Reel Injun, and Ceremony. Two fantastic displays of the culture of the original Americans. Reel Injun shows how Native Americans, and their culture have been portrayed in American media. From being shown as noble people to savages. It's kind of ironic that we portray them as noble people, and almost a superior culture to our own when we spent a hundred years forcing them out of their land and brutally massacring them. It is easier to show them as savages for it makes us whites feel superior, and gives us a moral justification for the crimes we committed. Personally I view Native Americans as a superior culture and people due to their sense of community, generally peaceful traditions, the way they lived off the land, and religious beliefs that I spiritually connect with. As Reel Injun shows, all the movies in the 50s were westerns, and I can't even imagine what went through young Natives heads when all they saw at the movie theater was their ancestors being massacred and shown as being lesser people both in terms of intelligence and morals. American media has long been a messed up system in terms of skewing perspectives, and Reel Injun is a highly educational film, that helps to show natives in a better light as well as how badly american cinema has shown their culture.
This week we also read further into the book Ceremony. It is a multidimensional book that shows not only Native American culture, but also the horrors of war and PTS in action. Tayo is constantly having flashbacks to the war, and the trauma of not only the fight but also losing his cousin Rocky. Rocky was not only his best friend, but a sort of idol. Rocky had so much going for him, and a seemingly brighter future than anyone else on the res. Tayos Aunt never liked him, and has always viewed him as a burden. With Rocky gone her disdain has only grown. He is alone in the world now. His best friend is dead, his Aunt hates him, his uncle Josiah is dead, and all he can seem to do is be engulfed in his painful memories of the past. Ceremony is an insightful book, though hard to follow, and slightly depressing.
