Celluloid Indians: Native Americans and Film

Rating:
Summary: readable introduction, but flawed
Review: "Celluloid Indians" takes on a lengthy and complex history of Natives Americans in film from D.W. Griffith to Sherman Alexie. It offers discussions of nearly 60 films spanning the twentieth century. It highlights some general trends from negative to positive stereotypes, and then towards the depiction of Native Americans as human beings. The author's discussion of such films as "Pocahontas" and "Sunchaser" are perceptive. However, much of what she offers is derivative of the works of others, the research is thin, and there are egregious errors in her discussion of Federal Indian policy. Because of the general level of ignorance in American society of some of the political and historical context that Kilpatrick rightly identifies as relevant to these films, this book is horribly dangerous.

The book offers a useful general overview, but readers must labor to verify many of her statements of fact.

Rating:
Summary: An important scholarly contribution
Review: Celluloid Indians is book that makes an important contribution to the discourse of representations of Native Americans in the dominant culture. In Celluloid Indians, Jacquelyn Kilpatrick considers the combination of the misrepresentations and the displacement of native peoples, the use of popular stereotypes to rewrite history, as well as the gendering of this activity. Furthermore, Kilpatrick's Celluloid Indians examines stereotypes in twentieth-century films as she posits that popular images of Indians speak more importantly to the Euro-American agenda and history of conquest.

Lets me be more specific. Celluloid Indians, examines the importance of native voices (or the lack thereof), of "the represented subject" Kilpatrick posits that the Indian, "must be able to talk back" (p. xvi). Kilpatrick argues that twentieth-century Hollywood films create and re-enforce stereotypes that were first made popular in the 19th century by dime novels and Wild West shows. She engages in a number of films, including "shorts" produced early in the century by D. W. Griffith and Thomas Edison, conventional and counterculture Westerns released from the 1930s through to the 1970s, and even some (or what might seem to be) pro-native films of the 1980s and 1990s, like Dances with Wolves, Powwow Highway, and Pocahontas. The book mentions that these works pretend to show, contrary to the claims of some Hollywood filmmakers, popular images of native peoples have changed little during the last century.

However, while it is indeed the case that these images of Native Americans seem predictable, they have been used for different ends and sometimes diametrically opposed purposes depending on the time and context. Over time, as values and government agendas change, the film industry becomes co-conspirator to fostering its agenda at the expense of the misrepresentation of the Indian. The book ends with a discussion of several popular films and documentaries by contemporary native media and filmmakers. One thing I have to give Kilpatrick credit for is the flirting with women's issues despite having to pull back because it does not really seem to fall under the rubric of her argument - but in reality - it does. She brilliantly places in context the discussions of little known movies by juxtaposing the key historical events affecting the landscape of Native America, like the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, the termination and relocation policies of the 1950s, and the activities of the American Indian Movement during the 1960s and 1970s.

What we have here is a compelling book that requires a read and a re-read. It breaks down the stereotypes of the savage and noble Indian as well as the romantic notion of the mystical Indian as close to the land. The discourse is wide and this is only a subtopic. For a more expansive examination, kindly consider reading Robert F. Berkhofer's "The White Man's Indian" for which Kilpatrick prepares you. Prepare to look at things differently from here on in.

Miguel Llora

Rating:
Summary: Contributes Nothing New to the Field
Review: Celluloid Indians offers on overview of the history of Indians in the movies but rehases much of what has been done before. The author cuts and pastes long previously published excerpts from other articles and calls them her own. She adds merely a few comments to issues that have already been thoroughly discussed elsewhere. She knows little of Hollywood history, which makes her book nothing more than a superficial study of Native American images in the motion picture business. But perhaps the most annoying aspect of this book is that it's so one sided and determined to fault everything on Hollywood that it gets tiresome after a while. Isn't it time for this field to move beyond that stereotype?

Rating:
Summary: Informative and compelling read
Review: Dr. Kilpatrick's new book, Celluloid Indians, is a breathtaking account of Native Americans as portrayed in film. Her solid scholarly work is made accessible to readers of varying backgrounds. The subtle humor, sprinkled thoughout the book, enhances its appeal and makes this one very good read. I highly recommend Celluloid Indians to anyone who is even remotely interested in gaining an increased understanding of the misrepresentation of Native Americans in film. Thank you Dr. Kilpatrick!

Rating:
Summary: An Inside Look
Review: This book is an absolute must for anyone...student, teacher or other interested people who might have wondered how and why Native Americans react like they do to the stereotypical images that we see everyday in the media. The author...rooted in the Chicago Indian community... echoes the heart felt sentiments of her people. As an Indian person, I found myself at times cheering...saying 'YOU DAMENED RIGHT MOMMA...YOU TELL EM' and at others I could only stop to wipe away a tear because I realized this woman had actulized what I could never say. In no uncertain terms Ms. Kilpatrick did our community proud. I recommend this book to any teacher who is interested in presenting students with a clear view of how we have been cast and more important why! A good read folks..ya gotta check it out.