Kevin Costner Analysis

The film was released in 1990 and filmed in South Dakota. The director and the producer was Kevin Costner and the main stars were; Kevin Costner, Mary McDonnell, Graham Greene, Rodney Grant, and Floyd Red Crow Westerman. The story is set at the end of the Civil War period. It is a sympathetic view of the Native American life. During this period, many American people viewed the Indians as ignorant savages. This film is fictional, and is about a white man, a lieutenant in the union army who is curious about the Indians and their way of life. The film opens with the main character, John Dunbar, running from a field hospital and riding his horse into the confederate lines. He is rewarded by the army for his heroism. They gave him a horse, Cisco, …show more content…
army, and the Native American Indians. Some individuals in the government and in the U.S. army did not see the Indians as savages. Some Indian tribes did not view all white men as liars. I felt that the attitudes of the Americans towards Indians and how they viewed them as savages, was a fairly accurate portrayal of the times. In addition I believe that the movie reflected how some Indian tribes were hostile and others were more friendly. In terms of the relationships between the characters, there was a difference from the reality of history in how the Indians were depicted in the movie and how they were written about in history. Although some settlers lost their lives from Indian attacks, many were helped across the Plains. The Indians would help them by selling supplies and wild game to them. Indians also acted as guides for wagon trains and scouts for the U.S. …show more content…
Many white Americans who worked for the federal government were thought to be the “bad guys” because they broke treaties and cheated the Indians out of their land. The American Indian was considered to be the “victims”, who were trying to keep their traditions, way of life, and to live in harmony with nature. This is a simple view but not entirely a representation of the morality of the times. The movie was filmed in a very expansive way, panoramic, to show how vast the land was in America. The music included the use of military drums and tom-toms. The music along with the expansive photography created very heartwarming, poignant, or heartbreaking moods. Some of the forts that were included in this movie actually existed. Some characters were based on real people, though their position in life was different from their depiction in the movie. The movie aroused emotions, gave the viewer different perspectives of the American frontier, it entertained and also provided insight into the times and events of that