Stereotypes In The Film 'Colors Of The Wind'

The Disney film Pocahontas can be viewed as a false portrayal of American history. Although it may have been made for entertainment purposes, Pocahontas is regarded to be a coming of age film for children due to its didacticism. The life lessons that one could possibly take away from the film are considerably positive, but the depiction of Native American and European cultures is deceitful. Most Disney films involve “epic romances,” in the case of Pocahontas one is not necessarily needed to convey the message of the film. Even though historical films cannot always be accurate to actual events, this film manages to stray away from the actual historical story of Pocahontas entirely. Due to this, children are presented with false information

One of the themes used in the book is of racism towards the Natives. An example used in the book is of Edward Sheriff Curtis who was a photographer of 1900s. Curtis was interested in taking pictures of Native people, but not just any Native person. “Curtis was looking for the literary Indian, the dying Indian, the imaginative construct” (King, 2003; pp. 34). He used many accessories to dress up people up “who did not look as the Indian was supposed to look” (King, 2003; pp.34). He judged people based on his own assumptions without any knowledge of the group and their practices. Curtis reduced the identity of the Native Americans to a single iconic quintessential image of what Native meant to white society. The idea related to the image of this group of people during the 1900s consisted of racism in terms of the “real looking Indian”. This is not

The work of Wendy Red Star, a Crow artist, revolves heavily around her native culture and the differences between that culture and the stereotype culture of the media. She combines this idea along with some feminist ideas in her statement piece White Squaw. Wendy Red Star's White Squaw photographs demonstrate both an underlying theme of the objectification of women into the present day as well as the continued stereotyping of Native American peoples.

A variety of camera techniques are used throughout the beginning sequence to enhance the mood and involve the audience. Camera techniques are harmonized with lighting effects to culminate this dramatic scene. I will begin by discussing examples of this. In the village, many close-ups and long shots are used to enhance facial expression and to set the sombre mood.

He starts off with a medium shot of the individual in the center of the screen; they start rapidly listing off racial slurs and stereotypes and the camera zooms in which emphasizes how violent it is. By the end of the rampage, the shot is an extreme close-up of the character’s face and you can feel the anger and hatred they have for that particular race. The climactic buildup at the end of the film was full of canted angles, shadowy lighting, dozens of fast shot/reverse shots that in full only lasted less than two minutes. The scene at the end of the movie, the hierarchy of confrontations and tensions between the characters, is a canted low angle shot of Radio Raheem and Buggin’ Out after they stormed into Sal’s Pizza Shop makes them appear more powerful and intimidating than Sal. All the shots of Sal are a counterclockwise tilt high angle, causing him to look inferior. The quick cuts back and forth between the two gives the film a sense of the tensions and anger. It is not until Sal rises up to the plate and smashes the radio, that he is being filmed at a leveled angle to show that he is not inferior anymore, but at the same

The signs of the time are also shown through the use of specific camera shots, which humble the characters and show their frailty. Long Shots, in particular, are used to exemplify the smallness of the characters (without power) in the vastness of the world around them. In the scene in which the

Pocahontas is a Walt Disney Pictures animation released in 1995 following the Disney Princess franchise. The movie is about Pocahontas, a native American lady whose home is invaded by Englishmen who wishes to exploit the land’s resources and to “civilize” the people living there. However, one of the Englishmen, John Smith, fell in love with Pocahontas. This essay studies the stereotypes of native American and them being essentialized in the media as being savages, sexism and also over romanticization, as represented in the movie.

clever camera techniques which create tension and fear. The camera shots also pay close attention to detail. For example, when the man with the dog throws a stick for his dog to fetch into the sea, the camera

This shows that Pilbara is a very desert-like and country land. The film uses under shots to make viewers feel small and over shots to make the viewer feel big. An undershot in the movie is when the men place bets on how fast Red Dog can eat. This makes us feel intimidated and scared and small. Over the shoulder shots are used when characters are talking and close-ups on the faces when they are talking. This lets viewers see the reactions and expressions on the characters face when listening and talking. Medium shots are used to show viewers a bigger area of the targeted character. Long shots are used to show the character and where they are. It shows viewers the landscape and gives people an idea of where the character is at that point of time. Close up shots are used to focus on the characters face and to show emotions in detail. This is especially needed in a movie like Red Dog because you have a character who cant speak and the only way to show his reactions is through facial expressions and body language. Eye level Angle is used to show things in the characters perspective at their eye level hence the name. It's really good for what they call a real life affect. This is an example of Red Dogs view its good to see how big it looks to

The director uses multiple camera shots to highlight the love during troublesome times and the emotions that are present. A wide shot is used when the audience watches Guido marching in front of the soldier shortly before his death. Guido does this as he is aware that his son is watching and still wants the experience of the camp to be a fun game and does not want Giosue to be afraid of what is happening. Close up shots are commonly used throughout the film to give more detail into the emotions that the characters are feeling. A

Savages!” (songlyrics.com). There was an imaginary form of ideology being represented for the real conditions of existence by the Native American’s during this time (Althusser 155). “The starting-point is the simple one that ideology is read from film texts, consciously or unconsciously, and the relationship between each text and its culture are traceable to ideological roots.” (Turner, 1999, p.171) Pocahontas gives viewers a different picture of the Native Americans role during this time. In addition to Native American’s being criticized and misrepresented from their actual history, they were also portrayed as a Willow tree, Meeko, and Flit, whom were all objects in nature or animals. Because all Native American characters were the animals and the objects in nature, their heritage and people get pushed to the edge of society because they are made out to be different [to be objects and animals]. They are marginalized because they are different from the westerners. This impacts the ideology of social exclusion and misrepresentation of a social group. The Native American’s are misinterpreted through society today due to movies like Pocahontas portraying their people as animals, objects, or misinterpreting their role in history with negative connotations in the text. “Importantly ideological approaches reject the view of the film text as ‘unitary’ in meaning; that is, as making only one kind of sense, without considerations, exceptions, or variations in the

He is also shot with close up and medium close up shots to convey an intimidating, in your face personality. Lee uses dutch angles throughout the film to show a sense of racial tension and confusion in the neighborhood. For example, when Radio Raheem and Buggin Out come into Sal’s pizza place and start arguing about putting “brothers” on the wall, Lee uses fast changing close ups and dutch angles to create an overwhelming tension between the characters. The cuts from their arguing and bystanders yelling create a sense of chaos that symbolizes the tension between whites and blacks. Lee uses an extreme long shot to establish that the setting is a normal neighborhood in New York.

In addition to camera movements, he uses camera distances and framing to create images that make the audience feel cheerful. When he frames a shot, if it takes place outside, there is ample amount of bountiful nature within the frame. The most prominent example of this is toward the end of the film when the narrator is describing the after effects of the massive storm. It is a medium close up but the narrator is only in a small portion of the frame, the rest if a

The directors chosen camera technique, a simple two composition that progresses the scene a steady pace, forces the audience to feel a part of the awkward exchange; obviously, a quality of film that could not be as profoundly achieved through the narrative in the novel.

One of the biggest contemporary issues with the Indigenous People is the way they are portrayed in Hollywood films in the past and today. The ideal of Native Tribes have changed throughout time, however the film industry has made it where they can train people to think a certain way about Native people. From what they wear, say, and how they act are all ways film had twisted the image how Indigenous people. In the film Reel Injun, a documentary about Natives in Hollywood film, the truth is brought out about how the image of Natives has changed over time.