Stereotyping: Native Americans in the United States

The issue of racial stereotyping in cinema has largely been discussed by critics over the course of cinematic history. The negative portrayal of the Native American, for example, is rampant in the early Western film genre. Native Americans are, more often than not, portrayed as vicious savages, hell-bent on senselessly scalping and murdering as many ‘innocent’ (white?) American settlers as possible. Individuals of a darker skin colour, such as the African American, are also victims of negative stereotyping in early cinema. They are usually portrayed as stupid, aggressive and primitive, as lesser than the ‘white man.’ Some directors have attempted to revise these inaccurate portrayals of minority groups. For example, Arthur Penn’s cinematic masterpiece entitled Little Big Man (1970) provides the audience with a more accurate depiction of the Native American from the mid-19th century, both visually and historically. Similarly, an effective film which does not patronize individuals of a darker skin color is Mike Leigh’s Secrets &ump; Lies (1996). Hortense, a woman of Anglo-Jamaican descent, is portrayed as more successful, wealthy and intelligent than the Caucasians in the film. Other directors have also attempted to portray these minority groups more accurately, yet seem to fall short of the achievements of the two movies previously mentioned. For example, John Ford’s The Searchers is Ford’s attempt at rectifying the negative portrayal of the Native American, a portrayal which he is partly responsible for introducing to mainstream cinema during the mid-20th century (Nolley, 73). Despite his efforts, there is still an excessive amount of racial prejudice towards the Native Americans within the film. Lee Daniels’ Precious is also an attempt to portray a young black female’s ‘rags-to-riches’ story, but the movie’s excessive incorporation of stereotypes makes it difficult for the optimistic message to be conveyed to the audience. In this paper, I will compare and