The Portrayal Of Native North Americans In Hollywood No group of people of the same ethnic origin deserve to be misrepresented in such a way that it distorts the world 's understanding of who they truly are. So what makes Native North Americans any different? Neil Diamond 's documentary "Reel Injun" studies the image of Native North Americans in Hollywood throughout the history of filmmaking and vividly illustrates how they were practically robbed of their identity through use of stereotypes, causing misconceptions of what Natives North Americans were really like. The image of Natives in films has changed as different eras of filmmaking were introduced and various genres and styles of film have altered over decades. The depiction and the stereotypes
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At the time, the Native population was dwindling and they were restricted to reserves. As film was being invented, the U.S. 7th cavalry opened fire on the last free Native community at the Battle of Little Bighorn at Pine Ridge Indian Reservations in South Dakota (Diamond, "Reel Injun"). This incident influenced many people, especially filmmakers, to perpetuate the idea that Natives were a myth, as if they "didn 't exist" or they became "extinct". Clearly, as of today, this is not true considering there are still many Native people all across North America. Filmmakers at the time had the chance to capture the Natives on screen before they supposedly vanished or became extinct, hence why they decided to create films like The Silent Enemy (1930) and Last of the Mohicans (1920) (Diamond, "Reel Injun"). These were films that focused specifically on the harsh conditions and the demise of Native people back then. Natives in the early days of filmmaking were regularly portrayed as noble, spiritual, free spirited, and heroic, all being positive stereotypes for the most part. Native people sometimes directed, acted, and even starred in films which featured Native people, which also resulted in their popularity (Diamond, "Reel Injun"). Chief Buffalo Child Long Lance, for instance, was an actor …show more content…
Western genre films go out of style and filmmakers have taken a more comedic approach. Even Native comedian Charlie Hill began to rise to popularity during the 1970s (Diamond, "Reel Injun"). Films that featured Native Americans were more humorous; hence, it brought more personality to the Native characters, while slowly moving away from the stereotypes. For instance, Little Big Man (1970) is one film where filmmakers used satire and humor and even starred Native actor Chief Dan George (Diamond, "Reel Injun"). Another example where a Native in a film was portrayed without the use of negative stereotypes was One Flew Over The Cuckoo 's Nest (1975) (Diamond, "Reel Injun"). This film also involved some comedy as well. Natives were fighting back for the first time in a long time, not only in film, but in real life as well. The film Billy Jack (1971) was about a Native who knew Kung-Fu and was an example of a film where Natives were fighting back (Diamond, "Reel Injun"). This film was definitely something Natives would have been proud of. The Wounded Knee incident in 1973 was an incident where hundreds of members of the American Indian Movement seized control over Wounded Knee against the Federal government (Diamond, "Reel Injun"). Non-native people like actor Marlon Brando started to show significant support for Natives by having a
At the time, the Native population was dwindling and they were restricted to reserves. As film was being invented, the U.S. 7th cavalry opened fire on the last free Native community at the Battle of Little Bighorn at Pine Ridge Indian Reservations in South Dakota (Diamond, "Reel Injun"). This incident influenced many people, especially filmmakers, to perpetuate the idea that Natives were a myth, as if they "didn 't exist" or they became "extinct". Clearly, as of today, this is not true considering there are still many Native people all across North America. Filmmakers at the time had the chance to capture the Natives on screen before they supposedly vanished or became extinct, hence why they decided to create films like The Silent Enemy (1930) and Last of the Mohicans (1920) (Diamond, "Reel Injun"). These were films that focused specifically on the harsh conditions and the demise of Native people back then. Natives in the early days of filmmaking were regularly portrayed as noble, spiritual, free spirited, and heroic, all being positive stereotypes for the most part. Native people sometimes directed, acted, and even starred in films which featured Native people, which also resulted in their popularity (Diamond, "Reel Injun"). Chief Buffalo Child Long Lance, for instance, was an actor …show more content…
Western genre films go out of style and filmmakers have taken a more comedic approach. Even Native comedian Charlie Hill began to rise to popularity during the 1970s (Diamond, "Reel Injun"). Films that featured Native Americans were more humorous; hence, it brought more personality to the Native characters, while slowly moving away from the stereotypes. For instance, Little Big Man (1970) is one film where filmmakers used satire and humor and even starred Native actor Chief Dan George (Diamond, "Reel Injun"). Another example where a Native in a film was portrayed without the use of negative stereotypes was One Flew Over The Cuckoo 's Nest (1975) (Diamond, "Reel Injun"). This film also involved some comedy as well. Natives were fighting back for the first time in a long time, not only in film, but in real life as well. The film Billy Jack (1971) was about a Native who knew Kung-Fu and was an example of a film where Natives were fighting back (Diamond, "Reel Injun"). This film was definitely something Natives would have been proud of. The Wounded Knee incident in 1973 was an incident where hundreds of members of the American Indian Movement seized control over Wounded Knee against the Federal government (Diamond, "Reel Injun"). Non-native people like actor Marlon Brando started to show significant support for Natives by having a