Scene Analysis
1:45:56

Marching into the Future

by
Sara Asheroff and Michael Joseph

with comments by Jaime Miller, Jason Sebok, and Megan Snyder

(see film clip)

[1]    The final scene of the film Cabeza de Vaca (1:45:56) abruptly breaks from the coverage of Cabeza's journey and switches to marching natives transporting an enormous crucifix (comment by Jaime Miller). The scene represents the religious transformation provoked by the Spanish and other European explorers in the New World.  On a vast barren desert on the outskirts of a mountain range, approximately thirty natives, led by a Spanish drummer, militarily march an enormous silver crucifix toward dark mountains and a severe thunderstorm.  The ominous tone of the scene portrays the unwanted transition from primitive native rule to oppressive Christian authority (comment by Jason Sebok).

[2]    When examining the topography and meteorological conditions of the scene, there is a distinct transition from sunshine and desolate arid land to an ominously dark and lush mountain range.  This represents the change from primitive life to sophistication. The filmmaker, Nicolas Echevarria, used the topography as a metaphor of the refinement of Christianity.  The scene portrays the natives marching from barren land, a symbol of their non-structured religious background, toward stormy higher terrain, representing a move towards Christianity. The mountains are the all-powerful and detailed piece of topography in this scene that point to Christianity's omnipotent, uninviting, and sophisticated nature.  The director contrasts this European view of religion with the natives' attitudes by inserting sounds of crashing thunder  and pouring rain, which negatively connote a walk into the destructive storm of Christianity (comment by Megan Snyder).

[3]    The natives, marching in unison to the commanding, militaristic-sounding drums are indistinguishable from one another. Their only visible movement is the motion of their marching legs.  With their heads and torsos covered by the shadow of the crucifix, the natives appear tiny, almost ant-like, as they march.  It is important to note the non-distinctness of the natives because it represents how the Church saw the "savages" that they were Christianizing.  The church's authority figures viewed natives as nameless and faceless and needing to be cleansed and reborn through Christianity.

[4]    The extremely large and silver crucifix also serves as a cleansing agent. The natives appear to be disinfected by the crucifix they bear, the silver color a nod to the color of sterile surgical instruments.  Christians, likewise, saw conversion as a routine sterilization.  Not only were they protecting themselves from the dangers of infectious native religion, but they also were cleansing the souls of the savages.

[5]    There is no dialogue in the scene, the only audio comes from a Spanish soldier beating a military-style snare drum.  The solider, overweight and wearing a helmet, marches apart from but alongside of the natives.  As the only "civilized white man" in the scene, he appears almost like a slave-owner, easily commanding the thirty-some natives, who oblige his wishes.

[6]    The camera documents the march at an elevated angle.  The procession first marches in the direction of the camera, and, as they pass, the camera follows, providing a profile of the soldier and the natives.  The march never comes close enough to the camera to allow the viewer to distinguish facial features, and the camera never focuses in on one individual or section of the scene's action.  The camera's motion continuously follows the entire procession from the start to finish of the scene.

[7]    The crucifix, the most visible aspect of the scene, is an obvious symbol of Christianity, in its enormity representing Europe's power over the natives during the exploration and acquisition of the New World.  The natives and their primitive means could never outlast or contend with European colonization.  The natives are no longer distinguishable and no longer have a voice; they have become prisoners and work horses of European exploration.  With every beat of the drum the disciplined natives march toward their stormy future. The military aspect further demonstrates power over the natives.  In the military system, marching is used for both discipline and control.

[8]    Just like the scene on this site that Paul Galante analyzed in "The Mystical Transformation and Shamanic Initiation of Cabeza de Vaca," this final scene also represents religious transformation.  In the first scene, "Cabeza de Vaca is depicted as experiencing a direct, profound spiritual experience.  He is overpowered by a spiritual force that both transcends and unites the underlying spirituality reality of Christian and Native religions" (Galante, paragraph 1).  Cabeza de Vaca is viewed as a spiritual union between Christianity and native religions.  Due to his assimilation into the native culture, Cabeza de Vaca, as captive of a tribal shaman and the armless dwarf Malacosa, learns the ways of the shaman.  Through embracing both Christian and Native methods, Cabeza de Vaca is successfully able to heal people and achieves high status within the native culture.

[9]    The religious transformation in the film's final scene sharply contrasts Cabeza de Vaca's learned process in order to show the cruelty and intentions of the Spanish.  While Cabeza de Vaca's transformation was an educated process, the Spanish enforcement of Christianity was an act of violence and domination.  Cabeza de Vaca is an example of a successful union of cultures and evidence of a better potential outcome.  The final scene is the director's way of showing a different, regretful outcome.  The Spanish, waving the flag of Christianity, focused only on expansion and profit when settling into the New World.
 
 

Copyright (c) 2001 by Sara Asheroff and Michael Joseph, Undergraduates at Lehigh University.

This text may be used and shared in accordance with the fair-use provisions of the U.S. copyright law, and it may be archived and redistributed in electronic form, provided that the author is notified and no fee is charged for access.  Archiving, redistribution, or republication of this text on other terms, in any medium, requires the consent of the author.