Why do American Movies glorify genocide?

Question

American movies glorify the genocide of the Native American population and use propaganda to portray the Native American population as uncivilised animals. The show the perpetrators of this genocide as the heroic cavalry. This is just the same as the Nazi propagan films that showed the Jews as subhuman. How can Americans lecture the rest of the world on human rights when they glorify the mass murder of a race of people?

Most John Wayne movies and other Westerns are what Im talking about

Answer 1

Thank You, Thank You! Awesome Post!

It is truly disgusting that Native people can be continually portrayed as subhuman. There is no justification for this and there is no evidence to support any of these awful stereotypes.
It is sick to think that someone can do this to a whole race of people, but so goes the history..

Why do they do it? They do it to rid themselves of guilt. There are many people who do not want to accept the history of this country. They want to believe that Natives were uncivilized and subhuman, if they believe this then they do not have to feel guilt over the history of this nation.

And you are right, these murders are glorified. People flock to see such movies. We still have a Columbus Day and he was responsible for the Genocide of several Native peoples.

And you are right again, it doesn't just happen with Native people. Although recently it seems to be on the uprise with Natives.

Look at movies like the New World and Apocolypto. Even Pirates of the Carribean 2 had so many racially inappropriate scenes. I picket these movies and I suggest others do the same!

Answer 2

What happen to the Natives was wrong. I have yet to see an "American" movie showing this. Back during the time of the "war" between the settlers and the natives, yes they were shown as uncivilized animals. But don't forget that was at a time when majority of the settlers were animals. Oh, the Spaniards also did the same thing.


P.S. As a John Wayne fan, Many of John Wayne's movies were in favor of the Native Americans. A few talked about Comanches on the war path. That also did happen.

Answer 3

I BEG YOUR PARDEN!!?!? American movies nor people glorify genocidic behavior. And thank you very much the Indians showed in movies were good and bad! only bad ones were killed though! Yes white man kicked indians off some of their land! But you need to learn some history! Indians poured hot led down throats and sat people on embers! I know that for a fact and if you think that the people in movies were mass murders because they chose to be then just dont even watch those movies any more because any other country would have done it sooner or later and not one single human emotion has not been felt before! FOr goodness sake the jews, germans, frecnh, americans, the list can go on forever ! you need to get your facts before you just start slaming any John Waynes!!

Answer 4

Because white arrogance and taste for advancement and domination gave people a distorted view of other human beings, that had movies/books that made whites out to be these heroes, rather then the problem to other people that they should have been portrayed as...

Also there are far too many old books that romanticize Native folks, particular books that became popular in Europe (or were written by people in Europe!) that did not help people's view... America is not only to blame...as the people who did this genocide came from "the rest of the world."

Answer 5

Good question... but can you name any of these genocide sympathizing movies made in the past 20 years? I've seen a lot of movies that actually make the Natives look good and the white man look bad. In case you didn't know, these movies were made by directors and not the president. Times have changed and we live in a more politically correct society. Any movie now days that show the natives as being ruthless savages would be bashed horribly. Please keep your questions up to date.

Answer 6

"Most John Wayne movies and other Westerns are what Im talking about"

We perhaps those "B" movies shown for kids and such.

Wayne's classic westerns always portrayed Native Americans as proud and noble, even in such as Rio Grande, She Wore A Yellow Ribbon and Fort Apache (John Ford's trilogy) one sees that Wayne as an Army officer who goes as far to rebuke others who insult Indians.

Mainstream Hollywood was always "activist" against racism and such. By the 1960's it was the Cavalry that were portrayed as the "bad guys", in such as Cheyenne Autumn (a dreadful film), Little Big Man, Soldier Blue, etc.

John Wayne was also one of the first actor to insist on having multi racial actors in his films.

However, American films did maintain an element of racial stereotypical casting and storylines. Mostly towards African-Americans and Asians.

Even the "Western Movie Channel" does not show the really racist films anymore. Perhaps you missed "Dances With Wolves"? How about all the films made by Native Americans? "Smoke Signals", etc.

"Code talkers", a rather weak film, tries to show the contribution of Native Americans in WWII, using all native actors.

But just as the Brits did a number in the peoples of India in their films, they also went on to produce such as "Gandhi". But now India has its own film industry.

Tis much more complex than it appears.

Answer 7

Two books that answer that question:

American Terminator: Myths, Movies, and Global Power (Paperback) by Ziauddin Sardar and Merryl Wyn Davies

Gunfighter Nation: The Myth of the Frontier in Twentieth-Century America by Richard Slotkin

The basic answer is that the expansion of the frontier is part of the myth of American life. Pioneers are not seen as killers, but as civilizers who fought "savage" tribes to pave the way for "decent" people to settle the West.

Savage comes from Latin via French; "Sauvage" and "Salvaticus" (Silva means woods). Savages were "the people who live in the woods" So the Native Americans were naturally less civilized -- they lived in the woods. Some fears go WAY back.

Answer 8

What movies are you talking about? There are some movies which depict that because, in a dark chapter of American History, some Americans thought wrongly that Native Americans were "savages", but the movies accurately portray the characters in them. I don't think any intelligent people believe the affront on the Native Americans is something glorified by the cinema. I think you're off your rocker. Don't compare Americans to Nazis.

Answer 9

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Answer 10

your are watching a movie, not attending a history class!!! if you went to school in the states you would know that we are well aware that the settlers were @ss hooles.