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This discussion is now closed and evaluated. Thank you to the students who participated. You offered a thoughtful and provocative discussion. My recommendation for future conversations would be to see the connections between what we read and the film - what do they teach you about religion in America during the historical period that we study?

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Penance is not a punishment. Penance is a discipline, a physical conditioning (in his instance) so that he will resist the thoughts and actions that he considered wrong. It is a way of setting right the wrong one did. Blackrobe practices an way of penance that is actually a misunderstanding of the act - a misunderstanding that had been practiced for hundreds of years.

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Using what you learned from reading Albanese's article on Nature Religion, why would it be reasonable for an Algonkian to consider Blackrobe a demon?

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Hey, Christinique. It certainly was disheartening to see the French mission end on such a terrible note. The scene where the Hurons asked LaForgue to show them the path to Christianity leads you to believe that everything will finally turn out okay for everyone, that the French and the Indians will finally come together as one. Unfortunately, that was not the case for either group.

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In addition the that, the Black Robes also thought of the Indians as demonic due to their ceremonial practices and such. However, we did see a slight change in the attitudes of the Indians towards the end of the film. Before Chomina passed away, he did say the words "my friend" to LaForgue, which--in my perspective--shows that his initial opinions of the Black Robes have changed for the better to some extent.

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Hey, Nayazia. I hope you're feeling better now. In any case, you are absolutely right regarding the importance of the film. Those brutal scenes may have only been acted out, but they're depictions of torturous acts that have been (and unfortunately will continue to be) performed in reality.

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I felt a sense of AHA !....and then the caption said they were captured and killed within 15 years and the mission retreated home. Just seems like they gave up as a whole smh.

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I think they trusted him because they had no other choice honestly. Think about it the people in your community is dying from a strange disease, I mean they were getting wiped out. What else could they do I feel like they did this to survive honestly.

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Yes he admired the Indians sharing and sense of community towards the end of the movie.

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I love how the journey tests the mind, body, and soul of  the black robe who endures betrayal by the Algonquins, torture at the hands of a rival group and doubtful acceptance when he reaches the mission.

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I feel like the movie did a good job showing the growth of the black robe since he ultimately makes it to the mission and works  on converting. I agree with Chritinique that those last words gave it a sense of futility. I think the black robe still saw it as a success.

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I'm gonna be honest with you because I actually thought Blackrobe wasn't going to succeed and that his relationship with the indians would go bad. I mean think about it, they accused him of being a demon as well as casting a spell on the dead. To me, that sounds ridiculous which leads me to say that they didn't trust him. What do you guys think?

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how do you feel about black robe and the ending of the movie based of this post?

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This movie is very important because if you google whats going today those brutal images will come up and me being from Newark and the amount of dead bodies i seen you would think i would be more prepare to see stuff like that but honestly it just really makes me mad and upset.

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Black robe was a very great movie the whole time i was glued to the screen. It was a very good movie to me because although there was a lot of negative drama one thing that stood out to me was 'love' and when it was repeated you didn't see any specific race or different race you saw and felt the love and that warmth that comes a long with it.

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I think the priest originally formed his mistrust of the Algonquins and other tribes due to what he learned from other French people who had been there. There was that priest who had had his face mutilated early on in the movie, so I think he expected that kind of treatment. He was also treated as an outsider for most of the movie, which did not help his distrust. As he got to understand them and know them more, he began to trust them.

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Despite the differences in their beliefs, the words (e.g. "My God loves you.") and the actions (e.g the brief hug that was performed back during the scene in the forest) of both groups show how much they truly care for one another.

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Is the Blackrobe taking up some of the beliefs of the Indians?

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This isn't so different from today's society. If a woman is kidnapped or taken hostage she is most likely going to be sexually abused.

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they preformed a ceremony for the men they lost.

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I'm getting the impression that the priest only really expected this to happen in the New World. That he would not really get the opportunity to convert them and only be tortured and probably killed by them.

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nevermind

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they killed the shaman?

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It's a form of penance. So you're right, he's punishing himself for his desires.

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Is Maragoit (I think that's how you spell his name) their god?

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Do you think the Indians believe the Blackrobes are their equals? They all seem to think he's a demon and not fully human like that. They also said they were unintelligent.

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Is hitting himself with the branch some sort of atonement?

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I think the relationship will destroy the alliance. The Blackrobes don't respect the Indians as equals so their relationship will be looked at as a disobedience.

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I think the Black Robe sincerely believes that he is called by God to bring Christ to the Algonquins. I suppose we'll see if he is actually sincere in his vocation as the movie progresses, but as of right now I see no reason to doubt him. The Algonquins seem to be more focused on protecting their community from outside threats, like the British and possibly other tribes, and if that means they have to humor the French by taking one of the priests, they consider it worth it if they are protected. I think they are concerned with preserving their own community, religion, and culture against all new influences, and that includes France and their religion.

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If America is an experiment in which cultures encounter each other, what might you identify as the reasons for the encounters in the early colonial settlement

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What is the Black Robe's mission and what moves him to pursue that mission? What is the Algonquin mission and what moves them to pursue their mission

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Work out your idea. What is it about the relationship that might alter the alliance?

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What Christian (Catholic) belief does he have that might be the basis of his mistrust? What does he state is the experiential basis for his mistrust? What repeated behavior has he observed in the Algonquin?

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Hey, Caitlin. It's going to be tough for him to succeed with that mistrust he has. Perhaps he'll surprise us later on.

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the young couple trying to form a relationship will alter the "alliance"...my opinion

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Does anyone think the priest will be successful with his mission if he mistrusts the Algonquins so much?

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Hey, Antoinette. Their relationship--if we can call it that--definitely seems forced. However, they seem to be far from allies at the moment.

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Hi Antoinette,
I don't think it's exactly a forced alliance. I think they both consider the English to be an enemy, and they might be allied against other tribes. I do think they consider it a mutually beneficial alliance.

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I'm confused, are they in a forced alliance?

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Welcome. As you watch the film, simply double click on the Padlet. A box like this will open. Type in your name, then type in the your comments or questions. If you want to read and respond to each other, hit the refresh button to see what others are saying. Make sure all comments or questions are respectful, specific, and help advance the conversation or deepen understanding of the film. Please do not edit or delete a classmate's comments.