Changing Native American Stereotypes in the Film, Dances...

Changing Native American Stereotypes in the Film, Dances with Wolves The film Dances with Wolves, that was written by Michael Blake and directed by Kevin Costner, helps to shift our perspective of Native Americans from one of stereotypical distaste, to one of support and respect. According to an anonymous critic on www.eFilmcritic.com This is one of the few westerns that devotes its time to looking at the plight of the American Indians (particularly the Sioux), who were thought by some as even more subhuman than blacks during the 1800s (and even during parts of the 1900s). It has always been thought that Native Americans of old were savage, non-feeling, unemotional, cold-blooded killers. It is difficult for people to see them as†¦show more content†¦He sees them as real people. As people that are just looking out for their families and dont want to lose their heritage. The Sioux are very perplexed by John. He comes to the army fort and he doesnt seem to be afraid of them like everyone else is. They are not just going to go out and kill him. He didnt do anything to harm or threaten their lifestyle, so why should they bother him. They dont know how to react to him. Every time they make an appearance to him, he seems friendly and acts like he wants to get to know them. Now here is a prime instance of how the Sioux do not fit into the typical view of Indians. The typical view is that Native Americans dont care about other people and they just go around killing everyone for the fun of it. This is totally opposite of that. In the film, the Sioux make numerous appearances to John without being threatening at all. They just want to try and get to know him and see what he is there for. According to people from our my English Composition class there are a lot of scenes in Dances with Wolves that illustrate the view of Indians as brutal savages. Some of these include: beating people on the head with a mace, shooting of dog, wagon train remains, driver of the mule train killed, yanking captive lady off the horse, and killing of peasant. These are just a few that can be interpreted as savage. There were also views of when they came to think of the Indians as friends instead ofShow MoreRelated The West in Film Essay examples2952 Words   |  12 Pagesspecifically women and Native Americans, in Western film has changed drastically from the early 1930s to the late 1980s. These changes represent the changing views of American society in general throughout the 20th century. In the early part of the century, women and Native Americans were depicted as a burden. Women were viewed as a form of property, helpless and needing support. These minorities were obstacles in the ques t for manifest destiny by the United States. 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