MovieChat Forums > Skinwalkers (2007) Discussion > SKINWALKERS ARE NOT WEREWOLVES

SKINWALKERS ARE NOT WEREWOLVES

posted 17 years ago by EWitsKristin
143 replies | jump to latest

Thank you hollywood for destroying an amazing Navajo Native American folk tale.

The only person I've seen post here who actually knows what a skin walker is is framingtonkrawler, thank you for having knowledge on the subject (or should i say title) of the movie.

PLEASE before you see this movie, read about what a skinwalker actually is.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skin-walker_%28mythology%29 has some good information.

I got excited when my friend told me they were making a movie about skinwalkers...I thought that for once, someone was making an original horror movie.

I was wrong.

This movie looks just like Underworld &Van Helsing.

It could have been amazing too...

oh well.

-Kristin

[–] ukey731 17 years ago

I'm very disappointed. I understand that a skin-walker is a sub-category under the broad "were-creatures." I read a encyclopedia with "Were-wolfs" in the title and it put skin-walkers, vampires, and even the Dr. Jekyl and Jack the Ripper stories under "were" lore. The literature I've read tends to be muddled, but skin-walkers certainly aren't were-wolfs at all. Frankly, skin-walkers are much more interesting and a movie with the actually thing would be way better. But I'll watch it anyway. Like it's said "it's better then nothing." I believe in were-creatures and I love reading and seeing interpretations of them. To bad Hollywood doesn't realize how amazing real lore is compared to the pop-culture image.

[–] Malkavs_Knight 17 years ago

Sounds like smega is a little cranky. The thing about this Skin walker movie and what ive read on real skinwalkers is A) real ones dont exist, lets not kid ourselves B) the movie quite stated that these "skinwalkers" are only half. And from what i read, "real" skinwalkers can change fully into animals, not half way. The ones in the movie, can apparently, from the trailer, only go half way. So until the movie is releases and we watch it, lets not go get into a cultural fight with each other. Hollywood has no responsibility whatsoever to respect others cultures. They make movies for entertainment value and alot of the times, the title of such can be misleading, but oh well. Hopefully, one day, hollywood will be more carefull when selecting subject matter for entertainment. Native Americans myths are rich in lore and fantasy. It is a great dis-service to them to trivialize such stories, but again, nothing u can do about it except not watch it. But there will be plenty of people who will watch it. I guess for some people, they cant get past adaptation to just enjoy a movie. But, nothing we can do about that either. I challange any one of these people bad mouthing this movie to write a position paper on
"Cultural Values and its Impact on Modern Cinema" and have it in my email by mid september.

[–] Carycomic 17 years ago

Basically, this whole dispute can be boiled down to one thing. The linguistic melting pot that is colloquial North American English. Case in point:

The French word for werewolf is loup-garou. And, the original French settlers of eastern Canada brought some of those werewolf legends with them (fireside story-telling and all that). These became intermixed with Native Canadian oral traditions of the wendigo, which--by some accounts (and, contrary to certain "Incredible Hulk" comics)--is supposed to be an evil spirit that possesses those in danger of starving to death and turns them into cannibals.

There are also Native American legends about the shapeshifting abilities of Coyote the Trickster.

By the late nineteenth century, these had all been amalgated into the loup-garou of French Canadian folklore. An evil wolf-like creature that can supposedly change shape in order to prey on unwary mortals.

So, while true Navajo believers might be right in feeling offended, I'm afraid that the verbal interchangability, between "werewolf" and "skinwalker," is here to stay, just the same.

[–] Malkavs_Knight 17 years ago

Well said Carycomic.

[–] BobFlame 15 years ago

Yeah , terrible grammar is really going to convince me to change my views .And again , this is not a Hollywood movie . It`s a Canadian film distributed by Lionsgate .

[–] takeshi_otaku_boy 17 years ago

I'm Navajo, I'm a filmmaker. I have no problem with this film. Remember, "Skinwalker" is only a name they gave. Now, if the film was called "yee nadlooshii," I may have a problem with it because that's more specific. Art is art, do what you want. :D

[–] eternalraven 17 years ago

In Native American and Norse legend, a skin-walker is a person with the supernatural ability to turn into any animal he or she desires. Similar creatures can be found in numerous cultures' lores all over the world, closely related to beliefs in werewolves (also known as lycanthropes) and other "were" creatures (which can be described as therianthropes). The Mohawk Indian word "limikkin" is sometimes used to describe all skin-walkers. It is also known as the Yenaldooshi.

&

A skinwalker is usually described as naked, except for a coyote skin, or wolf skin.

&

In Latvian folklore, the vilkacis referred to someone transformed into a wolflike monster which could be benevolent at times. A closely related collection of stories concern the skin-walkers. The vilkacis and skin-walkers probably have a common origin in Proto-Indo-European society, where a class of young unwed warriors were apparently associated with wolves.

So... what's the problem? >.>

If you think about it, the word "were" comes from Old English, and lycanthropy is Greek. Loup Garou is French. So... if you think about it... if somebody wanted to refer to a like creature in the Navajo language... they might say (might--I don't know, because I don't speak the language >.<), "Yenaldooshi" (Skin-walker). Besides, "were" doesn't automatically mean "wolf" either... "were" means "man".

Well anyway, I'm probably rambling. But basically, that's what people usually do in storytelling--they take a folklore or mythology and expand on it. And it's not like they're completely making up something outside of the myth. It's based on the myth's core belief of a being transforming their form into the form of an animal~~

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[–] mniedekker 17 years ago

CAN U TELL US THE STORY OF THE SKINWALKERS, i havent read all the posts so if u have already done it im sorry

[–] GrizlyBear18 17 years ago

according to most sources, a skinwalker is a magician or shaman or magic user in general who utilizes the skins of animals and a potion or spell to assume the animals physical form.

[–] mechanical_angel 17 years ago

Screw the Native Americans.

[–] Biodorah_X 17 years ago

I understand what you mean, and agree, that it is annoying, and doesn't seem too good. But, I'm not going to judge it until I see it. Besides, it's just a movie anyway. However, I think some day, someone should make an honest-to-God Skin-Walker film of epic proportions.

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[–] rriley926 17 years ago

You know what I don't get? What the *beep* It's all a myth no one really knows what skinwalkers are - cus they are an invention of somebody, somehwere in some culture - they are not real. Let me say that again: they are not real. So who cares what they're supposed to be and what the film makers made out of them?? It's all fantasy anyway!!! There's never been a skinwalker, like the Yeti and Nessi.

Think: We can fly to the moon = we have the best technology humans ever had and none of these creatures have ever been found. Only narrow minded people would insist on such creatures being real.

So who care: it's a film, a story, that's what it's supposed to be. It's not a documentary!!!

BTW: this is a film site not anthropology class....can't believe you're wasting your life talking about this!

[–] Biodorah_X 17 years ago

So, you're telling me that if they made a new Dracula film, where he's not really a vampire, but a Lizard Man from the Planet Gooflorp, that we should accept it because he's not real?

http://halloweenfans.proboards60.com/index.cgi

[–] ryan_erik 17 years ago

lol I'm Full Blooded Navajo from the Utah Navajo Section near a small town called Montezuma Creek.....

..... and there many stories of these thing out there. Skinwalker are not the only things or Cryptic Nature out in the canyonlands where im from. lol

Believe me i've tried hard to find an English Definition of what we see during the night times on the Reservation and nothing comes close. the only thing i can closely relate a Skinwalker to is somewhat of a Witch with Ghostly abilities.

If they exist or not who Knows, Although I hardly think calling a Navajo Witch turning into a 5 foot high skinny Ugly looking "Mutation-Like being" a "Were-Wolf."

but if it gets caught up once again in European Definition, the anythings games. Might as well Call a Mouse a Lion for Gods Sake

[–] josh1116 17 years ago

So, you're telling me that if they made a new Dracula film, where he's not really a vampire, but a Lizard Man from the Planet Gooflorp, that we should accept it because he's not real?

hahaha well put

[–] 17 years ago

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[–] reles2 17 years ago

Welcome to hollywood. I had the same reaction after seeing the trailer for "I am Legend". They just took the basic premise of the book and made a hollywood flick out of it. That's what they do. Better get used to it.