak, childish and naive. The men were all perverts, abusers or saps. I found Darleen to be obnoxious. Most upsetting were the portrayals of the Alaskan native boys. Apparently the director thought the most realistic way to play Indigenous people was to jump around like apes... I found this to be very offensive and unbelievable.
My favorite road movie from the semester was Powow Highway. I am taking an American Indian studies class this semester and the information presented in AMIN class lectures and this film provided a great connection for me. I don't like Powow Highway because of it's exceptional acting or script, I don't think that the movie was exceedingly great in either aspect. I like this movie because it was refreshing to see Indigenous people instigating the action in a plot line instead of marginalized on the periphery like in Priscilla or Leaving Normal. Also, it provided an an example of what Indigenous people are like today, a culture that is still very much alive. In Priscilla and Leaving Normal, the Indigenous characters are caractures of realistic people. Powow Highway provides viewers with a story about American Indian people that is still very relavant today.