Monday, May 13, 2013

Film Indians. Not Native Americans.

Pictured: Chris Eyre


[Excerpt from an interview with Chris Neumer about the film Skins] Maybe it’s not the Indians that people want to see, but these are Indians that are real to me. One of the interesting things to me was Hollywood’s version of this movie was Dances With Wolves because these are Lakotas. There are Lakotas in Dances With Wolves and there are Lakotas in Skins. Only in my version we are talking about Indians and in Hollywood’s version they are talking about Native Americans.

Neumer has just recently reviewed Eyre's film Skins and given rave reviews because of how "real" it seemed. For American audiences, seeing Indians appear as "real" people is a pretty novel concept and that's what Chris Eyre is out to change. Eyre is pioneer, he has broken to mold of Native filmmakers by making movies. Now clearly we know he makes movies, isn't that the objective of all film makers? What I mean to say about Eyre that differentiates him from other Native filmmakers is that his movies aren't just boring documentaries. They contain many of the same aspects, life on the "rez" and the hardships of Native culture are certainly prominent features in many of his films but Eyre spins entertaining stories about these hardships; and he does it different ways. The perfect examples of this style of  storytelling are Skins and Smoke Signals. Both movies take an issue such as alcoholism and humanize them. They show the issues but after watching them you see that these are issues people face and not just Native Americans. The biggest thing I personally take away from the films that Eyre creates is his ability to reclaim an identity for Native peoples that has been all but extinguished by Hollywood over the history of Native cinema. As an audience we are so used to two archetypes of Native Americans: the savage and bloodthirsty warrior, and the exotic, sexually curious Native maiden. Eyre abandons these stereotypical rolls and portrays Indians as people no different than any other race. Now that we see Eyre's intentions, lets break down how hes filming "Indians" while Hollywood is filming "Native Americans"

When Eyre came and talked to the class, one of the things he talked about was owning what you are, and getting through your troubles with humor. Now just because 9 out of 10 films made about Indians are serious documentaries doesn't mean that Native people can't be funny. Sure the ideal Indian, as Adam Beach describes in Smoke Signals, is "strong and stoic" but as Chris pointed out in our talk, the most profitable type of movie is a COMEDY. Now I know what your thinking, who the hell is going to find a bunch of guys dressed up in buckskins and war paint Funny?? Well here is some breaking news for the general viewing audience: Indians do in fact posses a sense of humor!! Shocked?! Look up Charlie Hill.

So Eyre makes these movies and takes everything that has been done by Native filmmakers in the past, takes his (What I can only assume, due to his size) incredible strength, crushes it into a ball and flings it out the window. Now hes ready to make a movie. Eyre spins tales of "real" people and then casts Native Americans to play them. This is where he gets the idea of filming "Indians"- His stories could be made up of a cast of all white guys(Sort of like Indian film in the 1950s) and the story would still make sense and be an entertaining movie.

Closing Thought- Hollywood makes films with what we call Native Americans, but they are far from what Eyre would describe as an Indian. Eyre makes the same kind of films but instead of objectifying his people as some sort of outlandish race that is captured in time between 1840 and 1890, Eyre presents Indians in a modern context that can relate to all cultures.

We thought you ought to know how one guy is changing the face of the entire Native Film industry, and he's doing it one real person and a bunch of laughs at a time.

-J-Dog & Moose



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