Depiction of Native Americans - Essay Example

Introduction The depiction of Native Americans from different sources has created specific impressions about the culture and what it means to belong to a marginalized group. The movies of the 1960s and past this time created a specific impression relating to what it meant to be a Native American and what it was to belong in the culture. The ideologies led to the audience believing that the Native American’s were foreigners in the country and had ways which did not relate to the other ways of living. In the movie, “A Man Called Horse,” produced in 1970, there is a direct correlation between living in the American lifestyle and living with the Native Americans. The ideology is one which creates divisions and contrasts that are a part of the movie and which develop a different understanding of what it means to belong to an outside culture. Summary of “A Man Called Horse” The concepts of “A Man Called Horse” are set in the Wild West when America was only beginning to develop and explore the territories that were a part of the country. The movie begins with a man, John Morgan, who is going to discover the land and which is interested in developing his own area of land in the West. However, on his journeys, he is captured by the Sioux and begins to be treated as one who is trapped in the culture. The transformation which John begins to go through after this comes from watching the culture and how each of the people live and survive on the land. This is followed by his eventual integration into the culture through gaining warrior status by killing warriors of another tribe, marrying one of the women on the land and going through initiation rights to be a part of the tribe, in which he gains the name ‘horse.’ The depictions of both cultures are then shown through the overall concept while building a sense of value that is a part of the story. Depiction of the White Man The concept which is used in “A Man Called Horse” begins with the ideology of showing the white man and the ways that were known in the Wild West and depicted by the main character, John. This is shown first through showing the character fishing by the water and performing the expected routines that are a part of the concepts used for settlement. This is followed by the viewpoint which is taken after John is captured. The film shows the Native Americans surrounding John and looking foreign and like outsiders. The perspective and the way in which it is seen through John’s eyes create a sense of threat and the belief that John may die. While he is in captive, this continues with him being treated as an animal and not receiving the proper care by being captured. These initial scenes are used to show the white man perspective of the Native Americans from this time period and to create the viewpoint of what is meant with the idea of being a foreigner as both being white and Native American. The approach which was used by showing John as an outside was used specifically to show the stereotypes that were a part of the Native American tribes. Myths about the Native Americans, beliefs in the actions which they took and the brutality which they practiced were the myths that were often associated with Native Americans. Showing the movie through the viewpoint of John was able to further define the concept of what it meant to belong as a part of the stereotype while redefining the brutality and unknown ways of the Native Americans as a part of the main ideology. This happens not only through John’s viewpoint, but also with the approach of the warrior tribe and the idea of presenting war trophies and being brutal throughout the movie. The perspective of the white man then becomes dominant in showing the stereotype of brutality from this perspective throughout the movie while building on the ethnic stereotypes that are a part of the Native American culture (Price, 1973). Native Americans as the Other The concept of creating stereotypes with the Native Americans is followed by the continuous depiction of what it means to create the Native Americans as the other. The concept of belonging to the outside and being unknown and foreign is represented throughout the movie. This continues with presenting a marginalized culture that is within society and the association which this has to the film present the idea of the culture that is unknown remaining on the outside. The concept is one which relates to the socio – cultural concepts that are a part of the culture and the association which this has to society. As this continues, there is a direct relationship to the unknown and minority culture that continues to be understood and which remains brutal in it’s ways. The concept of the warrior, the unknown culture, stereotypical costumes and the scenery which is used all add into the unknown that is presented to continue to create boundaries within the movie and the culture (Jayyusi, 2009). There are several points where this is represented in the film and where it takes over the main ideologies presented with understanding culture. An example is when the warrior tribes are going to attack the Sioux. The costume that is used includes a leather front and back with no other clothing. This is combined with children who are wearing this, carrying bows and arrows and that have long and mangled hair. This then changes to the actions in which the boy shoots the warrior with a bow and arrow then runs back to the area where the women are cutting flowers, warning them of the warriors. The following scene includes loud shouting from the boys, leading to John scalping one of the warriors with an expression of disgust from the action which he has taken. Each of these points in the scene creates a sense of the other and belonging to the outside. It is something that belongs as the identity of the Native Americans but which is understood with those who are in contemporary culture. The clothing, shouting and the brutality that is honored and recognized are all considered as a part of the other and unacceptable from the marginalized culture, as depicted from the film. The Examination of Culture from the Outside Each of the ideologies that are used with the film lead to the concept of examining a culture which one doesn’t belong to. The concept is one that is based on building a representation of culture based on the stereotypes and beliefs that are a part of the contemporary society. This helps to build a specific level of appeal to those who are watching the movie while establishing specific effects and representations which one may relate to with the movie. This creates a sense of subjectivity that is a part of the culture while developing unrealistic expectations that are a part of the culture. When the audience looks at the film, there are outside of the understanding of the culture and see the Native Americans as the subject of the film. Instead of looking at the culture as realistic, it is something to be examined and studied through the stereotypes which are created. By taking this specific perspective, the Native Americans are viewed as a subject or spectacle with the culture that is created (Casebier, 1991). The main concepts within the film and specific themes continue to add into the spectacle and the subjectivity of the Native Americans in the film. The first is at the beginning of the film and the way in which the Sioux treat John as a captive. The audience is able to view this as John being the main viewer while the Sioux are the unknown or the subjects that are to be watched. There is not only a daily set of activities that take place with the Native Americans. There are also rituals, ceremonies, warrior like responses and unknown language that is spoken throughout the film and which creates a sense of boundaries and separation. This adds into the subjectivity and the idea of the spectacle through the film. When John integrates into the tribe, there is still a sense of the subjectivity by creating him as the outsider. This is best seen with the final ceremony that John goes through. The initiation rights go through brutality, warriorship and suffering to cross over to be a Native American. This is combined with creating a spectacle out of the unknown rights that John goes through toward the end and which lead to a mystical experience before he passes through to becoming a Native American. This creates a different understanding of subjectivity about who the Native Americans are while creating a culture through the experiences that belong to the outside. The viewpoint of John remains on the outside with the final initiation rights and with the perspective which he takes in adapting to the culture and being a part of the concepts from the warrior tribe. The creation of boundaries and separation with the movie not only are noted through the actions and responses which take place. This is furthered with the actions that are taken in different events to further this perspective. For instance, creating separation through the language which is spoken creates the idea of subjectivity and furthers this initiative. The separation comes with John and the Native Americans not speaking the same language. This furthers with the costumes that remain separate until the end of the movie. The movie continues with boundaries and separation that is a part of the movie and establishes different ideologies that are associated with how one interacts in the movie. The result is a sense of separation while the audience observes boundaries and separation between the two cultures. Conclusion The depiction of Native Americans in the film “A Man Called Horse” depicts the different stereotypes, subjectivity and separation between two cultures. The white man, John, is one which holds the main perspective in the movie of what it means to look at the culture from the outside. The concepts of misunderstanding and the culture which is not understood throughout the movie continue to lead the events which continue. At the same time, the use of costumes, language, setting and the actions which take place further the boundaries between the two cultures while creating separation that are a part of both in the film. This results in the audience holding a specific description with the movie and the Native Americans while building a sense of boundaries, stereotypes and assumptions about a marginalized and misunderstood culture. References Casebier, A. (1991). Film and Phenomenology: Toward a Realist Theory of Cinematic Representation. New York: Routledge. Jayyusi, Lena. (2009). “Toward a Socio – Logic of the Film Text.” Semiotica 68 (3). Price, John. (1973). “The Stereotyping of North American Indians in Motion Pictures.” Ethnohistory 20 (2). Read More