Reel Injun (2009) (Netflix streamable) serves as the introduction to my winter miniterm course on the history of indigenous Americans in cinema, from Thomas Edisons 1890s prototype clips through the 2000s. Topics, films, and people covered include the accidental generalization of the Plains Indian look into the stereotypical depiction of all Indians regardless of tribe and region, the fiction that is the Indian headband, John Ford, Iron Eyes Cody the crying Indian who was actually Sicilian, John Wayne, Billy Jack (1971), the 1969-1971 Occupation of Alcatraz, the 1973 Wounded Knee incident (the last military conflict between Amerindians and the American government), the Sacheen Littlefeather and Marlon Brando joint protest, Clint Eastwood, Wes Studi, hippie appropriation of Amerindian culture, the polar opposite effects of Stagecoach (1939) versus Dances With Wolves (1990), the hilarity of redface, and the evolution of Amerindians in film from stereotypes into nuanced human characters. The end touches on Inuit-Yupik-Aleut (Eskimo) cinema, such as the astonishing Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner (2001), in which the lead actor famously ran naked and barefoot over ice and freezing water in a profound commitment to authenticity, and which one Amerindian reviewer proclaims the greatest indigenous American film in history.
Posted on: Tue, 23 Dec 2014 21:52:02 +0000
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