Preview

Stereotyping: Native Americans in the United States

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
2037 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Stereotyping: Native Americans in the United States
The issue of racial stereotyping in cinema has largely been discussed by critics over the course of cinematic history. The negative portrayal of the Native American, for example, is rampant in the early Western film genre. Native Americans are, more often than not, portrayed as vicious savages, hell-bent on senselessly scalping and murdering as many ‘innocent’ (white?) American settlers as possible. Individuals of a darker skin colour, such as the African American, are also victims of negative stereotyping in early cinema. They are usually portrayed as stupid, aggressive and primitive, as lesser than the ‘white man.’ Some directors have attempted to revise these inaccurate portrayals of minority groups. For example, Arthur Penn’s cinematic masterpiece entitled Little Big Man (1970) provides the audience with a more accurate depiction of the Native American from the mid-19th century, both visually and historically. Similarly, an effective film which does not patronize individuals of a darker skin color is Mike Leigh’s Secrets &ump; Lies (1996). Hortense, a woman of Anglo-Jamaican descent, is portrayed as more successful, wealthy and intelligent than the Caucasians in the film. Other directors have also attempted to portray these minority groups more accurately, yet seem to fall short of the achievements of the two movies previously mentioned. For example, John Ford’s The Searchers is Ford’s attempt at rectifying the negative portrayal of the Native American, a portrayal which he is partly responsible for introducing to mainstream cinema during the mid-20th century (Nolley, 73). Despite his efforts, there is still an excessive amount of racial prejudice towards the Native Americans within the film. Lee Daniels’ Precious is also an attempt to portray a young black female’s ‘rags-to-riches’ story, but the movie’s excessive incorporation of stereotypes makes it difficult for the optimistic message to be conveyed to the audience. In this paper, I will compare and

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Native Americans have three underlining issues; nonnative crime, terminology differences and systemic and institutional racism, in America since 1492 to present that continue to plague Native culture and society. Research will show America, has shown neglect, disregarded, and systematically eliminated native Americans from their home and culture. Native Americans in the Americas have pushed deeper and father into no man's land in such haste and with abhorrence that it have society has robbed Native of identity, home and has embedded a negative image of what was and still is a great peoples.…

    • 92 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The films, ‘The Butler’ and ‘The Intouchables’ are representations of the ordeals that African American’s were forced to go through in the past years and the implications of such experiences to the current production of films. It is without any doubt that because of the inferior status that was given to African Americans, most films that are produced today exhibit African Americans to be of a lesser status (Toledano and Olivier 5; Ager and Aubyn 1). For example, in both of the aforementioned films, black people are conveyed as servants (Toledano and Olivier 5; Ager and Aubyn 1). To add onto this, in the film, ‘The Intouchables,’ readers are told of the actuality that Driss served a jail time for a crime that he had committed thus showing that African Americans were stereotyped as criminals by nature.…

    • 634 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Blaxploitation

    • 1512 Words
    • 7 Pages

    In today 's culturally diverse, politically correct society, it is hard to believe that at one time racism was not only accepted as the norm, but enjoyed for its entertainment value. Individuals of African descent in North America today take the large, diverse pool of opportunities offered by the film industry for granted. Much like Canadian theatre however, there was a time when a black man in any role, be it servant or slave, was virtually unheard of. It took the blaxpliotation films of the early nineteen seventies to change the stereotypical depiction of Black people in American Cinema, as it took The Farm Story, performed by a small troop of Canadian actors, to create a Canadian theatre industry. To be more specific, it took the release of Melvin Van Peebles, Sweet Sweetback 's Baadasssss Song, in 1971, to change the tradition view of Black people in American film.…

    • 1512 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Classified History X by Melvin van Peebles thinking about how African Americans could be viewed in movies by younger generations. In the documentary Peebles, talks about that moment when he was 12 or 13 and he realizes that he feels shame coming out of the movie theater. This got me thinking back to all the times I would sit and watch movies as a kid. As my mother was a huge fan of the Turner classic movie station, I grew up watching movies such as Casablanca and Billy the kid. Most time I’d brush The old movies off, thinking they were ether too boring or to hurtful and scary. However, there were also times when I sit down next to my mother and admire all the pretty women on stage acting and the handsome men strutting across the screen. It got me wondering…

    • 679 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ethnic Notions properly documents racial stereotypes though out this film using cultural evidence and supporting opinions of members with in this field of study. In addition Ethnic Notions uproots many popular depictions and presents them clearly using firm supporting evidence. Evidence such as American films, poems, books, songs, forms of dance, and depictive objects are used to show and present these descriptions to the viewer. Ethnic notions Touches upon the beliefs that these ethnic stereotypes and caricatures subliminally taint American popular…

    • 1222 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    distinguish and analyze the freedoms guaranteed to African Americans in the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the Constitution…

    • 412 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The American Indian is a very unique and integral part of Amreican history,with a very rich and beautiful cultural background.There are over 558 federally recognized tribes in America right now,and another 126 who have applied for federal recognition.At the time of first contact with Europeans, the United states was fully occupied by Indian Nations and some 300 Indian languages existed,approximately 106 of which are still spoken.The diversity and hetrogeneity of the American Indian community cannot be overstated.…

    • 1415 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The ethnic group that I choose was Native Americans. I am of Caucasian descendant with Native American from my dad’s side. I really want to learn more about my heritage and family background.…

    • 797 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Since the arrival of the Europeans in 1492 the Native American has systematically been dehumanized, decivilized and redefined into terms that typify a subordinate or minority role, restricted life opportunities persist today as a result.…

    • 3494 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Best Essays

    Over the course of time in our country, many groups in our society have experienced being set apart from sustainable communities. Among them are the immigrants, the homeless, the African Americans, those with physical or mental disabilities and the Native Americans. According to McIntosh (1988), “Whites are taught to think of their lives as morally neutral, normative, and average, and also ideal, so that we work to benefit others, this is seen as work which will allow ‘them’ to be more like ‘us’ “ (p. 1). Unquestionably, this was the case back in the nineteenth century when the “White” people thought it would be better to have the Native Americans be more like them. Marginalization of the Native Americans is a result of colonialism; they were considered to be ignorant and hostiles by the “White” settlers, forced to live on reservations, lost their culture and values through assimilation and stripped of their rights in society. Segregation, Social Darwinism, and other discriminatory practices have led to the marginalization of Native Americans, resulting in the lowest standard of living in the United States, high rates of alcoholism, and a significant loss of heritage as they are cut off from native rituals and language and encouraged to meld into the cultural expectations of mainstream America.…

    • 2899 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    Deculturalization refers to the "stripping away of a people's culture and replacing it with a new culture" (Spring 1). Deculturalization is one of the most inhumane acts one can partake in. A person's culture is his/her main defining feature. Culture is the medium through which people communicate their beliefs, values, and morals. Inserting one's own culture in place of someone's pre-existing culture is the basis of ethnocentrism. People have repeatedly become victims of deculturalization, especially in the United States, and by analyzing this ethnocentrism one learns the importance of sustaining different cultures in society.…

    • 1267 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ethnic Notions

    • 1120 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The film “Ethnic Notions” directed and produced by Marlon Riggs identifies racial inferiority among the African American culture, as ethnic stereotypes, such as cartoons, performances and caricatures were depicted during the post-slavery era. Many stereotypical roles were portrayed, as the narrator took its viewers back to the ancestry of African Americans; for instance, mammies, sambos, uncles, aunts, boy and girl. These roles were presented to depict African Americans as demoralizing characters; mammies were always shown as faithful workers and sambos, which comes from the racial term of a person mixed with African and American Indian decent, were shown as carefree, lazy individuals. Throughout the film, Riggs portrays copious accounts of stereotypical artistry, while touching upon the ideology that these ethnic stereotypes subliminally contaminate America’s culture with racism.…

    • 1120 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    There are many stereotypes that are used to label indigenous people in the media. These representations can be positive or negative but both have an adverse effect on the way that we see the Indigenous community. By accepting any stereotype we reduce an entire community down to an inanimate object, which clouds our vision when looking at an individual person (Forrest, 2015b). Most Aboriginal people do not fit the stereotype that has been offered (Rodriguez, 2004), By believing these stereotypes a person would get the wrong idea about a person far more often than they would get the right one. In order to be a fair educator the first thing that I will have to do is forget everything that I think I know about a group or community and go in with an open mind. By doing this I will be able to better understand the community and interact more freely with the people there.…

    • 487 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Stereotypes of different cultures have a large role in the opinions we hold. One culture which has endured stereotypes since America came to exist is the Native American. This analysis intends to look at the different stereotypes Native Americans have been branded with and how these stereotypes have been incorporated into American Film, in particular The Searchers.…

    • 1021 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    It is the way others or we perceive ourselves. It is a thought that can adopt to specific types of individual or certain ways of doing.…

    • 126 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays