The appeal of the traditional Western is that it provided clear, simple solutions to comple x problems and solidified the triumph of the forces of white civilization. It was ready-made material for films, and the static image of the screen Indian was a readily exploitable commodity. Quickly and unam

What will happen to the image of the Indian in film in the future is impossible to predict. If past history is any guide, films will find or develop another stereotype, one that will accommodate a new popular image. Mass arts tend to the allegorical, which allows them a broader or more universal appeal, preferring surfaces and types to essences and individuals. While we can expect to see American Indians portrayed more sympathetically and with greater historical accuracy, the Indian in the popular film will no doubt remain as one-dimensional as all other types (Bataille & Silet).

In most of the early westerns, and some into the mid-1900s, Native Americans were not even played by Native Americans. White actors would play as Native Americans, especially when people began to know different actors and actresses as stars. Many of the vicious Indians were played by stars such as Bela Lugosi, Lon Chaney Jr., or Boris Karloff. In many of the comedic films with Indians, the Marx Brothers, Buddy Hackett, Joey Bishop, and Buster Keaton would usually play them. Audrey Hepburn, Julie Newmar, and Donna Reed all played as Indian women in the few roles Indian women were portrayed in. Even box-office giants like Rock Hudson, Elvis Prestley, Richard Harris, and Raquel Welch at one point played the role of Native American in a film. The only exceptions were "real" Indians such as Jim Thorpe, Chief Walachie, Red Wing, and Chief Thundercloud (Bataille & Silet).

In the film industry today, new steps are being taken to show Indian culture accurately. Documentaries on the Native Americans are being filmed by many independent film makers. In Santa Fe, New Mexico a group of producers from the Institute of American Indian Arts began this movement. Most noticeably in the past ten years, the film industry has begun to change the way Indians have been portrayed. There are finally movies being made from the perspective of the Native Americans, allowing people to see pa

Some topics in this essay:
Native Americans, Bataille Silet, Indians Strickland, Native American, White Future, American Legend's, American Indian, America Indian, native americans, Indian Indian, Indian Arts, bataille silet, native american, ‘real’ indians, american indian, film industry, native americans looked, film indian, americans looked, silet movies, looked people, bataille silet film, native americans depicted, towards native americans, bataille silet movies,