Critics Corner:  The Movie Project

As we noted in class, American/Western popular culture is infused with images of the "primitive" or native.  This is particularly evident in the movies that we watch.  In the past portrayals of indigenous peoples, tribal peoples, Native Americans, etc., were often stereotypical and simplistic, drawing upon images that were part of a colonial mentality and fit the ideologies of "manifest destiny."  More recently movies have become much more complex in their portrayals of native peoples; the portrayals are often sympathetic with native culture, and critical of the Western tendencies to dominate.  Thus, the images of native peoples in movies and other popular media have become complicated, perhaps reflecting a changing relationship between mainstream society and native groups.

The aim of this project is to turn you into a movie critic, but a movie critic with a focus.  Your aim is to look at how native or indigenous peoples are portrayed in the movie you review.  Your review should explore typical things like the plot of the movie, the characters, and how native peoples fit into the overall story.  But your review should also respond to the following questions:

1. How are native peoples portrayed, and can you explore why they might be portrayed in this manner?  Can you see a concern in the film for ethnographically based accuracy and complexity?
2. How do native peoples in the movie relate to the outside world?  Are they hostile?  Are they naive?  Are they fragile?  Are they trusting?  Are they gullible?  Which group negotiates the relationship between the native world and the external world?
3. What will the viewer, in your opinion, come to know about the "primitive" by watching this movie?  What will the viewer feel about the primitive?
4. How will the native see himself/herself in the film?

Your review should be thoughtfully and engagingly written in a one page single space review.  Your review will be read critically by a peer in our class.  The review is due on Sept. 25.