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Dec 6, 2023

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Week 2 Homework Assignment: FYI - For full credit answers must be detailed and thoughtful. You must read BOTH chapters, watch the film, as well as listen to the NPR interview in order to answer the questions. 1. According to Native American writer Sherman Alexie, what are the traditional stereotypes pertaining to Native Americans and what do these stereotypes represent? How do these stereotypes compare to those portrayed in your textbook? Do Alexie and Oswalt seem to agree? Why or why not? - According to Sherman Alexie, the traditional stereotypes pertaining to Native Americans are stoic warriors or savages. These stereotypes are two entirely different things. A stoic warrior is someone who is fearless and forgiving. A “savage” is seen as a violent animal or in general a vicious person. The stereotypes mentioned in the textbook were practically the same. Indeed, I would say that Alexie and Oswalt would agree that these are some stereotypes and there are plenty of good and bad ones attached to the Indian people. Both authors mention that there are many attempts of Whites accusing or falling into these stereotypes. 2.Before seeing Reel Injun , what was your image or idea of the American Indian? How did you develop that image? How does that image compare to the image Alexie portrays in his interview? - My image of the American Indian was the image of specific people in my family. Just like Alexie portrays an American Indian, some of my family members portray exactly the same. It is incredibly easy to become lost in the misrepresentation of the Native people in film. Reel Injun becomes more in depth about actual Indian traditions, the different clothes, lifestyle, and language is different depending on the tribe. Fortunately, I knew this going into the film. Alexie mentions that there is much more to the American Indian people than the stereotypes we frequently see in the media. 3. How do Native Americans living in urban settings (and Alexie’s other observations) contrast with the common American perception of Native Americans? - The American perception of Native Americans is the idea of the Native people building sweat lodges, playing a drum, and dressing differently. It is known that America has developed representation of Native people in sports, cars, and even cigarettes. Alexie’s observations are that a Native person is living the same as a White person. There is a theme that non-native persons believe that Native’s are isolated from popular culture, when realistically they are a part of it. 4. From Alexie’s viewpoint, why is the idea that Native Americans are especially spiritual or close to the Earth untrue and so ridiculous? How does this compare to what you viewed in Reel Injuns ? - Alexie claims that he is not only an Indian, but he is White. He mentions that being a part of America has made all Indians a part of the White culture. Alexie finds it ridiculous that Indians are spiritual and close to Earth, while the film embraces Indian culture further. This proves that it is allowed for a Native American to pursue both sides of culture. 5. How important is historical accuracy in films, television programs, and other media? Should filmmakers stick to the historical facts? What responsibility do they have to let audiences know if they have embellished the historical record? - Historical accuracy in the media is important so that we are not misleading the truth of real history that has happened or continues to be a part of
the population. It is to be understood that the media is meant for entertainment purposes, but you can make films good while still keeping historical facts. I do think that it is an important responsibility that the media let their audiences be aware when the information is or is not historically correct. Most audiences want to know where the information originates, especially if they are a part of that culture. I can see how things may become frustrating and misunderstood. 6. What does Alexie mean by stating that he lives in the “white world”? - Alexie briefly mentions that the “white world” is practically how America always has been. You come to America and you’re immediately surrounded by white culture. Alexie admitted that he is consistently being influenced by Euro-American culture. He mentions that it doesn’t make him any less Native or any less white. It is up to the Native people to decide what culture they prefer to envelope themselves in. 7. What does Alexie mean by stating that he “Loves being Indian American”? Why? - Alexie says that he was always told growing up that as an Indian American it further proves that Indians were here first and if anything bad happens, they’ll remain to be the last here. Alexie likes that he is able to have both the Indian and American cultures to indulge in. To him it seems that he likes having both rather than relying on one. 8. What does Alexie consider to be “the last fight in the colonial war”? Why do you think he says this? How does this statement connect to the concept of colonialism described in your textbook? Provide examples. - Alexie considers the last fight in the colonial war to be between the Indians and the modern Liberals. I think he says this since he describes that the colonizers have developed the culture of the colonized, Americans have frequently embraced a culture that was not originally theirs to begin with. The textbook connects to colonialism by describing how the Europeans had different perspectives on Native Americans. Whether it was good or bad, the other concept was others were also trying to control and religiously convert Indians. The textbook also accurately describes that colonizers at that time took the Native people’s land and culture away from them. 9. What stereotypes have you seen in the media (i.e., films, TV programs, video games, print media)? How are different ethnic or cultural groups portrayed? What about women? Gays and lesbians? Immigrants? How can we counteract attitudes and beliefs that reduce groups of people to stereotypes? - I frequently see in the media the stereotype of how celebrities live and that they are all stuck up. There is also a huge stereotype in anime that consistently makes the girl a damsel usually and a boy is heroic. Ethnic and cultural groups are portrayed usually based on their negative attributes from history. They are usually portrayed poorly or unruly. The same usually goes for Immigrants. Women are seen as too complex or too much to handle, dramatic. The same with the LGBTQ+ community, pronouns are seen as complex and the straight community tends to only focus on negative attributes which are stemmed based off of the concepts of religion usually. I hope one day we can counteract the attitudes and beliefs to reduce stereotypes on these groups of people. Currently, these people are still learning to stand up for themselves, but because of the systems put into place, fear is what most of these people base their decisions on. Of course, no one should have to live in fear which is why I think there should be better things set in place. 10. Pick any five (5) terms from pages 60-64 and define in your own words. -
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