The Mission Essay, Research Paper

Meena Throngkumpola Newman Smith High School

World Experience 2,6

Essay-The Mission

The movie, “The Mission,” is about how the Spanish in cooperation with Pourtugal try to get the Jesuits off land negotiated by the two countries. The Spanish Church sends people into Asuncion, Paraguay to persuade the Jesuits to get off the land. The film includes spiritual and political activities the are reflected through the church, natives, and the Jesuits.

What the movie mainly tried to show was that the Church wanted to maintain control over the Jesuits. To show that control, they went to Paraguay and tried to persuade the Jesuits to leave. The Spanish allowed them to take care of the matter to prove that. Spain and Portugal had negotiated the treaty of Tordesillias. In this treaty the two countries split the western world into two parts where Spain can have one half and Portugal the other. In the newer version of the treaty, the line that split the land was moved in favor of Portugal. On that land, missionaries had already set up missions. To better the economy for Portugal, the Spanish Church was sent in to get the Jesuits out. The would be effected by the continuation of the Jesuits because of the slave trade. If the Jesuits stayed, the Indians would have a spiritual leader . To brake their faith the Jesuits would have to be removed.

Near the end of the movie, the Spanish do try to break the faith of the Indians. Father John is seen carrying a cross with many natives following behind him. He is killed purposely, and even though he is down, the native faith is still there. A young native boy picks up the cross and assumes the role of father proving that killing the head leader does not kill the faith.

One aspect of the movie was the technology. The Indians were attacked by a powerful weapon, and that was the weapon of being inferior to a race that had a different way of life. The Indians were introduced to guns, complex musical instruments, and simplicities such as clothing. These new things changed their life. In the battle scene, the Indians steal gun powder from the Spanish. The gun powder is then used by the Indians to their advantage. By using home made cannons, they are not totally helpless to the cannons and bullets of the opposing side. One of the most memorable scenes of the movie shows the small native girl picking up a destroyed violin and taking it with her with many more children on a canoe. The only reason I can see for that scene is to represent that even though the children are leaving the area to get away from the bad people, they will never fully forget what happened to them as they encountered the white men. The sequences where the same girl sees her own people dying shows that even though these people were bad, they had made an impact that would not be forgotten.

This movie, “The Mission,” shows many of the negative effects of European expansion. It reflects the many political and spiritual struggles that the people faces, and shows that expansion of the west was not a pretty or glorious chapter of history.