Wednesday 13 February 2013

Indians Vs. Cowboys



For my first blog I decided to do some further research on the rivalry between the Cowboys and Indians. Looking on YouTube I was able to find a video that I found raised an interesting point. If you watch the first minute of this video we learn how in most motion pictures the Indians play the ``bad guys``. Hollywood films portray the Indians as killers with no remorse for their actions. If Indians are being promoted as the ``villains`` in movies it leads others who are uneducated on the topic to assume this is true. With only one perspective exposed stereotypes are placed on both the Cowboys and Indians that could be inaccurate without the knowledge of factual events.

Why do you think the Indians are constantly deceived as the bad guys?

 If you watch the last 30 seconds of the clip this saying is stated, ``A nation that does not know its history has no future``. In my opinion this is a very powerful and relevant quote stating the importance about knowing where you as nation or individual come from in order to be properly perceived by others.

What other meanings could this quote have?

Do you think this quote is relevant to the Indians in this situation?

1 comment:

  1. Madison, you have located an excellent video and clearly analyses the portrayal of Natives in Hollywood. I think one of the reasons Natives are depicted as the bad guys is because, as the clip said, "history is written by the victors." Since Euro-Americans won North America, they get to tell the story. I wonder if Natives told the story, how they would depict it? I would guess that their films would look at the theft of land and culture and various other abuses.

    Your post was insightful. For future posts, you should provide your answers to your questions. Also, remember to title and label your post.

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