Trinkets and Beads - Movie Analysis Essay

Introduction

Trinkets and Beads is a film that narrates a story of over 20 years of conflict, that is, the collision between the survival of customs and the culture of native people around the globe and western multinational corporations. The movie is directed by Tony Avirgan and Chris Walker and tells the tragic yet comic narrative of the implausible connection between the Huaorani people of the Ecuadorian Orient, which is the most isolated tribe in the amazon and the Texas-based evangelical oil company named Maxus 79-year-old Wycliffe Bible Translators missionary Rachel Saint. First landed on the Huaorani territory through the help of the missionaries, Maxus is guilty of poisoning their rivers and land with its flares and drills and leaking pipeline. In response, the Huaorani have taken arms to get the Texan oil moguls out. Therefore, the paper will discuss the struggles encountered by the Huaorani tribe of the Ecuadorian Amazon in the film Trinkets and Beads.

The film brings out some key sociological concepts. For instance, the film encompasses the exploitation of a third world nation. First, they are colonized through the introduction of Christianity, which persuades the people to stop their customs and cultural practices and accommodate the new Christian way of life. This shows ethnocentrism whereby the Huaorinis ways of life, culture, and customs are evaluated in the values standards and customs of Christianity, which is thought to be superior and the other inferior and barbaric (Booth, 2014). The revolt by the native inhabitants or rebellion against the oil and gas companies in responses to oil-drilling exploitation, and the environmental impacts of oil production on the lives of the native population. As such, the film is about the exploitation of a third world community in Ecuador due to the availability of natural resources. The Huaorians are one of the fiercest tribes in Ecuador and have kept their customs and cultural practices. However, in 1957, they started undergoing the gradual process of colonization. The Huaorins started rejecting the transformation to Christian by killing five of the missionaries.

Nonetheless, a determined Rachel Saint evangelization efforts were able to persuade the tribe who converted to Christianity following the teachings of the Bible, particularly the New Testament, since it was available in their language. As such, Rachel's existence among the tribe and conversion to a new faith led to a significant change in lifestyle and habits. For instance, the Huaorinis abandoned their traditional attire for western clothes. In 1961, Texaco and shell oil started drilling oil in the Huaorinis land and made a lot of profit. Thus, many other companies joined the race to drill oil and moved the indigenous people from their lands. This is economic determinism whereby the economic forces determine the political, intellectual, technological, and cultural elements of the civilization (Thomasberger, 2012). As such, the Huaorani people were removed from their land as dictated by the economic gain of the oil corporations.

Moreover, the film shows neo-colonialism in third world countries. The Huaorani people were gradually colonized through the help of the missionaries. For instance, petro Canada was the first company to move the native populations from their land to drill oil. The Ecuadorian government remained silent because it had already signed a deal with the company. In this light, the film points out the neo-colonialism happening in third world countries whereby their resources, people, are exploited for the benefit of the foreign countries (Robertson & Pinstrup-Andersen 2010). The Huaoranis people filed a case against Texaco, which did not pass due to Ecuador being underdeveloped suing a developed country. The lawsuit was resolved temporarily via manipulation and corruption of the Ecuadorian leaders and false promises of education for people and children and some compensation. This clearly and vividly exhibits the power of the elite and the neo-colonialism of the third world countries by the western developed nations.

In 1992, Maxus resolved to drill in the heart of the Huaorian's land. The move started polluting the environment in ways not seen before. Health became an issue for the indigenous people. Native populations started suffering from bronchitis, the lands rivers lagoons, and streams were no longer safe to drink or for domestic uses due to contamination. Animals falling in the water would not come out alive. Oil fires in the Cofan area also became an issue for disruptions of daily Huaorins and safety hazards. Over time, roads were created, and people came from other places to develop the areas.

As such, despite some help from the settlers, the indigenous people could not place themselves to accept the social, economic, and environmental changes that were happening on their people and their lands. That is when Moi decided to unite his people against the outside world. The attack designed to be a warning attracted over 500 U.S soldiers who pushed the Huaorins back to their homes. The story reveals the consequences of neo-colonialism, ethnocentrism, and exploitation of the local population of third world countries by the developed and rich countries. Therefore, the Huaaronis are still fighting to survive the petroleum age, and the first world is developing the little traditional societies and natural resources left.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the U.S government and the oil corporation did not have sociological imagination. They did not observe or have the perspective of the native population on the environmental, economic, and social changes happening in their land. They did not take time to understand the culture, customs, and livelihoods of the people of Huaonis. As such, they did not have a second perspective on the danger they were going to cause the native people. Thus, America rushed to develop the land not to bring development to the people but rather to exploit the Huaronis lands and oil without any tangible compensation nor education for their children.

References

Booth, K. (2014). Strategy and ethnocentrism (Routledge revivals). Routledge.

Robertson, B., & Pinstrup-Andersen, P. (2010). Global land acquisition: neo-colonialism or development opportunity?. Food Security, 2(3), 271-283.

Thomasberger, C. (2012). The belief in economic determinism, neoliberalism, and the significance of Polanyi's contribution in the twenty-first century. International Journal of Political Economy, 41(4), 16-33.