GO SEE IT: Michael McGonigle lectures on Native Americans in film

When asked to give a lecture on the portrayal of Native Americans in American film, PMA Film Lecturer Michael McGonigle protested, "I wouldn't know where to start. All I know about Native Americans I learned from Hollywood." "It was sad to realize that as someone who studies film, I had only been exposed to the Hollywood stereotypes," said McGonigle. As part of the One Book, One Philadelphia celebration of Sherman Alexie's War Dances, McGonigle will give a lecture inspired by that initial observation. And the deeper McGonigle went into Hollywood's ample history of Native American inaccuracies, the more he caught on to certain trends. "In many of the older films, like John Wayne's, the Native Americans are shown as completely stoic. It's ridiculous...In a DVD commentary, Sherman Alexie basically said that those images were hilarious," said McGonigle. Granted, we don't see the noble savage stock character all that much in contemporary film. But, on the flip side, McGonigle points out that there's an influx of over-the-top, spiritual, land-loving indigenous people in film. "It's like we've gone radically in the other direction, instead of trying to actually create some more honest, well-developed characters." Tonight, 7 P.M. at the Philadelphia Free Library, McGonigle will bring a critical lens to classics like "Dances With Wolves," perhaps dig out some of those culturally entrenched images and finally explore some of the rarer, nuanced depictions.

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GO SEE IT: Michael McGonigle lectures on Native Americans in film

POSTED: Wednesday, February 16, 2011, 7:00 PM

Filed Under: Critical Mass Books

When asked to give a lecture on the portrayal of Native Americans in American film, PMA Film Lecturer Michael McGonigle protested, "I wouldn't know where to start. All I know about Native Americans I learned from Hollywood." "It was sad to realize that as someone who studies film, I had only been exposed to the Hollywood stereotypes," said McGonigle. As part of the One Book, One Philadelphia celebration of Sherman Alexie's War Dances, McGonigle will give a lecture inspired by that initial observation. And the deeper McGonigle went into Hollywood's ample history of Native American inaccuracies, the more he caught on to certain trends. "In many of the older films, like John Wayne's, the Native Americans are shown as completely stoic. It's ridiculousIn a DVD commentary, Sherman Alexie basically said that those images were hilarious," said McGonigle. Granted, we don't see the noble savage stock character all that much in contemporary film. But, on the flip side, McGonigle points out that there's an influx of over-the-top, spiritual, land-loving indigenous people in film. "It's like we've gone radically in the other direction, instead of trying to actually create some more honest, well-developed characters." Tonight, 7 P.M. at the Philadelphia Free Library, McGonigle will bring a critical lens to classics like "Dances With Wolves," perhaps dig out some of those culturally entrenched images and finally explore some of the rarer, nuanced depictions.

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