Tom Laughlin, the originator of the role, "Billy Jack", in the films of the same title, died last week, at age 82. He was one of the first true heroes of my young adult life: someone to not only look up to for their "ideas" and "ideals", but also someone to draw strength from, every time I viewed his films. This may be a weird American way of looking at life--through cinema, rather than spiritual teachings--or it may be a contemporary human endeavor. (The more I analyze this, the more I realize that the act of visualization IS spiritually based-- what better way to help one visualize than to watch a large screen?) For whatever reasons, I have taken comfort and gained strength through the films "Billy Jack" and "Trial of Billy Jack"--both first seen in the early '70s.
Briefly, Laughlin plays a Vietnam Special Ops Vet who comes home emotionally wounded from the war. He is through with violence of his own making. Of course, his karma forces him into mainly violent situations--most of which he emerges from wiser and bloodier than his opponents.
A master of the martial arts ("Lapkido") and a student of world philosophies, "Billy Jack" isn't just your everyday action-figure gone rogue. What made him fill my imagination was that he never picked a fight--he was drawn into them. Taking up fists for the oppressed, "Billy Jack" fought racism, sexism (in his way), ageism, and genocide. However, after every battle, his guilt about violence roared, wracking him with self-doubt and self-examination.
Born a "half-breed", "Billy Jack" moved back to the Dineh Nation's rez, seeking the teachings of the oldest shamans. His isolation in the backcountry didn't preclude his continuing protection of an alternative school for "any child needing a place to learn in peace". Under "Billy Jack's" eyes (as well as the Indian Tribe's care), his significant other, "Jean", (played sensitively by his real-life wife, Teresa Laughlin) runs the school with a global mindset and emerging 70's idealism.
The film follows many streams: Laughlin's own concern for Native American culture, spirituality and political rights; cutting edge educational models and the rights of children; examination of Self; responsibility for one's choices; Pacifism as an actual model for life; among others. In an Indie film made far from commercial studios, "Billy Jack" pulled together these disparate themes and made two films that still intrigue, today.
An eclectic sound-track, featuring Native cultural songs, rock-n-roll independent artists, and original music by his family, further raises these films to higher standards than what one might expect. I know that as I fought for A.I.M.'s goals in the seventies--myself a kind of "rebel student", -- I understood the fictional frustrations of "Billy Jack" on a visceral level. Like him, I, too, felt myself caught between cultures--my own search for true Spiritual Awakening often just out of reach. (A key scene in the first film has "Billy" wiping his face, confessing to "Jean" that he so desires to be a man of peace, but since his birth, he has been raging...Of course she tells him that's bull-shit! It's no easy path, being a Pacifist, and he better drop that false image, immediately...)
Beyond the personal issues I found mirrored, however cinematically, in the films, a little research also uncovered my political "take" on the movies. First Nation citizens, (American Indians), loved the fact that an action hero with conflicting, deeply-interesting back-story and intricate mind-set would be portrayed as a Native person. "Billy Jack" was so much more than the grunting, loin-cloth and feathered Indian of Hollywood. (He was also not the white-washed, romanticized "Good Indian"). Laughlin caught, for a few moments, a complex, modern human being, struggling (though filmatically) with a changing national culture--a character who just happened to be half-Indian.
Because Laughlin's own life had become emeshed with Native politics during his college years in South Dakota, he was sincere in his attempt to explore these issues via film. This sincerity included using actual Indian actors as Indians--including not trying to pass himself off as a full-blood. Years after the films were history, Laughlin continued his professional work with the same honor and sincerity.
(I was particularly struck when I found out that he had gained special permission to actually portray parts of spiritual vision questing he underwent during the films. There was, at no time, any rip offs of Native practices nor philosophies. Elders, as well as shamans, were present throughout the filming. Nor were any animals exploited--another issue made public before it was the film industries regular practice. Laughlin was the real deal. As close to an actual "Billy Jack" as there could be...perhaps that is why the films didn't drop into the black hole of absolute ridicule...)
"...a character that strongly resonated with a good deal of Native movie-going public..." was how critics at the Indian Country Today Media Network wrote about "Billy Jack" last week. Reporters also noted that only two actors in America have ever been honored with Indian Country's highest recognition: Marlon Brando and Tom Laughlin.
His wife, Teresa Laughlin, suggested people could donate to the "Friends of Pine Ridge Reservation", in lieu of flowers--extending Laughlin's commitment to Native People past his earthly life.
Little did I know that the path I saw created in the films of "Billy Jack" would precede my own adventures West. They would include continued contact and work for Indian people in the U.S. They would also include twenty years at an alternative school where the belief that any child could come and learn what they wanted to learn was key. I introduced several generations to Tom Laughlin's films, while teaching there. The search for personal responsibility (and Englightenment), as well as the complexities of being a human being were explored deeply at The Farm School. While never confused with "Billy Jack", it was a known factor that I admired an artist whose work reflected wholly his life's concerns. I hope my students gained at least one cinematic "hero" along the journey.
Fly high, Billy. You are finally free.
Thank you.
Briefly, Laughlin plays a Vietnam Special Ops Vet who comes home emotionally wounded from the war. He is through with violence of his own making. Of course, his karma forces him into mainly violent situations--most of which he emerges from wiser and bloodier than his opponents.
A master of the martial arts ("Lapkido") and a student of world philosophies, "Billy Jack" isn't just your everyday action-figure gone rogue. What made him fill my imagination was that he never picked a fight--he was drawn into them. Taking up fists for the oppressed, "Billy Jack" fought racism, sexism (in his way), ageism, and genocide. However, after every battle, his guilt about violence roared, wracking him with self-doubt and self-examination.
Born a "half-breed", "Billy Jack" moved back to the Dineh Nation's rez, seeking the teachings of the oldest shamans. His isolation in the backcountry didn't preclude his continuing protection of an alternative school for "any child needing a place to learn in peace". Under "Billy Jack's" eyes (as well as the Indian Tribe's care), his significant other, "Jean", (played sensitively by his real-life wife, Teresa Laughlin) runs the school with a global mindset and emerging 70's idealism.
The film follows many streams: Laughlin's own concern for Native American culture, spirituality and political rights; cutting edge educational models and the rights of children; examination of Self; responsibility for one's choices; Pacifism as an actual model for life; among others. In an Indie film made far from commercial studios, "Billy Jack" pulled together these disparate themes and made two films that still intrigue, today.
An eclectic sound-track, featuring Native cultural songs, rock-n-roll independent artists, and original music by his family, further raises these films to higher standards than what one might expect. I know that as I fought for A.I.M.'s goals in the seventies--myself a kind of "rebel student", -- I understood the fictional frustrations of "Billy Jack" on a visceral level. Like him, I, too, felt myself caught between cultures--my own search for true Spiritual Awakening often just out of reach. (A key scene in the first film has "Billy" wiping his face, confessing to "Jean" that he so desires to be a man of peace, but since his birth, he has been raging...Of course she tells him that's bull-shit! It's no easy path, being a Pacifist, and he better drop that false image, immediately...)
Beyond the personal issues I found mirrored, however cinematically, in the films, a little research also uncovered my political "take" on the movies. First Nation citizens, (American Indians), loved the fact that an action hero with conflicting, deeply-interesting back-story and intricate mind-set would be portrayed as a Native person. "Billy Jack" was so much more than the grunting, loin-cloth and feathered Indian of Hollywood. (He was also not the white-washed, romanticized "Good Indian"). Laughlin caught, for a few moments, a complex, modern human being, struggling (though filmatically) with a changing national culture--a character who just happened to be half-Indian.
Because Laughlin's own life had become emeshed with Native politics during his college years in South Dakota, he was sincere in his attempt to explore these issues via film. This sincerity included using actual Indian actors as Indians--including not trying to pass himself off as a full-blood. Years after the films were history, Laughlin continued his professional work with the same honor and sincerity.
(I was particularly struck when I found out that he had gained special permission to actually portray parts of spiritual vision questing he underwent during the films. There was, at no time, any rip offs of Native practices nor philosophies. Elders, as well as shamans, were present throughout the filming. Nor were any animals exploited--another issue made public before it was the film industries regular practice. Laughlin was the real deal. As close to an actual "Billy Jack" as there could be...perhaps that is why the films didn't drop into the black hole of absolute ridicule...)
"...a character that strongly resonated with a good deal of Native movie-going public..." was how critics at the Indian Country Today Media Network wrote about "Billy Jack" last week. Reporters also noted that only two actors in America have ever been honored with Indian Country's highest recognition: Marlon Brando and Tom Laughlin.
His wife, Teresa Laughlin, suggested people could donate to the "Friends of Pine Ridge Reservation", in lieu of flowers--extending Laughlin's commitment to Native People past his earthly life.
Little did I know that the path I saw created in the films of "Billy Jack" would precede my own adventures West. They would include continued contact and work for Indian people in the U.S. They would also include twenty years at an alternative school where the belief that any child could come and learn what they wanted to learn was key. I introduced several generations to Tom Laughlin's films, while teaching there. The search for personal responsibility (and Englightenment), as well as the complexities of being a human being were explored deeply at The Farm School. While never confused with "Billy Jack", it was a known factor that I admired an artist whose work reflected wholly his life's concerns. I hope my students gained at least one cinematic "hero" along the journey.
Fly high, Billy. You are finally free.
Thank you.
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