Stereotypes In Dances With Wolves

1312 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Dances with wolves portrayal of indigenous people

Dances With Wolves

Dances with Wolves offers a cinematic portrayal of Native Americans that is quite contrary to the stereotypical norm. In this film, John Dunbar, goes out to the west where he meets and becomes friends with the Sioux Indians. He is drawn more and more into their community and eventually chooses to side with the humane Indians over his fellow cruel white Americans. In an attempt to change stereotypical views, director Kevin Costner through Dunbar, presents to the audience a different perspective of Indian removal. The film allows viewers to identify and sympathize with the Indians and thus causes a shift of perception towards the Indian problem. Movie critic Ariztlan, in a review of the film, states that Dances with Wolves "showed the Indians as human beings with a culture and way of life that had the full breadth of human dignity, humor, spirituality and family values (http://www.ariztlan.org/mov/wolves)." The stereotypical view of Indians as savage inhumane beings is strategically dwindled in this movie.

This film was set around the time of the Civil War which took place from 1861-1865. It was during this time that acts of Indian removal were common. The prevalent attitude of Americans at the time was that of expansion into the …show more content…

They are taken into the culture to experience it firsthand. This involvement with the culture brings about feelings of sympathy and emotion. A better understanding of their side is attained. The way that the tribe took the little white girl into their lives and raised her as their own goes to show how kind these people actually were. Their tribal dances, hollering voices, and painted faces, though first seen as wild and crazy acts of foolishness, are now seen as elements of an enriched culture filled with unity and pride. The humane characteristics of love, humor, and happiness dominate their civilized

Show More
Related

  • Dunbar’s Identification with Indians in the Film, Dances with Wolves

    836 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the film Dances with Wolves, the settlers view the Indians as primitive and uncivilized creatures. Dunbar, played by Kevin Costner, needs a change of pace so he decides to go to the "furthest outpost." Upon arriving at his post, he gradually realizes that the Indians are just as scared of him as he is of them. Soon Dunbar identifies with their way of life and in the end has to choose to live either as a settler or as an Indian.

    Read More

  • The Sioux Indians And The Sioux Tribe Of Native Americans

    952 Words  | 2 Pages

    which eventually came true. General Custer was defeated, but this only prompted the U.S. government to send more troops. John Dunbar, a character in the film Dances with Wolves,

    Read More

  • Atanarjuat And Smoke Signals: Film Analysis

    448 Words  | 1 Pages

    Even recently, controversial films have been released depicting Native Americans as fake or unrealistic to actual occurrences. The film industry needs to understand that their methods are demoralizing an entire community or culture of people, and they must be fully aware of the history before producing a Native American film. Visual sovereignty and survivance are some of the most important practices that would help films stay within the limits and not cross any lines by targeting Native American people and their culture. It is crucial for Hollywood cinema to continue making films that challenge the previous “Imaginary Indian” topic and tell a story that reveals the truth about Native American

    Read More

  • Andrew Jackson Villain

    1260 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Indian Removal Act drove thousands of natives off their tribal lands and forced them west to new reservations. Then again, there are those who defend Jackson's decision stating that Indian removal was necessary for the advancement of the United States. However, the cost and way of removing the natives was brutal and cruel. The opposition fails to recognize the fact that Jackson’s removal act had promised the natives payment, food, and protection for their cooperation, but Jackson fails to deliver any of these promises. Furthermore, in “Indian removal,” an article from the Public Broadcasting Service, a description of the removal of the Cherokee nation is given.

    Read More

  • Never Cry Wolf by Farley Mowat

    1375 Words  | 3 Pages

    the wolves were capable of. In his group he finds a monogamous pair who are

    Read More

  • The Call Of The Wild

    1369 Words  | 3 Pages

    The novel, The Call of the Wild, follows a four-year-old mixed Saint Bernard and Scottish shepherd, named Buck. In the beginning of the story, Buck lives in the home of Judge Miller, located at Santa Clara Valley, California. In Santa Clara, Buck lives a luxurious life. At the time of the story, gold is discovered in the North. With this discovery, the value of large dogs like Buck escalated dramatically. The dog’s value was due most to their ability to haul heavy sleds through the abundant snow. Unfortunately, Judge Miller’s servant, Manuel steals Buck to sell him to a band of dog-nappers to pay for his accumulating gambling debts. The ring of thieves that bought Buck is gaining a secure banking by trading the dog to northern executives. Buck, who has had an easy life so far, does not adapt well to the terrain as the other canines do. Buck does not easily tolerate the confinement and mistreatment of his new authority. Buck’s gains the misconception, which then is an aide that any man with a club is a dominator and must be obeyed.

    Read More

  • Representations of Native Americans in Dances with Wolves and The Searchers

    1386 Words  | 3 Pages

    After struggling for five years to recover his niece, who is now a young woman, she is rescued by his own hands. Likewise, Dances with Wolves is a Western film directed and starring Kevin Costner. It is also situated during the American Civil War and tells the story of a soldier named John Dunbar that after a suicide attempt he involuntarily leads Union troops to a triumph. Then, by his request, he is sent to a remote outpost in the Indian frontier “before it’s gone”. There, the contact with the natives is eminent and thus it shows how through those contacts this soldier is transformed into another Indian that belongs to the Sioux tribe and who is now called Dances With Wolves.

    Read More

  • The West in Film

    2945 Words  | 6 Pages

    In the 1930's Native Americans and women were viewed as inferior races. The films produced during the early part of the 20th century, particularly those starring John Wayne reflected these societal attitudes. The portrayal of minorities in Stagecoach and Fort Apache clearly reflect the views of society at that time. The depiction of the West is similar to that which is found in old history textbooks, em...

    Read More

  • A Glimpse into the Past with "Dances With Wolves"

    644 Words  | 2 Pages

    Dances with Wolves is an epic film made in the year nineteen ninety shot in

    Read More

  • Reel Injun Film Analysis

    982 Words  | 2 Pages

    They brought real Natives to play the Natives on the big screen and eventually movies were created by Natives themselves. Around the same time was the Hippie movement; many people wanted to be like the Natives they saw in the films even though it was not an accurate depiction of the Natives. They liked the 'positive stereotypes' of the Natives in the movies, the family unity and their strength as warriors. In the 1960's the American Indian Movement (AIM) also began and in 1973 The genocide at Wounded Knee occurred. Jim Jarmusch says “That is a genocide that occurred and the [American] culture wanted to perpetrate the idea that [the natives] these people are now mythological, you know, they don’t even really exist, they’re like dinosaurs.” This shows just how much Americans wanted to belittle the Natives, and despite succeeding for a number of years, the New Age of Cinema commenced and movies like Smoke Signals began what some would look at as a Renaissance. The Renaissance explained in Reel Injun discusses the rebirth of the Native American in the Hollywood films, and how the negative stereotypes went away with time. Reel Injun also makes a point to explain how it impacted not only the films but Americans who watched them, and ultimately America as a

    Read More

  • Jeremiah Johnson

    509 Words  | 2 Pages

    The movie starts by showing the Indians as “bad” when Johnson finds a note of another mountain man who has “savagely” been killed by the Indians. This view changes as the movie points out tribes instead of Indians as just one group. Some of the tribes are shown dangerous and not to be messed with while others are friendly, still each tribe treats Johnson as “outsider.” Indians are not portrayed as greater than “...

    Read More

  • Trail Of Tears Summary

    1230 Words  | 3 Pages

    The American-Indian documentary film is based on the historical eviction of the Native Americans from their homelands. The documentary is a five part series that span from the 17th to the 20th century beginning with the arrival of the Puritans, the tensions with the Native Americans and their eventual eviction from their homelands. Part III ‘Trail of Tears’ is about tribal debates on how the Cherokee people accepted the policy of assimilation into the Western lifestyle in order to keep their lands and safeguard the Cherokee nation but the white Americas discriminated them regarding them as savages. Their removal was part of Andrew Jackson’s policy to forcefully evict the Indians from the east of the Mississippi River to Oklahoma. The journey is referred to as the ‘Trail of

    Read More

  • The Indian and the White Communites in Dances with Wolves and Machimanito

    2087 Words  | 5 Pages

    John Dunbar makes contact with the Indians while being posted on the frontier. As his relationship develops with Kicking Bird and both gain each other’s trust, he becomes part of the Indian community; his final transition can be seen when he is known by the name Dances with Wolves. The differences between the white and the Indian community are shown to the viewer while Dunbar is exploring it and is becoming aware of the differences himself. Some of the differences are shown in the ways and objectives of hunting the buffalos. While the Indians use the buffalos for both food and use the skin for clothes, the white man hunts down buffalos for their skin and horns “killed only for their tongs and the price of their hides.” Dunbar says “One thing is clear however there is no buffalo and it weighs heavily on their minds.” This shows how important the buffalos are for the Indians, as their absence is a problem for thei...

    Read More

  • The Museum of Fine Arts

    902 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...social values of rich stones resembled their higher standards of living in those days. Also, two different types of art based on Indian culture and society such as “Shiva Nataraja” and “Adios, Mahatma” depicted great religious and social perspective of Hinduism and free spirit of will, respectively. Also, “Heheya Kachina” and “The Light Inside” presented two unique forms of art which is so rare or so common in the modern society that we sometime forget to notice if these types of art exist.

    Read More

  • Legitimacy and the Foundations of Legitimate Government

    6740 Words  | 14 Pages

    There appear to be two options. The first of these options is to abandon all hope of ever having a foundational theory of legitimate government. It is better to throw in the towel than to give in to speculation. This suggests that the political theorist can only make use of existing governments, constitutions, decrees, actions, and the such to investigate legitimate government. To look outside of these would lead to nothing but speculation. Even this, though, seems to be an unacceptable route. The political theorist would be reduced to nothing more than a historian of governments past and present. In addition, the theorist would have to embrace the assump...

    Read More

More about Stereotypes In Dances With Wolves

Open Document