Think about the portrayal of the American Indian and the portrayal of the whites in The Searchers. Discuss in a hearty paragraph how John Ford cinematically portrays each group. Then think specifically about Ethan and Scar and use your second paragraph to discuss how Ford cinematically portrays each of them specifically. In your last paragraph (number 3), discuss how the American Indian has been portrayed in films after watching Reel Injun on Netflix. Feel free to write as much as you want--this is a huge subject. Extra credit goes to those who comment on a classmate's comment or comments.
Reel Injun on Netflix.
Throughout The Searchers, there is a sort of duality in the portrayal of Native Americans - specifically in contrast with the views of Ethan. We are given multiple opportunities throughout the film to notice (secondhand) the effects of the Indian 'savages' - for example, the opening 'murder raid' which in and of itself seems more than a little ridiculous, as well as a particularly illuminating scene in which we see a couple of white women, recently rescued from a Comanche tribe, exhibiting signs of insanity, fear, regression - they continually make cooing, animal noises, and wear a frozen, wide-eyed look of total fear on their faces. From these shots, we are invited to look in horror at the havoc that these Native Americans have wrought - and in particular, the undercurrent of sexual violence they have inflicted on these women. This is nothing new, of course (flashback to Black Rams tupping White Ewes...) but what differentiates it from a typical racist moment in a typical western is the ending shot - that of Ethan glowering at these women, with a look of pure hatred that in and of itself approaches the utter madness of the women. John Ford, then, presents us with the feeling that Ethan, with his unbridled, uncontrollable hate - and in turn, the hate of the white man as a whole - is just as easily capable of committing the atrocities typically reserved for the so-called 'savages'. So, while Ford shows multiple instances of Indian atrocities, he is just as easily capable of depicting the atrocities of the white man, and through Ethan, whose racism is so over the top to be almost comical, he distances both himself and the audience from these ridiculous attitudes. Indeed, Ford provides us with a not-altogether-unbelievable explanation for Scar's equal hatred of the white man (the death of two of his sons by white men) while Ethan never gets such an explanation; he is racist to the core for seemingly no real reason, highlighting the absurdity of his bigotry. Scenes where he shoots out the eyes of a Dead Indian to damn him to wandering the planes forever, and also where he shoots wildly at a herd of buffalo because “it’s as good as killing indians” further paint his racism in a completely absurd light, and invite us to empathize less and less with Ethan.
ReplyDeleteScar and Ethan are not altogether that different - in fact, they are basically two sides of the same coin. Each one sees in the other the very antithesis of all they believe, but in doing so, they come dangerously close to depicting each other - Ethan sees Scar as the savage, uncivilized, utterly evil Indian who killed his family, whereas Scar sees Ethan as the savage, uncivilized, utterly evil white man who killed his family. Both of them approach madness in their utter hatred of the ‘enemy’, and both of them will stop at nothing to get their revenge. Even their insults mirror each other; “You speak good english, for a Comanch’; someone teach ya?” is quickly countered by “You speak good Comanch’; someone teach you?” (the undercurrent of sexual violence and miscegenation here is unmistakeable, and is in large part what drives the film - even Brad, Lucy’s beloved, is far less concerned with the fact that she might be dead then whether or not she was raped by an Indian). Scar and Ethan’;s characterization to a large extent is a reflection of Ford’s personal views - he has been quoted simply as saying “There was a lot of racial prejudice in the West”, and this refusal to indict either side presents us with the more moderate view we see in The Searchers of Indian and white violence (although, of course, the white man must win).
Pt. 2
DeleteWatching Reel Injun, it’s hard not to view the plight of the Native Americans with sympathy. While there is no doubting the hardships and racism Native peoples had to face, part of me wonders what ‘the other side’ would say, and the same part of me also wonders if we should value what ‘the other side’ says at all. The sheer amount of injustice, in every sense of the word, committed against Native peoples shouldn’t be shocking anymore, but much of it possesses a real weight. Even at first glance, the whole idea of the ‘noble indian’ doesn’t seem so harmful, but viewing Reel Injun, it is apparent how wildly inaccurate - and damaging - this notion is, and even today there is still a lot of ground to be covered for accurate representation for Natives. The ignorance - even today - is alarming, to say the least.
The Searchers is one of John Ford’s most famous films. In this film, Ford portrays the Indians as enemies but presents those searching for Debbie in a positive way. We, as viewers, are placed under the impression that the entire film will have a negative viewpoint towards Native Americans due to the negative light imposed from the start of the film. White people are intended to be the victims. They lose family and heroes searching for this girl, practically giving up their entire lives. The Indians are continually portrayed as the weaker man in comparison to white people. They are ill-equipped for battle, opting to fight with spears instead of guns. Towards the end, we see Ethan returning Debbie to her home. We saw that Debbie was content with living amongst the Native Americans for a while but Ethan viewed what he was doing as an act of salvation judging by him stating that he would rather see her dead than living as an Indian. Indians are portrayed negatively through makeup and costume design as well as shot composition and set design. The Native Americans are shown wearing primitive clothing with paint on their bodies, only half dressed. They do not live in what the white people consider a “home”, instead they live in small tents. As a result of this, they seem uncivilized and savage. This can be seen in shot composition as well; the Native Americans are very rarely shown in close-ups or any emotionally/physically intimate shots that could make them seem on the same level as white people. The Native Americans are usually shot in long shots in large groups, as if to make them resemble a herd of animals. For opts to keep the Native Americans distant in an attempt to keep them from seeming as “human” as the white people. The white people in this film are portrayed as people with actual character traits. In contrast with the Native Americans they are shown with homes and full clothing covering their bodies. They are often shown in closeups. Ethan’s character greatly juxtaposes with Scar’s. Both had similar lives however Scar’s parents were killed by white men while Ethan’s mother was killed by Indians. Ethan uses his anger towards Indians which was born from the death of his mom and eventually loses sight of what is important. Rather than focusing on the search for Debbie, he puts his anger towards Scar. These feelings cloud his judgement towards all Native Americans resulting in a negative viewpoint. I did not watch Reel Injun my bad.
ReplyDeletedo better
DeleteIn The Searchers John Ford portrays each racial group differently. To start off with there are the whites. They’re often portrayed as the innocent people just trying to stay on their land without getting attacked by another group, the Indians. The white women wear dresses and are constantly attached to men with the hope of getting a husband. To take feminist criticism into perspective this would be an accurate movie of the time. However The Searchers does pass the Bechdel Test which was very unusual for western films back at the time. White men like John Wayne would always be the hero in westerns like the Searchers. In The Searchers John Wayne is again a tough man who’ll stop at nothing to go through with his mission. The Indians are portrayed as savages; ruthless non-humans that exist only to antagonize the “innocent” white people on the land.
ReplyDeleteFord’s presentation of two characters in particular is interesting. The first is Ethan who is made more interesting by Martin. Martin is an interesting character because he is mixed racial between white and Indian. He is portrayed with no savagery at all which contrasts the other Indians in the film. As Martin Scorsese said in an interview “There is a loveable part about Ethan”. It was shocking to see that change in a western where there was a protagonist who was part “savage”. Ford representing Martin in this way also made Ethan into an anti-hero for being a regular John Wayne character. Also the complete racism that Ethan depicts shocked audiences at the time by representing the national psyche. The presentation of Ethan in a way flipped the whole western over on its head. But that doesn’t stop The Searchers from still indulging into the racist tomes many other westerns had too. Scar is a perfect representation of the racist depiction of the “savage” Indian. Scar was just a pure evil antagonist for Ethan to become the anti-hero he is. Without Scar Ethan may have ended up as the antagonist of the film.
In Reel Injun it is shown that throughout film history Indians have been portrayed basically in the same way; as savages. This is shown in such stereotypes as the Drunken Indian that represent Indian culture in as an un human like culture. It also described how Indian characters would not even be portrayed by Italians and Jews which is racist on many levels.
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ReplyDeleteThe way in which Native Americans and the whites are portrayed is drastically differs in John Ford’s film The Searchers. The Native Americans are portrayed as savages. This is done primarily through the mise-en-scene. They wear very primitive clothing, with feathers on their heads, half-clothed, paint over their body, and living in tents. They are portrayed as backwards humans, primitive to the extreme. They are also shot with long shots, in big numbers, and not in any other way. As presented through the media of film, they are not people with unique features and personalities like the “normal” characters, they are merely “Native American” and nothing more. The whites are pretty much viewed as the victims and the civilized people that have to deal with the savages. They, in contrast, are wearing fine clothes and fully dressed, not with the paint on them or the feathers. They are also personalized. They are not a mass, but individuals with a story and life, something that is not done with the Native Americans. The Searchers portrays the Native Americans as a group of savages who are all the same, while the whites are actual people, and what’s more, heroes.
ReplyDeleteThere are similarities and differences between the hero and his enemy in this film. Ethan and Scar are both powerful and towering figures. This is portrayed through the use of cut aways when they meet each other face to face at Scar’s camp. They seem to be two big forces not to be messed with, equally powerful. If one takes Ethan’s niece; he will hunt them down for years. In comparison, one kills one of Scar’s sons and he massacres a bunch of white people. Ethan is the medias typical cowboy and Scar is the medias typical Native American for that time period. Ethan is portrayed as a loner, and this is extremely evident in his first shot and the closing shot. Ethan is the only person on the screen shown as very small. He just wanders through life, alone, because he feels he doesn’t belong anywhere. Scar, on the other hand, is shot amongst his tribe. He is their noble leader and sticks with his people and leads them into battle. They are both powerful and extremely aggressive. Ethan’s aggression is evident in the low angle shot of him shooting the eyes of an already dead Native American. Scar’s aggression is evident in the shot with the skulls he has scalped in the foreground.
"Reel Injun" tracked the depiction of American Indians in film as Native Americans assimilated more and more into American culture. From watching Reel Injun I learned that there are many false stereotypes of Native Americans that have been made by the cinema industry. It is as though the film industry can only characterize all Natives as “Plains Indians” who wear the headbands and feathers and ride horses shirtless. Yes, these are just movies and nothing is ever completely accurate in them, but the portrayal of Native Americans in this way influences the mind of the average person and makes them think this is the way they live. Over time this image of them has changed and the Natives in movies have become more human-like and spiritual, such as in Little Big Man. With this said though, the film industry has a long way to go to make up for this racism.
ReplyDeleteThe portrayals of white Americans and Native Americans in The Searchers oppose each other perfectly. The status quo for any Western movie produced in Hollywood during this era was Americans as the lovable protagonists and Native Americans as the deadly and hateful antagonists. The white Americans struggle through life as very personified characters. The Native Americans would not have been depicted as having their own minds and individual personalities, but only the savagery and animalism of the harsh world of the West. The normal portrayal of white characters is somewhat broken in The Searchers when the audience meets Ethan, the main character, who is a very rugged individual, though distant from not only the rest of the characters, but from the audience as well. However, Ethan’s personality shifts by the movie’s conclusion in a way that humanizes him. He ends up “saving” Debbie from the Natives Americans and takes her home, when previously he said he would put a bullet between her eyes at the first chance he got.
The two conflicting characters in The Searchers, Ethan and Scar, have their differences, but also share some interesting similarities. They are both very powerful and menacing characters. They are both forces not to be reckoned with. The Indians took Ethan’s niece and he hunted her down more years and years; some white Americans killed some of Scar’s people and he killed them and took Debbie. One thing that separates these two is the way that Ford shows them in the frame. In the opening shot that we see Ethan, he is alone and is framed in a small place. This is also true in the last shot of the movie, where he is the only person in the frame and is framed by a doorway. The framing shows that he is a very distant character who doesn’t belong in this world. On the other hand, Scar is always shown with the rest of his tribe, showing that he is close to his people. This also adds to the stereotype that the Native Americans are a group of people without personality or unique features.
After seeing Reel Injun, I realized there are many false stereotypes of Native Americans that have been made by the cinema industry, to a degree I had not previously known. The racism involved with the portrayal of the Native Americans is real in most films. The film industry as described in Reel Injun can only characterize all Natives as “Plains Indians” who wear the headbands and feathers and ride horses shirtless. John Ford furthered this stereotype to an extent in The Searchers. Some may claim these are just movies and it’s just Hollywood so nothing is ever completely accurate, but the portrayal of Native Americans in this way influences the mind of the average person, as many, such as I, have never had first-hand experience with real Native Americans and thus gain our entire perception of them through movies. Over time this image of them has changed and the Natives in movies have become more human-like and spiritual.