The Business of Fancydancing
Encyclopedia
The Business of Fancydancing is a 2002 film written and directed by Sherman Alexie
.
The film explores the tension between two Spokane
men who grew up together on the Spokane Reservation in eastern Washington state: Seymour Polatkin (Evan Adams
) and Aristotle (Gene Tagaban). Seymour's internal conflict between his Indian
heritage and his life as an urban gay
man with a white
boyfriend plays out in multiple cultures and relationships over his college and early adult years. His literary success as a famed American Indian poet, resulting in accolades from non-Indians, contrasts with a lack of approval from those he grew up with back on the reservation. The protagonist struggles with discomfort and alienation in both worlds.
Seymour returns to the reservation for the funeral of his friend Mouse (Swil Kanim), a violinist, and Seymour's internal conflict becomes external as his childhood friends and relatives on the reservation question his motivation for writing Indian-themed poems and selling them to the mainstream public. The film examines several issues that contemporary American Indians face, including cultural assimilation (both on the reservation and in urban areas), difficult stereotypes, and substance abuse.
In the DVD commentary, Alexie refers to Michelle St. John's character, Agnes Roth, a mixed-race (Spokane/Jewish) woman who moves to the reservation to teach in the school, as "the moral center of the film". Agnes is also an ex-lover of Polotkin's, with the two of them still maintaining a deep friendship.
The film's incidental music was composed by Mohican
composer Brent Michael Davids
. The violin solos were composed and performed by Swil Kanim, and a number of the actors sing. The film also features Alexie's poetry, and the author's mother served as a language consultant.
The film was made in an experimental and largely non-hierarchical manner, with a predominantly female crew; many scenes were improvised, with biographical details from the lives of the actors as well as the writer/director. This is discussed in detail on the DVD commentary and the behind the scenes documentary included in the DVD release, where Alexie comments that he wanted to make a film that not only discussed his politics, but put them into practice in the making of the film.
Sherman Alexie
Sherman Joseph Alexie, Jr. is a writer, poet, filmmaker, and occasional comedian. Much of his writing draws on his experiences as a Native American. Two of Alexie's best known works are The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven , a book of short stories and Smoke Signals, a film...
.
The film explores the tension between two Spokane
Spokane (tribe)
The Spokane are a Native American people in the northeastern portion of the U.S. state of Washington. The Spokane Indian Reservation, at , is located in eastern Washington, almost entirely in Stevens County, but includes two very small parcels of land and part of the Spokane River in...
men who grew up together on the Spokane Reservation in eastern Washington state: Seymour Polatkin (Evan Adams
Evan Adams
Evan Tlesla Àdams is a Canadian actor, playwright and medical doctor. A Coast Salish from the Sliammon First Nation near Powell River, British Columbia, he is best known internationally for his roles in the films of Sherman Alexie, as Thomas Builds-the-Fire in the 1998 film Smoke Signals and...
) and Aristotle (Gene Tagaban). Seymour's internal conflict between his Indian
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
heritage and his life as an urban gay
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
man with a white
White people
White people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
boyfriend plays out in multiple cultures and relationships over his college and early adult years. His literary success as a famed American Indian poet, resulting in accolades from non-Indians, contrasts with a lack of approval from those he grew up with back on the reservation. The protagonist struggles with discomfort and alienation in both worlds.
Seymour returns to the reservation for the funeral of his friend Mouse (Swil Kanim), a violinist, and Seymour's internal conflict becomes external as his childhood friends and relatives on the reservation question his motivation for writing Indian-themed poems and selling them to the mainstream public. The film examines several issues that contemporary American Indians face, including cultural assimilation (both on the reservation and in urban areas), difficult stereotypes, and substance abuse.
In the DVD commentary, Alexie refers to Michelle St. John's character, Agnes Roth, a mixed-race (Spokane/Jewish) woman who moves to the reservation to teach in the school, as "the moral center of the film". Agnes is also an ex-lover of Polotkin's, with the two of them still maintaining a deep friendship.
The film's incidental music was composed by Mohican
Mahican
The Mahican are an Eastern Algonquian Native American tribe, originally settling in the Hudson River Valley . After 1680, many moved to Stockbridge, Massachusetts. During the early 1820s and 1830s, most of the Mahican descendants migrated westward to northeastern Wisconsin...
composer Brent Michael Davids
Brent Michael Davids
Brent Michael Davids is an American composer and flautist. He is a member of the Stockbridge Mohican nation of American Indians. He has composed for Zeitgeist, the Kronos Quartet, Joffrey Ballet, the National Symphony Orchestra, and Chanticleer.He holds a B.M...
. The violin solos were composed and performed by Swil Kanim, and a number of the actors sing. The film also features Alexie's poetry, and the author's mother served as a language consultant.
The film was made in an experimental and largely non-hierarchical manner, with a predominantly female crew; many scenes were improvised, with biographical details from the lives of the actors as well as the writer/director. This is discussed in detail on the DVD commentary and the behind the scenes documentary included in the DVD release, where Alexie comments that he wanted to make a film that not only discussed his politics, but put them into practice in the making of the film.
See also
- Fancy danceFancy danceFancy dance, Pan-Indian dancing, Fancy Feather or Fancy War Dance is a style of dance some believe was originally created by members of the Ponca tribe in the 1920s and 1930s, in an attempt to preserve their culture and religion. It is loosely based on the War dance...
- List of American films of 2002
- Sherman AlexieSherman AlexieSherman Joseph Alexie, Jr. is a writer, poet, filmmaker, and occasional comedian. Much of his writing draws on his experiences as a Native American. Two of Alexie's best known works are The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven , a book of short stories and Smoke Signals, a film...
- Smoke SignalsSmoke Signals (film)Smoke Signals is an independent film directed and co-produced by Chris Eyre and with a screenplay by Sherman Alexie, based on the short story "This is what it means to say Phoenix, Arizona" from his book Lone Ranger and Tonto: Fistfight in Heaven. It won several awards and accolades, and was...