San Jose State University Communications Paper

Here you will piece all the parts together into one final report. Note any feedback you may have gotten along the way and make appropriate modifications.

Components of the paper (please label he sections of your paper):

1. Abstract – Write the abstract once the entire paper is written.

2. Introduction – Includes a research question & Thesis statement. Think about how to open up your paper and get us thinking about the purpose.

3. Literature Review – From before with modifications.

4. Findings: (4- 5 pages)

Findings: Once you have framed your study and presented/surveyed the research, it is time for you to conduct your study and report your findings. Applytwo of the rhetorical theories we have studied in class – Social Context, Narrative, Marxism, Feminism or select an additional area of study from the textbook.

– Apply the theory to the media artifacts that you listed in your context. What do you discover? What are the influential messages? Speculate on what impact they might have. Speculate on the rhetor’s intent. Think about the triangle here and address all three parts – text, purpose, audience.

– This is the part of your case study where you present new ideas. Please compare/contrast rhetorical messages in your studied texts.

– Quote and be specific when discussing the text. Use effective examples.

– Show understanding of the theories.

– Please note that section is completely separate

1
Representation of Native Americans
Stephen Coleman
San Jose State University
COMM145i
Professor Firenzi
November 17, 2022
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Engagement – Literature Review
Introduction
From a general perspective, there is an undeniably significant difference in the portrayal
of Native Americans in white-produced Hollywood films compared to those produced by Native
American producers. This section will explore the representation of Native Americans and
examine stark contrasts and comparisons between different films in the 1990s.
Traditional stereotypes of Native Americans in Hollywood Movies
Moya (2018) stipulates that there are two traditional stereotypes of Native Americans: the
noble red man and the savage. Aleis (2005) corroborates with the statements specifying that the
hundreds of filmic representations have included the stereotypical representation of a
“treacherous primitive” and “innocent Child of nature.” As such, such films have a tendency to
focus on white issues and fail to fully represent Native Americans. Perhaps the most
comprehensive exploration of stereotypical images of Native Americans has been discussed by
Prats (1998) in his analysis of the film Dances with Wolves. There are two main characters in the
movie, John J Dunbar and his partner Timmons. While Dunbar identifies with the Native
Americans, his partner Timmons, Native Americans are “nothing but thieves and beggars.” (Part
1998). The undeterred statement from Timmons, “Indians? God damn Indians! You’d just as soon
not see’ less n’ the bastards are dead,” when asked about the character of Americans, further
reiterates this statement (Prats, 1998). However, from another angle, to some extent, one might
argue that the film was in some way trying to dispel some of the stereotypes of Native Americans
through Timmons. However, in doing so, the film categorically fails to develop the characters of
Native Americans; rather, it becomes an avenue to explore “white issues,” such as the
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pervasiveness of racism. Therefore, Dunbar, through his friendly interaction with the Lakota
tribe, is tasked with the heroic act of establishing “friendly” imagery of Native Americans.
Dispel Native American Stereotypes
As Hearne (2005) asserts that there is a huge gap in the representation of Native
Americans in films produced by Native filmmakers in a bid to disrupt the cultural imagery of
tribal identities. The movie Smoke Signals attempts to engage with Indian representation in the
current present and dispel the stereotypes of Native Americans as “friendly people ” with a
barbaric nature. (Hearne, 2005). For example, the concept of the “vanishing Indian” is jokingly
presented in the opening monologue of the film, where (Arnold) Gary Farmer posits that he can
make anything disappear. As Hearne (2005) asserts, the vanishing Indian is a concept used by the
producers to elaborate on the issues faced by real Native Americans in contemporary Native
Americans. Native Americans had been displaced or made to disappear by the white settlement
in early America. Further, the native American community is currently plagued with issues of
single-parenthood, alcoholism, and suicide. Hence, Arnold “vanishes” and abandons his family,
which causes great psychological distress from his family. Hearne (2005) also asserts that the
imagery of a bottle of beer in the foreground of the “disappearing monologue” is a powerful
representation of the current issues that contemporary Native Americans face. The film revolves
around the lives of two Native American boys and their experiences on “the rez.” There are no
scalping or half-naked men dressed in animal skins, as is the case in Dances with Wolves and
Pocahontas (Davis, 2007). Rather it is a story of the grief and loss of a young man. This imagery
powerfully represents the effects of Euro-American colonization and the disruption of Native
American identities and families and tries to dispel the pervasive stereotypes of Indians, more so
in Hollywood movies.
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The film Naturally Native collaborates in objective with Smoke Signals in trying to
illuminate the lives of Native Americans in contemporary America. The satirical humor
expressed in Smoke signals is also witnessed in this film. The issues expressed include
alcoholism, racism, and the commercialization of Native American spirituality. Alesis (2005)
asserts that Native American producers, directors, and actors have a valuable role in improving
their representations and highlighting colonial struggles.
Addendum
From the literature review, it is clear that different authors have explored the
representation of Native Americans in both Indian-produced movies such as Smoke Signals and
White-produced such as Dances with wolves. There is a general agreement that the former tries
to explore the issues facing contemporary Native Americans, viewing them as a people with a
complex culture traumatized by the effects of European settlement, while the latter perpetuates
the stereotypical displays of Native Americans as barbaric.
As such, relying on this information, this research will try and narrow down the
representation of Native Americans in the 1990s. The specificity of this period is unique to this
research as it is a period where the U.S. underwent a period of culture wars, and there was a gap
in the agreement of the representation of social and political ideas. After this period, the concept
of multiculturalism began to take root. Therefore, it would be interesting to explore the
difference in portrayals of Native Americans within this period, in the early and late 1990s
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References
Aleiss, A. (2005). Making the white man’s Indian: Native Americans and Hollywood movies.
Greenwood Publishing Group.
Davis. R.M (2007). Hollywood’s West: The American Frontier in Film, Television, & History ed.
by Peter C. Rollins, John E. O’Connor, and Making the White Man’s Indian: Native
Americans and Hollywood Movies by Angela Aleiss. Policy, 2(3), 4.
Hearne, J. (2005). John Wayne’s Teeth: Speech, Sound and Representation in” Smoke Signals”
and” Imagining Indians”. Western Folklore, 64(3/4), 189-208.
Moya, M. E. S. (2018). Native Americans in the Movies: Portrayals from Silent Films to the
Present by Michael Hilger. Film & History: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 48(1), 68-69.
Prats, A. J. (1998). The image of the other and the other Dances with Wolves: The Refigured
Indian and the Textual Supplement. Journal of Film and Video, 50(1), 3-19.