Hollywood’s Indian and the Postmodern West

Melissa Bittner The West and the Movies Prof: Griggs VII: Hollywoods Indian and the Postmodern West December 2, 2011 Throughout the history of the western sandwich genre, the one element, in which has been portrayed as a undefiled sav long time, is the every so noble Indian. The earlier westerns depicted the Indian as an illiterate cruel beast seeking the livid earthly concern to kill and destroy, at least in the westbound genres infancy. However, in my opinion, the White Man is the uneducated one, or maybe not, who seeks to destroy the inhering American for his land, creating an illusion, the wild savage stereotype seen time and time again, to cover up the injustices done by the sporting man in his call for to steal this country from the natives. The film Little Big Man 1970 directed by Arthur Penn is considered to be a Revisionist or innovational Western for the sympathetic portrayal and historical authenticity of the Native American. David Lusted explains the Revisionist Western in The Western, as a change, brought about by criticism. Perhaps this primary focus on films that interrogate…traditional representations is more a consequence of film criticism than the experiential history of the genre.

(Lusted) However, Little Big Man draws the viewer into the carriage of the Native American, as Jack played by Dustin Hoffman is ensnare by a Cheyenne scout at the age of 10, shortly after the death of his parents. Jack is adopted by the tribal leader and taught the way of the Cheyenne. Watching this film as a young girl in the late seventies, I remember fantasizing about growing up as an Indian child, just as Jack did. Ultimately turning the excite savage beast, portray in earlier westerns, into a human, with a whole lot of character. For the first time, the Western genre provided its interview with a new perspective. A perspective from the Native Americans tier of view, which later leaves the viewer in shear horror of what the white Man actually did. Little Big Man, had the same openhearted of... If you want to get a full essay, order it on our website: Orderessay

If you want to get a full essay, wisit our page: write my essay .