Americans and Cinema Essay Example for Free

Americans and Cinema Essay Despite America as a country encompassing by different cultures and ethnic background, the historical significance of the American Indians are still unfelt and given recognition in the modern times. (Martin) In the United States and in Canada, the term Indians has established a connotation of some hegemonic designation which implies a culture that is very different from the perspective of the American Indians. In modern times, Native Americans are depicted as a culture with savage and barbaric background, implying an image of the Native Americans as dangerous and unacceptable to behavior of European decent. (Drinnon) American Indians today are struggling to correct the misconception about their culture, they seek to achieve a balanced and truthful portrayal of the people who were first to call America as their home. In the media, the Indians were portrayed as mostly villains with unacceptable behavior. The availability of the casting roles for Native Americans has been prioritized for the Westerns and has this stereotyped image that is always shown in films and movies. In the movies, there are four distinct tribes of native Americans used to be portrayed, the Apache, Cheyenne, Comanche and Sioux. During the 1950’s and through the 1960’s however, there were more sympathetic native characters that even American Indians get to act by themselves. Jeff Chandler is one who won the Academy Award for his portrayal of an Apache leader in the movie Broken Arrow. (Singer) During the 1970’s when the Vietnam War erupted, the country was greatly divided by social opinions by the war and this has seen the opportunity for the movie industry to highlight a more culturally inclined film. Little Big Man produced in 1970 featured Dan George as a Native American chief as a main character. (Singer) However, it was Dustin Hoffman who received the most attention for his role as the lead protagonist. The movie became a breakthrough film as it features a Native American as a lead character. During the 1960’s on the other hand, when the U. S has many upheavals form antiwar protests and civil rights issues, the Native Americans saw this as an opportunity to raise awareness of the people regarding destructive colonial policies that in their own culture brought harm. A group called the American Indian Movement (AIM) led the protests in front of theaters which depicted the Native Americans wrongly. Commercialized films mentioned are A Man Called Horse and Soldier Blue (both in1970) and Billy Jack in 1971. (Bataille) Another breakthrough portrayal of Native Americans came forth in the release of Dances with Wolves in 1990. (Singer) The movie starred Kevin Costner and included many actors and props to make the setting early western looking. There include buffalos, Indians and horses in the plains of South Dakota, the homeland of the Sioux. The film upheld original Native American tradition, from the language, features of the actors, behavior and others. Dances with Wolves has repeated the painful endurance of the Native Americans, as once again, the culture and tradition of the native settlers were resigned in defeat from the colonial powers. (Singer) Modern society today are confined with knowing what almost everybody knows about the Native Indians; barbaric and unusual. There are many accounts of growing children that has suffered the misconception of cowboys chasing the Indians. (Freeman) There are many stereotypes for the American Indians; from costumes, head dress, dances and chants. However, there lies the failure to realize that the message to children who has this misconception is an implicit disagreement to the real culture and background of the Native Americans. Most of what children today know about the American Indians is brought about by history books and other things they learn about in history that is why there are many stereotypes attached to the culture. Two predominant stereotypes of Native Americans is their physical appearance; moccasin-wearing people with feathers on their head, and second; powerless cultures defeated by the white man’s weapon. (Freeman) With regards to personal traits, Native Americans are viewed by non-natives as savage or wild, lazy, gets drunk quickly or drinks a lot, very soft spoken or quiet, and has no sense of humor. Other misconceptions also entails Native Americans having no money sense, makes little effort to get education, close to nature, adheres strictly to Indian time, and do handcrafts all the time. More over, in terms of how they view society, Native Americans are often misunderstood as a culture who wants their land back badly, always asks for handouts, ostracize themselves by avoiding the society, lack of unity and tribal factionalism and worship pagans as a consequence to being very close to nature. (nativeamericans) The Native Americans has endured a lot during the past years. As they continue to struggles against discrimination and the stereotypes attached to their name, it is very important for the modern society to also do the needed research and understanding of the real Native Americans. It is not enough that we rely on the portrayal of the Native Americans in movies or history books; we must get to know them as a culture, as a community who has always struggled to maintain and uphold their own identity in a nation that has truly forgotten their significance. Works Cited: Bataille, Gretchen M. and Charles Silet. The Pretend Indians: Images of Native Americans in the Movies. Ames: Iowa State UP 1980. Berkhofers, Robert. The White Mans Indian: Images of the American Indian from Columbus to the Present New York: Vintage, 1979.Drinnon, Richard. Facing West: The Metaphysics of Indian-Hating and Empire Building. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1980. Freeman, Andrea. Representing Native Cultures: Stereotypes and Inaccuracies in First Nations and American Indian Children’s Literature. Term Paper. Vancouver, BC Canada. Martin, Calvin, ed. The American Indian and the Problem of History. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1987. Native America: Portrait of the People. (1994). nativeamericans. American Indians. (2007). January 25 http://www. nativeamericans. com/index. htm. Singer, Beverly R. Native Americans and Cinema: Native Americans in Movies. (2007). January 24 http://www. filmreference. com/encyclopedia/Independent-Film-Road-Movies/Native-Americans-and-Cinema-NATIVE-AMERICANS-IN-MOVIES. html. Thomas, Jeffrey. American Indians Seek Greater Understanding, Recognition. USINFO. 18 October ed: U. S Department of States Bureau of International Informational Programs, 2007.