Desire to Assimilate
By Alexandra Neumann, with comment by Kelsey Cannon
[1] A wife, a place to live, allies, and free food -- what else can a captive Frenchman ask for? Perhaps to not be the main dinner course among a group of cannibals. Despite this disconcerting fact of fate that lingers over this man, the protagonist does not seem to hesitate in adapting to his new lifestyle. Although this happens gradually (and not without hesitations and attempts of escape), we are able to witness the Frenchman’s eventual capitulation to the Tupinamba’s lifestyle. Perhaps the most crucial individual responsible for this transformation is Seboipebe, the woman who becomes the Frenchman’s wife.
[2] It seems as if Seoipebe’s role in this situation is to act as a manipulator and to ensure that the Frenchman does not attempt to escape. She seems as if she is assigned the role of “wife†since we never actually witness a marriage ceremony. The protagonist eventually comes to realize her obligation and turns to favor her. In an attempt to learn more of her culture, he grows closer to her in both an intimate and amiable sense. We see that the Frenchman has fallen into a familial routine with her. When she asks if he would like to collect wood, he answers, “I want to stay . . . home.†The Frenchman has a sense of ownership now that he has both a wife and a hut to call his own.
[3] Later in the film, Seboipebe uses the term “mon marie,†meaning “my husband,†to refer to the Frenchman. He reiterates this almost affectionately several times through the sequence of scenes that follow. Perhaps in an attempt to understand her culture, he also asks questions in regards to her god and ancestor, “the great ‘Caraiba'.†The Frenchman listens to his wife describe Mair, “the one who taught us how to build a fire . . . how to shave, how to make weapons to beat the enemy, to plant menioc, to build houses…†Watching this montage, it almost seems as if the protagonist desires to take on the role of Mair. As his wife mentions that Mair taught them how to shave, the Frenchman touches his beard repeatedly, and we eventually see that the beard disappears. We later watch as he builds a house of some sort and jumps over the fire in what one might guess would be a ceremony. Mair also was responsible for helping the Tupinamba defeat their enemies. The Frenchman eventually helps the tribe find gunpowder to build weapons in preparation for war. (see comment by Kelsey Cannon)
[4] One scene during this narrative displays the Frenchman’s change in appearance. This scene is interesting visually because it is the first time we see that the Frenchman has altered his body to emulate the other men in the tribe. If we recall earlier in the film, he had stubbornly refused to have his beard shaved when he first arrived, claiming, “I want to die with my beard.†There is no scene that illustrates the transition. Instead, we see him as he was introduced, the quintessential European with pale skin, blonde hair, beard, and clothed, who transforms into someone who could almost pass as a native. This scene shows us that he has shaved a portion of his head, his beard, and is stripped of his clothing. This illustrates his desire to be assimilated into the Tupinamba culture.
[5] Perhaps we can rely on the psychological term Stockholm syndrome to explain the Frenchman’s desire to be assimilated. Stockholm syndrome is a term often associated with the paradoxical psychological occurrence in which hostages demonstrates a positive reaction towards their captors despite the danger of their situation. It seems as if this phenomenon may be related to what the Frenchman is experiencing. Since the film is shot in a slightly documentary style, the Frenchman’s motives are ambiguous. I pondered over the idea of whether the Frenchman actually believed he could be accepted as a clansman instead of as a meal. His attempts at becoming friendly with the French merchant in the hope of gaining assistance in his escape seemed futile. To make his predicament even more unfortunate, the death of the merchant really seemed to terminate the prospect of escaping with some help. At this point, perhaps the Frenchman felt his best chance of survival would entail full immersion into the Tupinamba culture in an attempt to win over the chief (which he honestly does, but, unfortunately, as we see by the end of the film, cultural ties are more significant than newly formed friendships). I came to the conclusion that he must have honestly wanted to make the best of his situation, because he practically waited until the end of his eight-month leniency period. Perhaps he had decided that this lifestyle was better suited to his own desires in comparison to his former situation with the French (after all, they did throw him off a cliff to drown him).
Comments
It does seem like the protagonist attempts to take on the role of Mair--so much so that I was actually confused as to the subject of the narration. For a moment I thought that perhaps the narration referenced the protagonist and that he became a cultural legend. In addition to the elements covered by Neumann--shaving, building fire, defeating the enemy, etc.--the protagonist takes to the fields with the women in the way that Mair did, cultivating them to make them lush and productive. In this "godly" imitation, I found the cruelty of the other men confusing. The natives make fun of the protagonist for being in the fields with the women when their own god and ancestor did the same--this was a cultural inconsistency that I did not quite understand, and perhaps lead me to believe that the natives would not adhere to their cultural standards and the protagonist would not be killed in the end.
