End of the Spear

After watching a movie with your children or students, we encourage parents and teachers to look for education opportunities to teach with movies. Here are a few discussion topics that can help with lesson plans or teaching in the home.

What impact did the introduction of the missionaries have on the Waodani Indians? Was it positive, negative or both? Was this collision of cultures inevitable? What would likely have happened if the meeting had been prolonged, or another group of people made contact first? Do you think civilized societies should share their ideas with primitive societies?

In the story, Steve Saint (the son of Nate) and Mincayani discuss the concept of giving versus taking something. What do you think is the difference? How did the understanding they reached affect the lives of both of these men?

What attitude toward self-defense did the missionaries have? Do you agree with their philosophy? How did their decision affect the future relations between the two groups?