A Brief historyFirst encounters with colonizers Dichotomy began Noble vs Savage justification for treatment from colonizers Even those ‘sympathetic’ to American Indians early on, still condescending and project sense of superiority Through the 1800s, movement West meant more unfavorable characterizations to serve goals of manifest destiny Native Americans were seen as obstacles to this objective Continued use of Noble vs Savage imageryToday American Indians in the U.S. .8 - 1.5% of population 57% live in metropolitan areas lowest metro % for any racial/ethnic group Perceptions of American Indians largely formed from vicarious rather than direct contact (i.e., media)Film Early Silent Films Take their cues from Dime Novels and tent-show posters Native Americans filled two roles: Barbaric Savages White hero saves the day from ruthless, savage Indian The Battle of Elderbrush Gulch (1913, DW Griffith) Noble Savages Early Native American directors James Young Deer (Winnebago) Yacqui Girl (1919) Edwin Carewe (Chickasaw) Trail of the Shadow (1917) Then, a virtual absence for decades in front of & behind the camera Cowboy, Will Rogers was a notable exception (Cherokee) The Talkies Few changes from earlier stereotypes “Injun speak” became a Hollywood staple ‘How’ , ‘Ug’ & characters like Tonto Actors in ‘red face’ Such limited roles predominated until the 1960s Attempts to legitimize treatment of American Indians American Indians ill-equipped to handle progress White Americans correct in taking lands by whatever means necessary Westerns tremendously popular from the 1950s-70s Emphasis on the barbaric savage Violent, subhuman, aimed at destroying brave White settlers Therefore deserving of violence By the late 1960s-70s More sympathetic Little Big Man (1970) Native American main character Prior to this time, Native Americans commonly played by White actors Tell Them Willie Boy is Here (1969) But westerns still prevalent 1980s Ongoing casting of non-American Indians in roles as American Indians Remains prevalent today Twilight saga films After controversy, Taylor Lautner claimed some Native American ancestry 1990s: Some positive changes Savage imagery lessened “Injun speak” largely absent Still, very few Native Americans in front of or behind the camera Dances with Wolves (1990), Last of the Mohicans (1992), Thunderheart (1992) Chris Eyre (Cheyenne & Arapaho) Director, Producer - Smoke Signals (1998) Native American cast, production, etc. Some technical shortcoming nevertheless an important & popular film Director and/or Producer Smoke Signals (1998) The Doe Boy (2001) Skins (2002) Skinwalkers (2002) Edge of America (2003) A Thief of Time (2004) A Thousand Roads, (2005) Imprint, (2007) After the Mayflower (2008) Tecumseh’s Vision (2008)The Current State of the Industry 5868 major motion pictures made between 1990-2000 13 included a Native American with at least a small spoken part 0.2% of films Representations within these 13 films: Spiritual: 100% of films People with problems: 85% Warriors: 85% Conflict with mainstream U.S.: 39% Historical: 31% Professionals: 15% (found in two movies) Overarching Images The Brutal Savage (male) evil, violent, predatory wild, primitive, uncivilized threat to White society dressed in ‘war paint’, buckskin, feathers The Noble Savage & Scout (male) young exotic ally to the Whites Example: Tonto (past & present) Wise & Spiritual Elder (male) chief Wise, mystical, spiritual Earth/nature loving Providing ancient herbal remedies Wearing Buffalo robes, feathers Maiden/Princess (female) virginal nobility, gentility exotic beauty Rarely set in contemporary societyTV Images: Few & Far Between -- The Good & The Bad The Lone Ranger (1945-1957) Sidekick, faithful follower, broken English Gunsmoke (1955-1975) & Bonanza (1959-1973) Secondary characters, enemy roles as marauding Indians threatening White main characters Hawk (1966) & Nakia (1974) Short-lived programs but with lead “American Indian” characters Played by non-American Indian actors Burt Reynolds – Cherokee? (lead in Hawk) Northern Exposure (1990-1995) praised and criticized Inaccurate portrayal of ceremonies, cultural traditions, etc Positive, intelligent character Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman (1993-1998) mostly criticized Simplistic, patronizing, apologist approach to history, ignored plight of American Indians during the time-period Did attempt to address social issues Men in Trees (2006-2008) minor role, not played by American Indian Mike and Molly (2010- ) “Arizona? Why would I move to Arizona? It’s nothing but a furnace full of drunk Indians.” Episode: Molly’s New Shoes Feb 25, 2013 Law & Order: SVU (1999- ) Today: between 0.0% - .4% of entertainment TV populationNews 0.2% of newspaper articles (Fryberg, 2003) 80,700 articles printed in the NY Times and LA Times in 1997 190 mentioned Native Americans, American Indians, or Indian (57 in The New York Times, 133 in The Los Angeles Times) Representations: 63% of articles describe Native Americans as spiritual 59% of the articles they were described as people with problems 49% described as historical 48% described as warrior-like 30% in conflict with mainstream U.S. 0% described as professionals Cherokee Phoenix First Native American newspaper Goals: First issue was published in English and the written Cherokee language on February 21, 1828 Last issue published in 1934Mascots American Indian Mascots(Fryberg et al., 2008) Positive or negative associations with mascots? Chief Wahoo associated with positive words among Native American high school students, compared to explicit negative terms American Indian mascots not always negative On the other hand…. Lower self-esteem Lower community worth Less achievement-related possible selves Implications Content and/or meaning of mascots is not necessarily negative However, mascots have negative psychological effects American Indians reminded of limited ways in which others see their
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