Giving Dignity back to the Native Americans

http://www.villagevoice.com/2010-06-08/film/reel-injun-dances-with-wolves-and-other-stereotypes/

                “Reel Injun” shares an apocalyptic view of how Indians are portrayed in the films. It reveals the stereotypes that are covering up the identity of the Native American people portrayed in all the films that have come out in the past century. What is the first idea that comes to most people’s heads when they think about the Indians? Free spirited? Drunkards? A group of brown skinned people hooting and hollering around a fire? All these stereotypes deny the true character of these people. This movie opens up the idea that Indians aren’t what we see on the movie screens, that they are a people just like us that have a culture and traditions. I saw this movies as an eye opening experience that helped break stereotypes that I had stuck in my brain. Other people see this movie in other, less flattering terms. Andrew Schenker of The Village Voice critiques the movie by saying that it “lacks the faintest idea of how to pack it all into 85 minutes of screen time.” He goes on to critique the length of time spent on each of the topics inside the video. He does give credit to the movie or unearthing a few tidbits of trivia, but that is about all the credit he gives the movie. I do not agree with Schenker because I believe the movie spent ample time on each segment and had it spent any more time on the segments it would have become lengthy and drawn out. The movie, in my opinion, hit the points it wanted to hit with enough clarity as to leave the audience with a newfound idea of the terrible nature in which Indians are portrayed in cinema.

                This movie did an excellent job at opening up the conversation on how we treat minorities in the U.S. In almost every movie that portrays Indians, they are the villain; they get in the way of the American dream. The extent to which American have portrayed Indians as the bad guys is shown through a bugs bunny cartoon in which bugs is shooting Indians as he sing, “One little, two little, three little injuns, five little six lit…woops, that was a half breed…” Americans need to stop seeing Native Americans as dark skinned, animal skin wearing foresters and realize that they are a culture just like the Dutch are a culture, and deserve as much respect as we demand.