Ridley Scott’s Failure to Acknowledge the Truth in 1492: Conquest of Paradise [1] Why would a person in 1992 make a historical film about Christopher Columbus’ discovery that completely ignores the then current debates that question whether or not it precipitated genocide? Director Ridley Scott set out to produce the be-all-end-all depiction of Columbus, yet he blatantly neglected to address the most heated issue: Native American genocide. In Scott’s film, the native voice is unheard, their identity is muted, and their culture is disregarded. The quincentennial celebration of Columbus’ voyage triggered a proliferation of literary criticisms addressing the controversy over the traditional Columbus myth. 1492: Conquest of Paradise, however, is silent about these issues. Having full knowledge of this multi-faceted debate, did Scott simply take the easy way out by providing another typical Columbus story? Under the pretense of a historical film, did Scott sacrifice historical truth and intellectual integrity for mass appeal at the box office? In his silence, Scott decides to avoid the genocide debate. Whether or not the discovery of the New World indeed precipitated genocide is still under debate, but it is an important one and should not be ignored. We still have a lot to learn from our heritage and need to address the important issues in order to better learn and evolve. The two strong arguments below represent the two sides of a heated debate that was not represented in the film 1492. They contain harsh truths which aren’t marketable to the American public but are vital to the understanding of the moral implications of cultural conquest. Pulling The Fleece Away From Our Eyes [2] Columbus is a mainstay of American patriotism. He is the patron saint who planted the seeds of our nation. Our culture has been lulled into his heroic myth for hundreds of years and has celebrated this man with much pomp and circumstance. Columbus’ worthiness has been the subject of much controversy and is now being linked to such un-heroic terms as mass murder, holocaust, and genocide. [3] Fueled by hundreds of years of Western propaganda, our nation created the American Dream from the realities of an American Holocaust. By refusing to recognize the desecration of the native population, an atrocity is ignored: a crime doesn’t exist without a victim.
Worling, J .(2012). The assessment and treatment of deviant sexual arousal with adolescents who have offended sexually. Journal of Sexual Aggression, 18(1), 36-63. doi: 10.1080/13552600.2011.630152
The controversy of whether or not Christopher Columbus should continue to be acknowledged by a federal holiday proves that his legacy has not escaped the scrutiny of history. Arguments born of both sides of the controversy stem from issues such as genocide, racism, multiculturalism, geographical land rights, and the superiority of certain cultures over others. In The Christopher Columbus Controversy: Western Civilization vs. Primitivism, Michael Berliner, Ph.D. declares that recognition of Columbus Day is well-deserved, claiming that Western civilization is superior to all other cultures and Columbus personifies this truth. On the contrary, Jack Weatherford's Examining the Reputation of Christopher Columbus equates Columbus' so-called discovery with brutal genocide and the destruction of ancient sophisticated civilizations. These articles demonstrate two extreme points of view in a manner that makes clear each authors' goals, leading the reader to consider issues of author bias, motivation, and information validity.
Though a vast majority of students learn about Columbus’ great conquests and celebrate him as a hero, very few know of the horrible atrocities he caused when he first landed in America. While considered a hero by most in the United States, Zinn argues that people should think twice about Columbus’ actions, and question whether his behavior to the Indians was necessary. In quotes one and five, Zinn clearly depicts his thoughts on the atrocities done by Columbus and other colonists to the natives living in America.
In some respects, we can attribute the founding of America and all its subsequent impacts to Christopher Columbus. Columbus a hero in the United States, has his own holiday and we view as the one who paved the way for America to be colonized. However, people tend to forget the other side of Columbus, the side that lusted after gold and resources that often belonged to the native inhabitants he came across in his exploration. In his insatiable greed, he and his crew committed countless atrocities, such as torture and killing of defenseless natives. Columbus’s discovery of these new lands contributes profound and negative effects as future colonists arrived. “Zinn estimates that perhaps 3 million people perished in the Caribbean alone from raids, forced labor and disease” (Zinn, 1980). Columbus was seen as a cruel man, who saw the peaceful inhabitants as right for the conquering and lead to the devastation of the native population, yet is celebrated every October.
For more than five centuries Americans have lifted Christopher Columbus to heights of greatness and god-like. We celebrate his life as though he was a man that had done us a great favor. In resent years Christopher Columbus has come under scrutiny, his life and works being questioned more than celebrated. There have be many great men and women that contributed to the building of our great nation but they do not receive anywhere as much recognition as Columbus. When a person begins to study the actual accounts of the "finding of the New World" they begin to wonder if Columbus should adored or hated for his actions. As a child I was taught that Columbus was a great man that had accomplished great things for the sake of humanity, but in reality his agenda was not to better humanity but to better himself. He found the Americas by mere chance and he did not even know of what he found. We give him credit for "finding" the Americas but history tells of the people, that he called Indians, already inhabiting the foreign land. So you decide whether or not Christopher Columbus should be revered a hero.
Everyone has heard the story of how Christopher Columbus discovered America. Almost every child is taught to think this from kindergarten. There's even a day every year dedicated to him. The thing is, not everyone knows the whole story. Christopher Columbus isn't quite the hero people make him out to be. He is responsible for almost all of the deaths of the 1-3 million Taínos Indians. Columbus was the one to ask for the money to explore. He was the one to claim the land for Spain. It was him who gave to order to kill everyone. He's obviously completely guilty, right? Well, not exactly.
“In fourteen hundred ninety-two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue”, starts the beginning of one of history’s biggest fabrications. We teach our children to be honest and truthful, but then lie to them for the first six to eight years of their educational lives about their own history. For in fact, Columbus did not discover America and did not unveil the myth regarding the world being flat. At the moment, I have yet to discover if Christopher Columbus ever discovered anything at all. Knowing the meaning of discovery, the land that Columbus reached from his voyage and the unorthodox events that occurred after Columbus’ adventure; I do not celebrate Columbus Day. I enjoy the day off from work, as do most Americans that observe the day; but Columbus Day should not be an American holiday for many apparent reasons.
America's national memory is filled with icons and symbols, avatars of deeply held, yet imperfectly understood, beliefs. The role of history in the iconography of the United States is pervasive, yet the facts behind the fiction are somehow lost in an amorphous haze of patriotism and perceived national identity. Christopher Columbus, as a hero and symbol of the first order in America, is an important figure in this pantheon of American myth. His status, not unlike most American icons, is representative not of his own accomplishments, but the self-perception of the society which raised him to his pedestal in the American gallery of heroism.
Vandiver, D. M., & Teske, R. (2006). Juvenile female and male sex offenders a comparison of offender, victim, and judicial processing characteristics. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 50(2), 148-165.
The question then becomes “Who is Christopher Columbus?” Is he really the man that some Americans describe as a hero, whose “journey was the first step in a long process that eventually produced the United States of America” (Royal 1) and to the “North American Revolutionaries, he was the Founding Fathers’ father” (Gates 29). Or is Columbus’ character flawed as other Americans might suggest. Some describe him as a ruthless slave trader who raped the virgin islands of the Caribbean and started the slave trade between the Old and New Worlds. So which image is right? That question is one that has been debated for years and will continue to be for years to come. It is one in which an individual alone can answer because it not only deals with historical facts but also ethics. This paper will present two opposing sides with enough facts concerning the controversy of the myth of Col...
Zakireh, B., Ronis, S. T., & Knight, R. A. (2008, September 3). Individual beliefs, attitudes, and victimization histories of male juvenile sexual offenders. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, 20(3), 323-351.
There are a variety of programs, which when properly targeted, administered, and well-implemented, can actually reduce recidivism and enhance the public safety at large. The author will focus one of those programs that is widely identifiable in correctional facilities across the country as an effective measure in the reduction of recidivism. Female sexual offender treatment, programs for juvenile offenders (family-based programs). In addition to the implementation, risk-focused prevention programs will be identified by employing various tactics and strategies to reduce the influence of risk factors that are associated with criminal conduct. The primary emphasis of these at risk-focused youth prevention programs will be to deliver the message and expose the at risk persons to the programs early in life before law-breaking behavior begins. The author of this paper will discuss the attachment model of intimacy deficits in sexual offenders by drawing upon the interface between the attachment of the media outlets, literature, and social sites, and cognition research. This essay will also briefly discuss the comprehensive model of intimacy deficit disorders and the affect they have in relation to the sexual offender.
In Thomas King’s novel, The Inconvenient Indian, the story of North America’s history is discussed from his original viewpoint and perspective. In his first chapter, “Forgetting Columbus,” he voices his opinion about how he feel towards the way white people have told America’s history and portraying it as an adventurous tale of triumph, strength and freedom. King hunts down the evidence needed to reveal more facts on the controversial relationship between the whites and natives and how it has affected the culture of Americans. Mainly untangling the confusion between the idea of Native Americans being savages and whites constantly reigning in glory. He exposes the truth about how Native Americans were treated and how their actual stories were
Sex offenders have been a serious problem for our legal system at all levels, not to mention those who have been their victims. There are 43,000 inmates in prison for sexual offenses while each year in this country over 510,000 children are sexually assaulted(Oakes 99). The latter statistic, in its context, does not convey the severity of the situation. Each year 510,000 children have their childhood's destroyed, possibly on more than one occasion, and are faced with dealing with the assault for the rest of their lives. Sadly, many of those assaults are perpetrated by people who have already been through the correctional system only to victimize again. Sex offenders, as a class of criminals, are nine times more likely to repeat their crimes(Oakes 99). This presents a
The American Association for School Libraries defines information literacy as the ability to use many types of reference resources and literacies to find information. The different types of reference resources and literacies include: digital, visual, textual, and technological literacies. The American Association for School Libraries has four main learning standards. The first covers inquiry, thinking critically, and gaining knowledge. The second standard includes drawing conclusions, making informal decisions, applying knowledge to new situations, and creating new knowledge. The third standard asks students to be able to share knowledge and participate ethically. It also requires them to be productive as members of our democratic society. The fourth standard asks students to pursue personal and aesthetic growth. (http://www.ala.org/aasl/sites/ala.org.aasl/files/content/guidelinesandstandards/learningstandards/AASL_LearningStandards.pdf)