January 20, 2010

Reel Injun trailer

In “Reel Injun,” Cree filmmaker takes a look at Native Americans – faux and the real deal--in moviesPity the poor film director. He wants to make a movie about Indians, but just can’t find enough Native American actors. Hence, there’s the spectacle of Anthony Quinn, Burt Lancaster, Sylvester Stallone--even Boris Karloff, for heaven’s sake--in, shall we say, redface.

And even when Native actors are used, things frequently aren’t quite right. As Graham Greene, who is Oneida, points out, he had to learn Lakota for his role in “Dances With Wolves,” even though he can’t speak his own language.

The documentary “Reel Injuns” by Cree filmmaker Neil Diamond explores that dynamic as well as that of “adopted” Indians who plays into the whole “white savior” myth. Diamond frequently handles this with humor, although the hurt shines through.

Check out the movie’s Web site, which features comments by Native actors and activists Wes Studi and Russell Means.

As both site and the trailer show, most of these movies purport to be about Indians, but are really about white people, with Native Americans as the supporting cast:

Think of Lieutenant Dunbar (Kevin Costner) in “Dances with Wolves”’; Hawkeye (Daniel Day Lewis) in “The Last of the Mohicans,” and John Morgan (Richard Harris) in “A Man Called Horse.”

“Reel Injun” opens in theaters in Canada Feb. 19. Can’t wait till it crosses the border to the States.


Comment:  Daniel Day-Lewis played a woodsman similar to an Indian, of course, not an Indian. His character Hawkeye wasn't a white man who took over a story supposedly about Indians. The Last of The Mohicans was always about Hawkeye first and the Mohicans second.

I'm not sure there's anything new to say on the subject of Indians in movies. People have done many books and documentaries on the subject already. Hollywood's portrayal of Indians has been stereotypical, racist, and wrong. Case closed.

For more on the subject, see The Best Indian Movies and Native Documentaries and News.

7 comments:

Kat said...

"I'm not sure there's anything new to say on the subject of Indians in movies. People have done many books and documentaries on the subject already. Hollywood's portrayal of Indians has been stereotypical, racist, and wrong. Case closed."

Oh, COME ON! WTF? It has to be said until it changes. Case closed. Plus: The trailer looks great, very snarky and sarcastic.

Kat said...

Another, longer trailer with a very different feel to it:
Reel Injun trailer II

Rob said...

As I'm sure you know, Kat, I continue to hammer Hollywood for its racist and stereotypical portrayals of Natives. I may be writing more on the subject than anyone in the world.

But I don't pretend that I've come up with any original or persuasive arguments. I think I'm saying the same things that critics have been saying for decades.

If Reel Injun changes someone's mind, great. If not, we can file it with the growing list of books, films, and websites on the subject.

dmarks said...

Free Dictionary:

"Noun 1. Injun - (slang) offensive term for Native Americans"

"redskin [ˈrɛdˌskɪn] an informal name, now considered offensive, for an American Indian"

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Surprised you apparently think that this magazine title is OK (you didn't mention it, at least), while "Redskin Magazine" is not.

Or is it because the intent of the movie is nothing like that of the magazine/

Wajiw said...

What about the white heroes in Geronimo or Code Talkers. The movie was called Geronimo but could have more effectively been called Lt. Gatewood. In Code Talkers was that more about the guy (Nicholas Cage was it?) who carried Adam Beach. I didn't see Code Talkers. Is Val Kilmer(Thunderheart) Native? Then off the topic a bit I was wondering if Johnny Depp is Native. He was wearing a homeland security t- shirt and has a chief tatoo in pictures on set of the Pirates movies.

Rob said...

It's a movie title, not a magazine title.

I don't mind using "Injun" in the documentary's title for a couple reasons:

1) In my estimation, "injun" isn't as offensive as "redskin."

2) The filmmakers obviously meant it ironically. As in, "These are Indians as portrayed by Hollywood studios--what they'd call injuns." That's different from the Washington Redskins or Redskin magazine, where the word doesn't imply a critique of the mainstream's attitudes.

Rob said...

Johnny Depp is supposedly 1/8th Cherokee. Val Kilmer is probably less. Follow the links to read more about them.

The Nicolas Cage movie you're thinking of is Windtalkers. I wrote about it in Windtalkers:  No Guts, No Glory.