To start things off this week, here's the trailer from the movie I discussed last time, The Indian in the Cupboard: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wp5P53ZGTmk I am still waiting to receive the film from Netflix, in order to do a comprehensive review of what stereotypes this kid's movie is guilty of, so I can't pass judgment yet. From the trailer though, it certainly looks like some of the issues shown in 'Reel Injun' will be present. The guy in the trailer certainly seemed to be acting like the 'noble savage'. One thing I wonder about though is whether the movie would actually be guilty of stereotyping. In the film, an action figure Indian is brought to life. Does this mean the figure would act like an actual American Indian? Or does it mean that it would act like the stereotypes that led to the action figure's creation? After all, when a kid plays with this toy, he's probably only got the old Hollywood stereotypes in mind. Again I'm reading into the film without having seen it, but I think that says something about how 'alive' or ideas of the Indians are even if they're incorrect. The miniature Indian in the film could literally be the embodiment of the 'reel injun' that so influences actual Indian communities as well as everyone else's idea of American Indians.
One thing that I would like to talk about over multiple blog posts (as I develop the idea further) is something that I plan to write. As a creative writing major with a focus in speculative fiction, I do want to include certain aesthetics in my work. One idea I've had has been heavily influenced by American Indian culture from the start.
The idea is simple. There will be a tribe of American Indian-like people who have not yet had contact with other cultures. One young individual would have the 'gift' of being able to commune with the minds of animals and they use this ability to hunt by hypnotizing animals into submission. When armored 'European' individuals show up and start killing everyone, this young Indian will have to use their ability to gain insight from the the animals that can help them defeat the 'Europeans'. Each animal's mind would be represented by a new landscape the young Indian could enter. This gives me a chance to sue things like the trickster tales to influence the worlds of the animals. It would sort of be the opposite of a trickster tale. The intelligent spirit of an animal would put the young Indian through a test in order to impart wisdom to them.
I was even thinking to include some lines from a classic piece of writing. (Points if you know where these phrases come from) I wold have each animal bestow an ability to the young Indian. As examples: the mole's dim curtain, the lynx's beam, and the spider's touch.
I think the story would be a great allegory for someone becoming a vegetarian. (Though I'm not one, it's still something fun to explore) So the question is... which tribe or which traditions would I want to use as the basis for the people in my story? My goal over the next few weeks is to report (in portions of blog posts) on a particular tribe's life style and try to find the one that would best fit this idea. Then I can use it to help build the fictitious world.
As far as the film about the Indian holocaust... I have to admit I was shocked. While I was well aware of our long history of oppressing the natives, I had no idea that there were so many recent incidents or that so many civilians were put in harm's way. I honestly had not heard much at all about the incident at Wounded Knee. The fact that a small faction of Indians were still fighting for their rights with guns just sixteen years before I was born is sort of surreal. My parents were watching this on the news when it happened. it makes me wonder what kind of conversations the Indians had during the occupation. They had to know how badly they were outnumbered and outgunned, so what was the atmosphere in those buildings like? Were they happy to finally be doing something about it? Were they fearing for their lives? Were they filled with hatred for the FBI agents outside? Whether this happened or not, I picture them sitting inside, a few guns trained out the window, and everyone else circled together and singing a native song in low voices.
Honestly, I don't think I could have stood against them. I would just let them absorb the town into their land. In all honesty, the Indians seemed far more human in this situation than the government's response. It didn't even seem like they tried to be understanding. They just sent the FBI and the police in, guns blazing. After just reading about the Oglala nation on the Wikipedia page for the incident, I've decided they will be the first culture I will research for my story project.
So until next week....
Monday, January 30, 2012
Monday, January 23, 2012
Week Two of Native American Literature
I have successfully finished the book of native American trickster tales. I'm going to comment again on how weird myth logic is. There's nothing wrong with drawing influence from the myths that make up the history of storytelling, but I've never understood why people were entertained by reading the myths themselves in their original formats. Myths are just the prototypes of the modern story. Would you want to make your breakfast in the prototype toaster or a modern day one? Myths just fail at so many things that modern stories are expected to do. There's a time tested (albeit extremely western) pattern that stories are supposed to follow. A protagonist gets caught up in a difficult or dangerous situation and usually wins the day through some personal growth. These stories are also expected to stick to their own logic.
These myths bring in way too many deus ex machinas. Characters pull out materials we didn't know they had, use powers we weren't told about, and show a great disparity between their size and the things they can interact with. For example, when a flying creature spills some liquid it becomes the ocean. Did I miss something? How big was this bird? Why/how did this liquid expand to become that much fluid?
That's why I've never understood the value of myths as anything other than prototype stories. They're not as entertaining as modern stories because the formula hadn't been perfected yet and their value as 'explanations' for things like 'why is there a moon?' or 'why do bears love salmon so much?' is nonexistent. Just making something up to explain something is worse than a waste of time because often people will be perfectly satisfied with non-explanations.
Branching from that thought, one thing I would be incredibly curious about is the state of the scientific process in various Native American tribes. I know most of their cultural heritage would be pre-enlightenment but I have to think they had specific members or processes that were very good at figuring out the natural world. Did they ever conduct experiments with the goal of figuring out better ways to hunt, farm, craft, or treat illnesses? Obviously this happens at some pace in every early civilization but were there any native American that actually made it their goal to figure out how and why various things functioned? Did they hold any semi-scientific theories or ideas in high regard or was it literally all myths? Where d we think Native American civilization would be scientifically if it had never, to this day, come into contact with other human civilizations?
On an unrelated note, this course has me thinking about an important film from my childhood: The Indian in the Cupboard. As I haven't seen it in several years, my memories of its high quality may be mostly nostalgia but I remember the concept clearly. A young boy discovers a magic cupboard. When he places something resembling life, like a little toy Indian, inside, locks it, and opens it again, the item comes to life. The little boy then learns many lessons from the little Indian about being a responsible man. Now I know I;m really stretching this because it is a movie intended for young people, but I think the set says something interesting about the relationship between American Indians and Americans. The Indian's tiny stature could represent the fact that Indians became a minority. The innocence of the child character is used in the film to show how unfamiliar he is with other cultures. The Indian remains stoic and skilled despite his diminutive size and it just goes to show us that we can always become more mature by learning from other historical cultures, no matter how small their representation in today's society. I have no idea if that's legitimate but it's just what came to mind. As soon as I'm done here I'll probably add it to my Netflix list to re-investigate it. I have no doubt that even if it has a positive message that includes most of the standard Indian stereotypes.
I've been wondering about one other thing lately too, and it could certainly tie into American Indian culture. I've always had an interest in man's best friend, so what did Native Americans think of dogs? Did any of the tribes ever incorporate domesticated canines? I'm willing to bet they were direct competitors with the American Gray wolf. Since the gray wolf is the ancestor of all modern domestic dogs, I wonder if the Indians ever considered a partnership as something worth pursuing? Or were they always rivals? Did wolves steal meat if it was left unattended? Did they significantly fear getting caught out in the wilderness with wolves around? It appears that some tribes viewed coyotes as troublesome tricksters and I know for a fact that most wolves hate coyotes with a passion... so they have that in common. (poor coyotes get such a bad rap just for being opportunistic)
These myths bring in way too many deus ex machinas. Characters pull out materials we didn't know they had, use powers we weren't told about, and show a great disparity between their size and the things they can interact with. For example, when a flying creature spills some liquid it becomes the ocean. Did I miss something? How big was this bird? Why/how did this liquid expand to become that much fluid?
That's why I've never understood the value of myths as anything other than prototype stories. They're not as entertaining as modern stories because the formula hadn't been perfected yet and their value as 'explanations' for things like 'why is there a moon?' or 'why do bears love salmon so much?' is nonexistent. Just making something up to explain something is worse than a waste of time because often people will be perfectly satisfied with non-explanations.
Branching from that thought, one thing I would be incredibly curious about is the state of the scientific process in various Native American tribes. I know most of their cultural heritage would be pre-enlightenment but I have to think they had specific members or processes that were very good at figuring out the natural world. Did they ever conduct experiments with the goal of figuring out better ways to hunt, farm, craft, or treat illnesses? Obviously this happens at some pace in every early civilization but were there any native American that actually made it their goal to figure out how and why various things functioned? Did they hold any semi-scientific theories or ideas in high regard or was it literally all myths? Where d we think Native American civilization would be scientifically if it had never, to this day, come into contact with other human civilizations?
On an unrelated note, this course has me thinking about an important film from my childhood: The Indian in the Cupboard. As I haven't seen it in several years, my memories of its high quality may be mostly nostalgia but I remember the concept clearly. A young boy discovers a magic cupboard. When he places something resembling life, like a little toy Indian, inside, locks it, and opens it again, the item comes to life. The little boy then learns many lessons from the little Indian about being a responsible man. Now I know I;m really stretching this because it is a movie intended for young people, but I think the set says something interesting about the relationship between American Indians and Americans. The Indian's tiny stature could represent the fact that Indians became a minority. The innocence of the child character is used in the film to show how unfamiliar he is with other cultures. The Indian remains stoic and skilled despite his diminutive size and it just goes to show us that we can always become more mature by learning from other historical cultures, no matter how small their representation in today's society. I have no idea if that's legitimate but it's just what came to mind. As soon as I'm done here I'll probably add it to my Netflix list to re-investigate it. I have no doubt that even if it has a positive message that includes most of the standard Indian stereotypes.
I've been wondering about one other thing lately too, and it could certainly tie into American Indian culture. I've always had an interest in man's best friend, so what did Native Americans think of dogs? Did any of the tribes ever incorporate domesticated canines? I'm willing to bet they were direct competitors with the American Gray wolf. Since the gray wolf is the ancestor of all modern domestic dogs, I wonder if the Indians ever considered a partnership as something worth pursuing? Or were they always rivals? Did wolves steal meat if it was left unattended? Did they significantly fear getting caught out in the wilderness with wolves around? It appears that some tribes viewed coyotes as troublesome tricksters and I know for a fact that most wolves hate coyotes with a passion... so they have that in common. (poor coyotes get such a bad rap just for being opportunistic)
Monday, January 16, 2012
Week one of Native American Literature
When it comes to the film Reel Injun, I was much more intrigued. It was disappointing to find out that all the headbands I've seen on all those native Americans were really just wig holders. To see American Indian children growing up with our the Hollywood interpretation of them influencing their own self-image... is heartbreaking. I knew there would be a certain amount of guilt in this class and I'm already feeling a thick layer of it poured over me like icy rotten frosting.
I was happy to see Adam beach on there because, prior to the viewing, I was already a fan of his. He portrayed an American Indian fireworks stand owner in the silly film Joe Dirt and (in a much better role) Detective Beach in a season or two of Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. I was legitimately disappointed when his character was written out because his unique delivery of lines and familiarity with every corner of the city added a quirky, mysterious element to the cast.
I was shocked when I saw the John Wayne clip showed the duke shooting a dead Indian in the face... Although I've never watched his movies I'd always assumed he was one of those loner cowboys that always did the right thing no matter what the law or the outlaws said. It reminded me of the recent event where U.S. troops pissed on the corpse of a dead Taliban fighter. There are major differences between the two situations ( the most of which is the fiction vs. truth element) but they show the same disrespect for human life that I don't want to see coming from an American. It reminds me that the model of the hero is always up for revision.
The last thing I will make note of is how similar American Indian poetry is to Western poetry. I'm not sure if anyone will find that incorrect or offensive, but keep in mind that I do not enjoy poetry and have never been able to appreciate the 'rhythm' that poets are always going on about. the night chant just seems like a bunch of repetitive dreamy images with no direction or value... just like western poetry.
I'll end by saying that I prefer my coyotes to be of the Warner Bros. variety but I would totally love it if modern American Indians showed up in film and voiced their opinions more often.
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