Buffalo Hump (Wes Studi) leads 600 warriors in an assault on Austin, Texas. The Indians wield spears, hatchets, bows and arrows, and clubs but no guns. I guess they're not bright enough to realize a gun is generally superior to a hatchet or club.
Fortunately, the townspeople are just as stupid as the Indians. Rather than retreat indoors, where they'd be safe from Indian attacks, they run out into the street. Thus, there's a perfect confluence of Indians with inferior weapons meeting whites with inferior instincts.
Scalping and raping
I don't know if Comanches scalped people, but of course one scalps a white man here. Worse, Blue Duck (Adam Beach) rapes a white woman in the middle of the street. Apparently, his lusts are so bestial that he can't control himself. He doesn't care if anyone sees him, or if the people shooting around him put a bullet in his back. When an animal feels the urge to rut, it--I mean he--acts on it no matter what.
No, wait...that's an insult to animals. Even animals have courtship rituals. They mate only when the time and place are right. So these Comanches are lower than animals. They're demons out of hell.
I say the rape is worse than murder because that's what Pearl the victim thinks. "They done me," she says. "I'm ruined." Confirming the point, her husband hangs himself in shame. (Of course, Pearl goes on to live a productive life in part 3, but never mind.)
Beware the land shark
Other than this, the Indians don't have much to do in part 2. As with Westerns such as Into the West, they're irrelevant to the main story. They aren't real characters, they're props. They exist only to provide a colorful change of scenery.
But the most ludicrous bit of part 2 belongs to Gus McCrae. When he sees an animal wallowing on a river bank, he fears it's a "land shark." It turns out to be a large "blue" pig.
Yeah, I'm sure the first image that would come to the mind of a Texas cowboy on the dusty plains is a shark. Not a giant squid or a killer whale, of course, because that would ridiculous. No doubt Gus was watching reruns of Saturday Night Live at the time.
Rob's rating for part two: 6.5 of 10.
11 comments:
Writerfella here --
Oh, pooh. There are animal rapists and even homosexual animals, and neither obeys courtship rituals. Humans are animals and always have been. Depiction, therefore, can be protested, just not on such terms...
AllBest
Russ Bates
'writerfella'
I was referring to animals in general, not all animals. Therefore, the point stands.
The Comanche actually did raid Austin (which is one of the reasons Sam Houston wanted the capital of the Republic in Houston rather than way out on the frontier) but they also used guns and were damn good shots. There are several historical reports of Comanches scalping and raping during attacks on settlements, though of course you have to take "historical accounts" with a certain grain of salt. Ironically, the Comanche had signed a treaty with Houston and were more or less at peace with the Republic until a gang of white idiots decided to ambush and murder a group of Comanche chiefs at a supposed diplomatic conference in San Antonio (the "Council House Fight"). Almost all of the worst violence between whites and the Comanche dates from that one moronic decision.
Writerfella here --
You're saying that, if it looks like a Blue Duck, quacks like a Blue Duck, and walks like a Blue Duck, then it's a Blue Duck? There, writerfella doesn't disagree...
All Best
Russ Bates
'writerfella'
I couldn't find anything about Comanches raiding Austin via Google. Can you give us a source?
Even animals don't mate when they're in danger, with bullets whizzing by their heads. But Comanches apparently do.
I'll post something about the Council House Fight and the Great Raid of 1840 shortly.
"I couldn't find anything about Comanches raiding Austin via Google. Can you give us a source?"
Actually, I may have overstated that. Now that I look back on a biography of Sam Houston by James Haley (excellent by the way) and the most I can get was that Comanches were "spotted on the outskirts of Austin," obviously a BIG difference between being spotted and actually raiding. Interestingly enough, Fort Parker (where Cynthia Ann Parker and her brother were taken captive by the Comanche) is located near present-day Groesbeck, 136 miles north and east of Austin, so the Comanche were actually raiding PAST Austin at one point.
To start- I think rape is terrible, and the
embarassment of it must be real
bad. But we're the Comanches
having anal sex with these gals or
what. It seemed the gals we're all
instructed and ready to kill themselves ahead of time ? Seems
awful excessive. I wouldn't want to lose someone I love because of an uncontrollable circumstance. ??
The Comanches actually did invade the coastal town of Linnville, TX, which apparently did not survive their raid. When retreating home, they lost a significant battle with Texans at Plum Creek.
Rape and enslavement (and often adoption) of captives was considered part of the spoils of war for Comanches. That's nothing new in human history. However, it's likely they waited until the battle was actually over to indulge in rape.
I discussed what the historical Comanches did in Sources for Comanche Moon. For more on the subject, check it out.
Why did you give it 6.5 out of 10 if it's so bad? - Just wondering...
My critique is mainly about the Indian aspects of Comanche Moon, part 2. I also said "the Indians don't have much to do in part 2."
Therefore, there's a lot I didn't criticize in part 2. These aspects--the storytelling, acting, and so forth--aren't great, but they aren't awful either. They're good enough to earn a 6.5 of 10.
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