QWP: Many seem to agree that the Twilight Saga has opened doors for Native American actors to more modern roles. What are your thoughts on this?
RM: “Open Doors” is an interesting term. The Twilight Saga has definitely given the Native American a place within this current generation of actors coming through Hollywood. We all have a dream but commitment to this dream is what will make the difference for people to vision the Native in modern roles. Its kind of funny … the essence of the Native Spirit tends to resist modernization for a desire to return to the Old Ways, yet we struggle to show that the Native does not only come drunk, in breechcloth and sounding primitive. Don’t get me wrong, I embrace the loin, that’s my bread and butter but we still have a ways to go. I am so thankful for Stephenie Meyer and the Twilight Saga for bringing a well-needed change to the faces of Hollywood. I am excited to keep the energy flowing.
This image kind of says it all about Twilight's respect for Natives. Who in their right minds thought this was a great way to portray traditional Quileute Indians? Half-naked and wearing little wolf hats that look like grade-schoolers made them in arts and crafts.
We discussed this scene in Flashback in Twilight Movie. You might think this flashback took place hundreds of years ago. No, it supposedly occurred in the 1930s--after Indians became US citizens and perhaps after the Quileute tribe adopted a constitutional government. These Indians may have served in World War I or the Civilian Conservation Corps...but Hollywood thinks they were still primitive savages.
LOL What I find amazing is, is a loincloth really that sexy? I mean, it's not sexy to most Indians. (I say "most" as a way to say "probably all, but I haven't surveyed everyone".) Mostly it comes from the idea that a man's wearing two flaps with nothing in-between. I'm sure it loses its sex appeal when one knows the truth.
ReplyDeleteSomehow "embrace the loin" sent my mind to the gutter, though. Given the ho yay between Jacob and Edward in the books (mostly from Edward's side, but find a pair of a white guy and an Indian guy in fiction that doesn't have ho yay), I'll say so.
I understand what you are saying here… but still, there´s fiction and there`s reality. You can go through a lot of movies (example: The Gladiator) and see where Hollywood messed up, there are so many things historically wrong with this movie. I won´t even go into detail and that`s just one of many. It boils down to this: when you watch a commercial or a movie, you need to understand it is not reality. One HAS to down their own research and not take everything they see at face value. Some people just don`t bother to portray reality and go for effects rather than accuracy. And most women I know would agree that they could care less about the accuracy of his outfit, it`s his appearance and his acting that make it worth looking at. I don`t beleive there are flying Vampires in any U.S. town, or anywhere in the world for that matter, but I can still watch the movie without getting all worked up. It`s fiction, and Mr Mora is an actor, he`s well aware of the fact that there`s still a long way to go, he has mentioned it in many interviews. But the fact remains, this movie has given him and others the opportunity to show themselves. It`s Hollywood and that`s what people need to realize. People need to educate themselves and learn how to differenciate between TV and the real world/ historical facts.
ReplyDeleteWhat wolf hat?
ReplyDeleteOh. I see it now. I was too busy checking out his abs...while imagining him in a loin cloth. meee-yowza!
"People need to educate themselves and learn how to differenciate between TV and the real world/ historical facts." Actually, people need to educate themselves on the profound ability of the media to influence perceptions. As noted in these recent postings:
ReplyDeleteStereotypes justified "extreme measures"
Indians displayed in "human zoos"
Acting-class experiment reveals biases
And many others in this blog.
If you don't think our stereotypical notions come from movies and other forms of media, tell us where they do come from. Good luck with your answer...you'll need it.