Throughout the films I have watched this semester, American Indians have been constructed and represented in many different ways. Different films in different eras have led to stereotyping American Indians and poorly portraying the construction of American Indian life. At the beginning of this semester, films portrayed American Indians as savages who could not kill a Cowboy, but at the end of the semester, that stereotype changed into American Indians represented as helpless people who cannot be rescued from the alcoholism and distress found on reservations. The ways the American Indians are portrayed in these films create an image that Americans see in today's society. In the first films viewed in class, Americans were entertained through
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Stagecoach represents American Indians as noble savages, a typical Hollywood Indian in western movies. A noble savage is a racist term used to describe a character as a wild person who symbolizes the goodness of humanity. American Indians are outsiders who have not been civilized, which is a representation completely stereotyped and inaccurate. The stereotypes were created for the entertainment purposes, yet they were highly fictionalized. For example, people cannot shoot an arrow at a long distance moving target and hit one hundred percent of their shots, yet in Western films, American Indians are prodigies at riding horses with an arrow in their hand. One film that depicts many stereotypes found in Western films is Stagecoach. The film is a Western-style film with scenes of Cowboys versus Indians, in which the American Indians are helpless, and the Cowboys seem to come out of the middle of the desert (Ford, 1939). Western films portray the American Indians through basic stereotypes such as riding horses with bows and arrows, they are always outnumbered, and they are portrayed in a dehumanizing style. American Indians are portrayed as wild animals due to the lack of civilization and are incapable of surviving battles against Cowboys. America now sees American Indians as the image of the Hollywood Indians in today's society. The image is problematic because American Indians are citizens just as every other American, and Americans still treat them as if they are inhumane. American Indians are viewed differently through the Hollywood image as if they are objects rather than people who live right in the same neighborhood and the audiences watching these films. American Indians are not given the same opportunities as everyone else, creating racism throughout the country. The representation of American Indians in Stagecoach creates a visual that American Indians are impotent and
Stagecoach represents American Indians as noble savages, a typical Hollywood Indian in western movies. A noble savage is a racist term used to describe a character as a wild person who symbolizes the goodness of humanity. American Indians are outsiders who have not been civilized, which is a representation completely stereotyped and inaccurate. The stereotypes were created for the entertainment purposes, yet they were highly fictionalized. For example, people cannot shoot an arrow at a long distance moving target and hit one hundred percent of their shots, yet in Western films, American Indians are prodigies at riding horses with an arrow in their hand. One film that depicts many stereotypes found in Western films is Stagecoach. The film is a Western-style film with scenes of Cowboys versus Indians, in which the American Indians are helpless, and the Cowboys seem to come out of the middle of the desert (Ford, 1939). Western films portray the American Indians through basic stereotypes such as riding horses with bows and arrows, they are always outnumbered, and they are portrayed in a dehumanizing style. American Indians are portrayed as wild animals due to the lack of civilization and are incapable of surviving battles against Cowboys. America now sees American Indians as the image of the Hollywood Indians in today's society. The image is problematic because American Indians are citizens just as every other American, and Americans still treat them as if they are inhumane. American Indians are viewed differently through the Hollywood image as if they are objects rather than people who live right in the same neighborhood and the audiences watching these films. American Indians are not given the same opportunities as everyone else, creating racism throughout the country. The representation of American Indians in Stagecoach creates a visual that American Indians are impotent and