Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
essay on native americans in american movies
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Ingraham's Influence The Emergence Of The Movie Western Film
412 Words1 Page
Recommended: essay on native americans in american movies
Although Colonel Prentiss Ingraham’s “Adventures of Buffalo Bill” preceded the advent of the Western film by almost twenty years, the roots of the genre can be identified throughout the 1884 dime novel. Indeed, many of the narrative conventions listed in Richard Slotkin’s introductory article “The Movie Western” can just as easily be applied to the text as they can to any film from the genre’s classical period.
For example, a recurrent theme throughout the novel is the dichotomy between wilderness and civilisation; much of the land west of Cody’s home state of Kansas is characterised as being hazardous due to its Native American residents, whom Ingraham describes as being so barbaric that they would “give up buffalo meat for a human scalp”.
Related
Film History
1649 Words | 4 PagesIn the early years of narrative cinema there was little pressure on filmmakers for the ‘evolution of film forms before nickelodeons’ (Salt, 1990, pp31) as cinema neither became a mass nor high cultural product and was still a novelty but ‘Production companies’ profits were based principally on the sales of longer fiction films’ in the later years (Musser, 1990, pp256) so focus was made for the production of popular narratives so I will show how the early development of narrative evolved from trick films to complex narrative. I will analyse the short film Mary Jane’s Mishap (1903, Smith) and an extract from the seminal The Birth of a Nation (1915, D.W.Griffith).
Heroes in Western Film
1549 Words | 4 Pages2: Miller, Gabriel. 'Shane Redux: The Shootist and the Western Dilemma', The Journal of Popular Film and Television, Vol.11, No.2, Summer 1983.
The Cowboy Image
2208 Words | 5 PagesThe image of the cowboy as Jennifer Moskowitz notes in her article “The Cultural Myth of the Cowboy, or, How the West was Won” is “uniquely
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
811 Words | 2 PagesA more modern outlook on the film recognizes the film's flaws but gives it, it’s credit as the last fully realized work of one of the most important directors in American cinema history. Ford understood that an audience's recollections of older, less complex Westerns would add a layer of expressiveness to the viewing experience. The black-and-white structure helps him achieve this. Ford’s decision to shoot the film in black and white in 1962 produced a dark, anachronistic look, while the unconcealed soundstage effects of the film’s opening scene reinforced Ford’s vision of a wilderness, interiored Western frontier. Just as Ford intended, many of the flashback scenes are masked in darkness, whereas the frame tale is immersed in light. This con...
The Myth of the Old West
2022 Words | 5 PagesAll in all, the treatment of the American Indian during the expansion westward was cruel and harsh. Thus, A Century of Dishonor conveys the truth about the frontier more so than the frontier thesis. Additionally, the common beliefs about the old west are founded in lies and deception. The despair that comes with knowing that people will continue to believe in these false ideas is epitomized by Terrell’s statement, “Perhaps nothing will ever penetrate the haze of puerile romance with which writers unfaithful to their profession and to themselves have surrounded the westerner who made a living in the saddle” (Terrell 182).
The Philadelphia Story
1553 Words | 4 PagesRelying on the conventions of the silent film era, The Philadelphia Story uses “the expository intertitles to convey crucial information” relevant to the...
The Ideals of Masculinity & Sexuality in Brokeback Mountain
1880 Words | 4 PagesBrower, Sue. ""They'd Kill Us If They Knew": Transgression and the Western." Journal of Film and Video 62.4 (2010): 47-57. Web.
The Cowboy Language of the Western Genre
886 Words | 2 PagesWhen people hear the phrase “Howdy, Partner!” they often will associate that phrase with the sublime Western genre. Along with similar settings and themes in all writings of the Western genre, there is also a similar language that stories share. Common themes of the stories include remote western American towns with the cattle culture, plots with a simple hero versus villain conflict, or a protagonist’s encounters with different cultures like the Indians or Mormons. These heroes often will have to “rid the community of savage forces (generally Indians or outlaws) to make way for the ineluctable coming of civilization” (Levinson). Evident in the Western genre, certain vocabulary, figures of speech, and use of dialogue reveal a unique aspect of American Literature.
Robert Ray's The Thematic Paradigm
416 Words | 1 PagesIn “The Thematic Paradigm,” University of Florida professor of film studies, Robert Ray, defines two types of heroes pervading American films, the outlaw hero and the official hero. Often the two types are merged in a reconciliatory pattern, he argues. In fact, this
Similarities, Differences and Connections between two Western Movies: Rio Bravo and El Dorado
1525 Words | 4 PagesFew Hollywood film makers have captured America’s Wild West history as depicted in the movies, Rio Bravo and El Dorado. Most Western movies had fairly simple but very similar plots, including personal conflicts, land rights, crimes and of course, failed romances that typically led to drinking more alcoholic beverages than could respectfully be consumed by any one person, as they attempted to drown their sorrows away. The 1958 Rio Bravo and 1967 El Dorado Western movies directed by Howard Hawks, and starring John Wayne have a similar theme and plot. They tell the story of a sheriff and three of his deputies, as they stand alone against adversity in the name of the law. Western movies like these two have forever left a memorable and lasting impressions in the memory of every viewer, with its gunfighters, action filled saloons and sardonic showdowns all in the name of masculinity, revenge and unlawful aggressive behavior. Featuring some of the most famous backdrops in the world ranging from the rustic Red Rock Mountains of Monument Valley in Utah, to the jagged snow capped Mountain tops of the Teton Range in Wyoming, gun-slinging cowboys out in search of mischief and most often at their own misfortune traveled far and wide, seeking one dangerous encounter after another, and unfortunately, ending in their own demise.
Analysis of "The Thematic Paradigm"
1403 Words | 3 PagesIn the article “The Thematic Paradigm” exerted from his book, A Certain Tendency of the Hollywood Cinema, Robert Ray provides a description of the two types of heroes depicted in American film: the outlaw hero and the official hero. Although the outlaw hero is more risky and lonely, he cherishes liberty and sovereignty. The official hero on the other hand, generally poses the role of an average ordinary person, claiming an image of a “civilized person.” While the outlaw hero creates an image of a rough-cut person likely to commit a crime, the official hero has a legend perception. In this essay, I will reflect on Ray’s work, along with demonstrating where I observe ideologies and themes.
Scene Analysis of "The Green Mile"
723 Words | 2 PagesBarsam, Richard. Looking at Movies An Introduction to Film, Second Edition (Set with DVD). New York: W. W. Norton, 2006. Print.
The Virginian, by Owen Wister
945 Words | 2 PagesThe cowboy hero, The Virginian, as portrayed in Owen Wister’s novel was the first of his kind and today is known as the stereotypical mythic cowboy figure which our view of the western frontier are based from. The Virginian was the first full length western novel apart from the short dime novels which marked the final stage in the evolution of the cowboy hero to a national icon. The Virginian was published in 1902 and at that time was wildly popular because of the settlement of the west. The story of the cowboy who had the skill and courage to take control of the untamed frontier enthralled people. The cowboy hero had a few distinguished qualities, he was a self-appointed vigilante, he had a very strict moral code, he had exceptional perception skills and he had the ability to adapt. Owen Wister’s The Virginian was the first to portray these qualities and really created a deeper cowboy character.
The Western as a Film Genre
1434 Words | 3 PagesThe American film industry’s early attempts at the narrative Western were limited and in the early years were produced mainly in the east. During this early time in the film industry the...
Yojimbo : Ideology and Interpretation
1193 Words | 3 PagesThe story is an Eastern take on the Hollywood western with a dash of satire,
More about Ingraham's Influence The Emergence Of The Movie Western Film
Film History
1649 Words | 4 PagesHeroes in Western Film
1549 Words | 4 PagesThe Cowboy Image
2208 Words | 5 PagesThe Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
811 Words | 2 PagesThe Myth of the Old West
2022 Words | 5 PagesThe Philadelphia Story
1553 Words | 4 PagesThe Ideals of Masculinity & Sexuality in Brokeback Mountain
1880 Words | 4 PagesThe Cowboy Language of the Western Genre
886 Words | 2 PagesRobert Ray's The Thematic Paradigm
416 Words | 1 PagesSimilarities, Differences and Connections between two Western Movies: Rio Bravo and El Dorado
1525 Words | 4 PagesAnalysis of "The Thematic Paradigm"
1403 Words | 3 PagesScene Analysis of "The Green Mile"
723 Words | 2 PagesThe Virginian, by Owen Wister
945 Words | 2 PagesThe Western as a Film Genre
1434 Words | 3 PagesYojimbo : Ideology and Interpretation
1193 Words | 3 Pages