Brother Doug (I have 4 brothers) reminded me of this version of
Cattle Call by Wylie Gustafson:
https://youtu.be/YXAiRp1GTck?si=jrRi7r6LzsUxqVPz
Wylie Gustafson:
Pretty darn good I’d say.
Thanks Doug.
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Wylie Gustafson: Cattle Call
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A Celebration of Western Movies… Pardner!
I keep seeing comments on Facebook about how Hollywood always depicted non-Natives as the good guys and Indians as nothing more than savages. Seems many commenters feel that Indians were only started to be shown in a good light rather recently. (The year 2000 was mentioned) But I know I’ve seen Westerns from as early as the 50’s that showed Indians in a sympathetic light. For sure, by the 60’s. One that really stands out in this regard was Cheyenne Autumn. (1964) Hoping people will chime in and provide their opinions on this. Thanks.
On and off over the history of Film – Westerns in particular – we see Natives portrayed mostly – as ‘Badguys’. (I haven’t taken a survey). Recent film history has tried to be fair and more accurate. “Dances with Wolves” is one movie that comes to mind for me right away where Natives were portrayed as the ‘Goodguys’ and the Whites as the savages. One movie thats’ coming up is called “Butcher’s Crossing” – based on a novel – about the little-known policy of the US Government to kill of the Buffalo herds in order to conquer the Plains Natives (Indians). This seems to have been a fact.
One of the problems in Native portrayal in movies has been a lack of Native Actors – so are mostly played by us White folks: ”Jim Thorpe – All-American” (1951 ) played by Burt Lancaster and also “Apache,” 1954; Audrey Hepburn, “The Unforgiven,” 1960, Johnny Depp, “The Lone Ranger,” 2013; Charles Bronson in “Drumbeat” 1954 … it’s a loooong list.
BUT we had also had Tonto in the Lone Ranger played by Jay Silverheels – and Wes Studi who has played many Native roles over the years … there is now a long list of Native Actors and Actresses.
I have mixed feelings about it all and have come to see Native Indigenous people as being just like us – they can be good or bad. Yes, there’s no doubt we beat the crap out of them and cheated them and lied to them and took over the whole place. BUT again, they must learn to adapt and to fix their existing issues and problems themselves … or it ain’t going to happen. In Canada we’ve given BILLIONS of dollars to the different Bands over the years – and they just keep demanding more apologies and wanting more money. MONEY is not going to resolve any of their issues. The Reservations which initially allowed them to survive, have now become a curse whereby they just sit out there …watching TV ??? They are not interested in integrating. And as long we keep giving them money, nothing is going to change.
If they want anything different, they better start making their own Movies.
Thanks for the thoughtful reply on the Native issues. Yes, it’s a shame that they seem to be perpetuating an ongoing problem, through inactivity. That often leads to substance abuse which continues the spiral. I thought of another older film which features the same approach as Dances with Wolves-Little Big Man. I think there is far too much blame laid at the feet of Hollywood for perpetuating stereotypes, than is deserved. It’s easy to forget that they were only painting a picture that the viewers demanded. Also, remember that during the climax of this stereotyping, people were still alive who had lost loved ones in the Indian Wars. Thank goodness that as Society healed, the Silver Screen reflected that. Not to be political, but I find it to be a good sign that many Natives are now trying to reclaim words and phrases that were once epithets, to their original connotations. Let’s hope that very soon, there will no longer be any need for healing, and all past injustices and grievances are merely a thing of the past, that will serve as examples of what to avoid in the future.
I am glad these peoples are recovering their heritage and culture. Yes, it is valuable and should never have been repressed and destroyed. BUT are they still just going to sit apart from the folks that rule the roost? I can’t say their attempts to live completely apart and separate are a failure – but it’s like having several different countries operating with our own. If that can successfully happen I guess I have no say. But in many instances they don’t seem to be doing OK. The opposite. We have tried to give many of them the opportunity to come out and enjoin what is going on, but a lot of the time they seem incapable and unwilling. It’s a very tough situation where you have a clash of consciousness/cultures. I don’t know what the solution is, but as long as their children do not attend and adapt by entering the common public school system which would possibly allow them to adapt in just one generation, this will continue.
We’ve had MANY people come from many different lands and with far fewer incentives and opportunity – including just Language alone – yet within a short time completely integrated. ‘When in Rome do as the Romans do.’ goes the very wise adage. But when you try to create other Romes within Rome, it’s probably not going to work very well.
Very well said and salient. I guess one could look at it going the other direction too. It bothers me when minority cultures refuse to allow others to participate in theirs, as well. Jesus put it well “Don’t hide your lamp under a bushel”. (And He was also opposed to anyone shutting people out, in order to build up oneself) We are indeed a stronger culture when this mingling takes place. (As did/does in places of international/team conflicts, such as the Battlefield or playing field) We learn we have much more in common than perceived from our precious enclaves. I believe two things can be true at once: there are ways to be a part of a particular culture, without sacrificing peculiarities, while, at the same time, seeking as much Unity with others as is possible. This is not being two-faced-just understanding.
I always thought that most of my fellow students at College really missed out on the opportunity to become familiar with the factions from other Countries, including the American Native ones, because they were scared or felt too superior to do so. Unfortunately, and even worse, was the inability to even mingle with factions from within our own Country.
This is why Art can bridge gaps, such as was seen when Jazz entered the scene. The door was opened for all, by the purveyors of such. Soon it had engulfed the world. The same can be said of the Cinema, where Western producers could focus on this theme in a Variety of contexts- Indian, Mexican, Black, Chinese etc. Shows like Gunsmoke even introduced episodes about the varied difficulties faced by minority populations from Europe, as they immigrated and tried to integrate.
This is why it’s important to not throw out the baby with the bath water by banning/ignoring movies from the past that do reveal how far we’ve come. And to always remember, we today, probably would have had the same prejudices had we lived back then. Hindsight, as they say, is 20/20!
He did a great job on that eh!?
He’s pretty well unknown though.
Very good.