Reel Injun

Description

Answer questions in a thoughtful, clear, and complete manner. Create answers in full sentences and paragraphs – NOT one or two words! Be specific with examples and connections. Avoid direct quotations. Use MLA in-text citations and Works Cited. Refer to Purdue Owl for guidance on Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing citing works Cree filmmaker Neil Diamond takes an entertaining and insightful look at the Hollywood Indian, exploring the portrayal of Aboriginal peoples through a century of cinema. With clips from hundreds of classic and recent films, Reel Injun traces the evolution of cinema’s depiction of Native peoples from the silent-film era to today, only to find the future of Aboriginal cinema in the unlikeliest of places: Canada’s North. Rambling through the heartland of America, Diamond looks at how the myth of the “Injun” has influenced the world’s representation—and misrepresentation—of Native peoples. The Cree filmmaker conducted candid interviews with Native and non-Native film celebrities as well as activists, film critics and historians. What are the consequences of distorted representations of Native people with regard to their identity, self-esteem and social and cultural development? One hundred years of cinema have shaped the folkloric images of Native Americans to the point that some people believe that Indians still live in teepees. But what is an “Injun” in 2011? What were the main reasons for Native people being so widely represented in the movies? Some say that cinema was created to film First Nations people; on what basis can we support such a statement? Why would American culture treat Indians as myths or dinosaurs? What is the “Tonto speech”, did Hollywood harm the existing Native languages spoken by US tribes? What are some of the misguided notions surrounding the Indian princess Pocahontas? When John Wayne shoots a dead Indian that was dug up from a burial ground in the eyes to make sure he will not be going to the spirit world, what kind of message is Hollywood sending? Director Neil Diamond mentioned that he found the answers he was looking for in the North. What exactly was the object of his quest? On what basis can we say that Atanarjuat is the “most Native” movie ever made? How would you describe “nativeness” in the 21st century?