These two films by John Ford can be described as biased. Biased itself means to be unfairly prejudiced for or against someone or something. We see exceedingly clear examples of this in both films. They portray the Native American in way that denies them of any agency. To anyone without a keen idea to the reality of who Native Americans actually are, they would most likely be terrified of them. They are displayed as being primitive, animalistic savages that only seek to cause violence. We see this all over the early American film industry, discriminating against all different races and cultures. Another example of this would be the Birth of a Nation, in which the white male is the hero who comes to save the day yet again. One of John Ford’s earlier films, Stagecoach, gives the Native American nearly no agency whatsoever. We don’t even see the first Cherokee until late into the film, but even before that the audience develops a stern hatred and fear against them. Examples of this range from the crude dialogue about them to the spine-chilling music played when Cherokee is mentioned. When they finally make an appearance they are displayed just how we expected them to be; ruthless, primitive, and savage. Not once does Ford even lend the opportunity for us to see a different point of view of …show more content…
We are presented a story from the point of view of the white American. With no prior information about the Native American the best way to describe them as would be primitive, animalistic and savage. It is almost ridiculous watching the crude portrayal of the Indians while knowing the reality of who they really are. If anything we are the primitive, animalistic savages. After all we did decimate their entire population by a whooping 80% which exceeds the definition of genocide. Biased would most definitely be the best way to describe both of these films. I think even a Native American watching either of these films would be rooting for John
Visual sovereignty and survivance in Atanarjuat and Smoke Signals are used to challenge the stereotype of “the Imaginary Indian”, yet redfacing is still a common mechanism used in Native American films that catalyzes this trope. Redfacing refers to the beginning of racist Native American stereotypes and drawings. In the case of the film industry, it also describes the bias the white producers, directors, and actors have against hiring real Native Americans to play Native American roles. Because of redfacing, there was an inaccurate display on film of how Native Americans looked in the past, and throughout the years the stereotype has gotten even more demeaning. Redfacing is disrespectful to Native American cultures as they are being misrepresented and Americans are given a false notion about the true sacredness and value behind the Native Americans’ lives. Thankfully, the method of redfacing had not been used in both Atanarjuat and Smoke Signals. Atanarjuat challenges these stereotypes by having an all Inuit cast and filmmaker and the writing, directing, and acting entirely in Inuktitut. Since historical accuracy
Both films use the “alien invaders” myth to examine how American society responds to unfamiliar threats. The films contain the same basic plot components—aliens visit Earth, people react in some way, conflict arises from interaction, etc.—as well as the same conventions. As one analyst wrote, generic conventions in science-fiction have no intrinsic meaning and are “fluid and plastic” (Gehring 229). Their...
[2] So, then, what exactly are the problems with this film? Notably, nearly every film or TV show based on Daniel Boone has similar twisted depictions and representations of Boone, the native Americans, the white settlers, and the interaction therein. This suggests something deeper, and subtler maybe, than a few misinformed filmmakers. Something hidden seems to be imbedded deep w...
Portrayal of Native Americans in Last of the Mohicans and Stereotypes of Native Americans Introduction James Fenimore Cooper wrote the novel Last of the Mohicans. James Fenimore Cooper had a remarkably boring, wealthy existence. His parents were shrewd and ambitious, easily acquiring money and power. Thus he was exposed early on to the finer pleasures of life. The Last of the Mohicans takes place in the midst of the French-Indian war. Specifically, it focuses on one battle in a war that lasted for many years. This was the last and most important conflict over French and British possessions in North America. Unlike the earlier wars, which began in Europe and spread to America, this struggle broke out solely in America in 1754, and was not settled until 1763. For this reason, Indian involvement in the conflict was incredibly high. This book depicts the battle of Fort William Henry and adds the fictional kidnapping of two white pioneering sisters (whites were often kidnapped by Native Americans in Cooper's novels). Cooper knew few Indians, so he drew on a Moravian missionary's account of two opposing tribes; the Delawares and the "Mingos." Although this characterization was filled with inaccuracies, the dual image of the opposing tribes allowed Cooper to create a lasting image of the Indian that became a part of the American consciousness for almost two centuries. This book was actually made into a movie in 1992, and did very well at the box office. Of all of Coopers books, this is by far the most famous. Cooper here tells the story of the stolid colonial scout Hawkeye, who, with his two Indian companions Chingachgook and his son Uncas, stumble on a party of British soldiers conducting two fair maidens to their father, the command...
For Americans moving west in the 1820's and 30's there was little firsthand knowledge of what the frontier would be like when they arrived. There was a lot of presumption about the Indians. Many felt, through the stories they heard and read, that they had sufficient information to know what the Indians would truly be like and how to respond to them. Unfortunately, as is described in James Fenimore Cooper's Leatherstocking Tales, white settlers stereotyped the Native Americans as savage, heartless beasts.
Many people are unaware of how harmful and hurtful this stereotype is. According to Frozen in Time: The Impact of Native American Media Representations on Identity and Self Understanding, these stereotypes “result in poorer self-esteem and mental health for Native youth [while] also contribut[ing] to the development of cultural biases and prejudices (39). The inaccurate representations of Native American Indians in the media encourages an identity that is not true.
Mike Gabriel portrays the source of conflict as a love story between Pocahontas and John smith and those two sides never liked each other they were always fighting, they mainly fought over land and those battles were always bloody. An example of the love in the film clip is when the father of Pocahontas was about to hit John Smith with his stick and Pocahontas jumped on John Smith to block from the blow of the stick (Gabriel, 1995). Mike immediately cut to Pocahontas's reaction shot so the audience could see her reaction. This humanized her because her reaction was very sad and mad at the same time, those feelings are normal for a human to have. These elements contribute to the inaccurate portrayal of Mike Gabriel's film because in the real world the Native Americans would have killed him because love wouldn't have stopped anything because they had complete hatred for each other.
There were many stereotypes that were shown in this book but the two that stuck out to me the most was the way they tried to show that almost every native American except Juniors grandmother was an alcoholic on the reservation. He saw that his friend and his mother were always walking around with bruises and knew that they were from his dad because he drank a lot and beat them. This can be seen as harmful in the fact that after reading this book you can just take this view into the reservation life as all there is and assume that all the Native Americans are raging alcoholics and wife beats and lazy drunks. Most people won’t see it that way because we as a species are smarter than that hopefully. The positive take on this that if you read this you might see that drinking is a problem on some reservations and maybe try to help in some way by giving a donation to a tribe that sticks out to you and to their recovery programs because for this to get done you need time, money and participation.
The representation of First Nations people in popular culture is both relevant and done without consultation. Movies, television shows, advertisements, music, and children’s books all seem to portray the negative stereotype that was introduced with historical literature. According to Shaughnessy, “society was forced to generate extreme racism in order to suppress the large Indian population,” and consequently, these formed perceptions are what carry on through to today. Racist depictions are both subliminal and blatant in their representations in popular culture and society is shown this at an early age. Disney films such as Pocahontas and Peter Pan introduce concepts of sexual objectification and stereotyping First Nations peoples to a young
The history of the relationship between Indigenous Peoples of the North America and European settlers represents a doubtlessly tragic succession of events, which resulted in a drastic decline in Indigenous population leading to the complete annihilation of some Native groups, and bringing others to the brink of extinction. This disastrous development left the Indigenous community devastated, shaking their society to its very pillars. From the 1492 Incident and up to the 19th century the European invasion to the North America heavily impacted the social development of the Indigenous civilization: apart from contributing to their physical extermination by waging incessant war on the Indian tribes, Anglo-Americans irreversibly changed the Native lifestyle discrediting their entire set of moral guidelines. Using the most disreputable inventions of the European diplomacy, the colonizers and later the United States’ government not only turned separate Indigenous tribes against each other but have also sown discord among the members of the same tribe. One of the most vivid examples of the Anglo-American detrimental influence on the Native groups is the history of the Cherokee Nation and the U.S. Indian Removal Policy. The Cherokee removal from Georgia (along with many other Indian nations) was definitely an on-going conflict that did not start at any moment in time, but developed in layers of history between the Native Americans, settlers of various cultures, and the early U.S. government. This rich and intricate history does not allow for easy and quick judgments as to who was responsible for the near demise of the Cherokee Nation. In 1838, eight thousand Cherokees perished on a forced march out of Georgia, which came to be called the T...
Mankind has struggled, since the beginning of civilization, to see beyond race and cultural differences when defining human value and dignity. The ideas of slavery, oppression, and genocide have all been cultivated by ignorance and the degradation of misunderstood people by a powerful majority that claim to be assimilating the minority. Both Charles Eastman and Gertrude Bonnin give a powerful depiction of Native Americans as they come to understand their place in the new world and desperately cling to traditions and a culture that give them their dignity. Both autobiographies attempt to educate white readers about misconceptions and prejudices that they have been exposed to about Native Americans. These prejudices have caused a majority of white America to fear and dehumanize the Indian populace to the point of oppression. Through their storytelling, Eastman and Bonnin give a perspective of Native American culture that is relatable and real. These writings bring a sense of human dignity to Native Americans and dispel the idea that “Indians” are a savage people who are unintelligent, heathenistic, and in need of guidance by the white man.
Looking back at the history of the United States, there are many instances and issues concerning race and ethnicity that shape the social classes that make up the United States today. There are many stories concerning the American Indian that are filled with betrayal, but there is probably none more cruel and shameful as the removal of the Cherokee Indians in 1838. Blood thirsty for money and property, the white settlers would soon use dirty methods to drive the Cherokee out of their home- lands. The United States government played a critical role in the removal of the Cherokee. “Soon the state governments insisted on the removal of the native peoples, who were already out numbered by the white settlers and considered to be uncivilized “heathens,” not worthy of the land they held” (Sherman 126). This was the attitude of the white settlers. Because of the color of their skin, they spoke a different language, and they were not accustomed to the white mans’ way of life, the Cherokee people suffered many great afflictions even unto death.
Like many Native American Tribes, the Cherokee were systematically suppressed, robbed, dispossessed, and forced out of their ancestral homelands by Americans. This topic has become really difficult and uncomfortable to talk about for no reason other than embarrassment. We, as Americans, are mortified that our own country would partake in the act of forcibly removing a culture from it’s home. We are mortified that we let this become a socially acceptable way to treat Native Americans; but mostly, we are mortified that we conned the Cherokee Natives into signing an unlawful treaty that forced them to leave their Georgia homeland and move west via the Trail of Tears. The novel, The Cherokee Nation and the Trail of Tears, written by Theda Perdue
Cowboys and Indians is the popular game played by many children played as a game of heroes and villains. Natives are villainized in American pop culture due to the history being told by educational institutions across the nation. There are not many positive roles popular in the media about Native Americans. Many roles are even played by white people. The costume representation is not accurate either. The disrespect towards them is especially seem on Halloween, when people dress as Natives in cute and sexy ways that they think represent their culture. War paint, beads, feathers and headdresses are ceremonial accessories that represent their culture, it not a fun costume to wear. Only if they are being criticized and ridiculed, like they have been in the past. Racism has also been a huge problem when it comes to using creative names for sports teams, like the Redskins for example. Redskin is a derogatory and offensive term towards Native Americans and many white people do not see it as wrong due to the privilege they inherited throughout history. The disrespect towards them has grown and today it seems that if Natives were not getting ridiculed, they are for the most part ignored. The concerns that King describes in his book explains how the past has wired Americans to believing everything they have once learned. White people
In the movies and television shows many of us grew up watching, a stereotypical and even racist view of Native Americans was portrayed. Many of us grew up believing these detrimental stereotypes, believing they were either accurate or were not harmful. Native Americans are portrayed as wild savages who kill mercilessly in the old westerns your grandfather watched on Thanksgiving Day. Native American women are portrayed as sexy princesses who protect the white men that would later—historically speaking—wipe out their culture completely in your Disney movies. Lastly, the Native Americans who are portrayed as poor, lazy drunks who regularly smoke hallucinogens are in your comedy television shows. Without realizing these harmful stereotypes and