The Reel Injun

            After watching the documentary, I realized that I had never really questioned most of the things I’ve been presented with over the years through the films and shows I have watched. Seeing this opened my eyes to ideas and gave me opinions I never knew I had. I had by no means thought to question if that was really how Indians were, though I ‘m not ignorant enough to think that they still live in teepee’s, talk to animals any more than I do and only ride horses which Neil Diamond revealed in an interview as the main reason he wanted to make this film. He said he was tired of being asked if he rode horses and lived in a teepee. Hearing this made me angry and even more determined to learn more about their culture and others. This movie made me realize that even though that’s how Indian’s are portrayed, I can choose to make my choices and form my own thoughts about them, not just listen and go along with what I’m being shown. We need to learn to keep an open mind about everything, that’s when we will come away understanding what they mean. A good review I found was written by the author Richard Marcus, known for writing What Will Happen in Eragon IV?. I mainly agreed with everything he was saying or trying to get across to people in this article. One thing in particular is when he talks about how kids would watch the movies and feel as if they were worthless and not important. If you were depicted in ever movie as the bad guys, sooner or later you will start thinking that you really are. I completely agree with him when he says things will only start to get better as we start to have movies made by Indians that accurately show their real culture.  Something I did not agree with was how the film and people see the Disney movie Pocahontas. For as long as I can remember that has been my favorite movie and it is really hard to think of her as the “Barbie Doll Indian Princess” he calls her. All in all I learned a lot from this documentary and hope to further my understanding and knowledge about true Indian culture.
http://blogcritics.org/video/article/tv-review-reel-injun-on-pbs/page-3/