Response to The Mission

In social studies we talk about people's identity getting taken from them and the effect it has on their culture and themselves. I never really thought about the process and the pain that natives go through when their identity is stolen. After I saw the whole fighting scene in the movie, it really saddened me. So many natives died just fighting for the rights that I take for granted every single day.
Father Gabriel really stood out to me because before the scene with the fighting and burning of the church, he looked awfully frustrated about what would happen to the natives. I think he is a really powerful character especially at the part where he continued to lead the mass as the fire was burning and people were getting shot so close to him. He displayed the importance of silent courage. A lot of people, like Rodrigo, jumped right into war, but Father Gabriel fought silently and stood up for the natives' rights silently. I think that made more of an impact on me than Rodrigo and the natives automatically turned to violence to fight for their identity.
I think it's also interesting that Father Gabriel was accepted fairly quickly into the natives' society. This demonstrated globalization. He was willing to learn their language and they were willing to learn his religion.