From Abby’s statement: To begin with, a book trailer is meant to advertise the mood and content of a book, just as movie trailers do with films. Much of the book has a rough, gritty feel, much like the harsh Southwestern landscape in which it predominantly takes place, and my animation style reflects this. The background is an image of parchment which also resembles the yellowish desert environment in which Tayo and his people must survive. My digital pen-strokes are also harsh and somewhat uneasy, reflecting the uncertainty and distress Tayo experiences before and during his healing ceremony. Abby’s statement

The Importance of Reverence

Think of the hunt: the hours of anticipation, the tension in sighting an animal, and the exhilaration of hitting your mark and a good kill is made. How do you give him respect? How do you honor your brother for giving his life?

Preparing the body properly is an intentional process. Covering his face is a matter of respect before slicing into his body. At home, the woman welcomes the deer spirit. Out of love, he is laid on a blanket and adorned with turquoise and silver rings and a necklace. Lastly, the spirit is fed with cornmeal, which is not easy to come by in the desert. Juxtapose the secular protocol for handling a deer carcass with the thorough actions required to fully respect the deer’s spirit.

Now I invite you to respect a fallen brother. The deer deserves the decoration of valuable jewelry, to be laid on a quality blanket and fed the highest quality meal. Give some thought to honoring an animal’s spirit, why it is important and how it has been done. When you come to a point of understanding, you should feed the deer’s spirit by placing some cornmeal on its nose.

One Place to Hide

I suggest you take a good look around the structure before you interact with it. Invite yourself into this world. Bring yourself to understand the scarring violence of being a soldier. War brings suffering, regardless of cause or outcome, and that trauma is not something that settles when all the fights have been fought. Soldiers continue to wage war against themselves and the life they left when they returned home. Take a good look at Tayo’s reality: the desert, his people, and the haunting memory of destruction.

When you feel the fear, when you understand the need to hide, place the structure on your shoulders (feel free to ask for help). Smell the stale beer; feel the warm dark center of yourself, safe from the memories and safe from the reality that veterans live with the nightmares of trauma. The weight of this structure is intentional: it should mimic the imbalance of drunkenness. Also, think of the burden of continuing to live with these memories, and the efforts taken to hide from them.

After removing the structure, remember that the nightmares do not go away.

Samuel’s paper

My final project is an illustration of Tayo and the many forces that guide him on his spiritual journey. Tayo’s journey consists of both positive and negative experiences that evidently shape his overall being. Wise Betonie says “Accidents happen, and there’s little we can do. But don’t be so quick to call something good or bad. There are balances and harmonies always shifting, always necessary to maintain.”