In Kevin Costner's motion picture Dances With Wolves, a white veteran of the Civil War, John Dunbar, ventures to the American frontier, where he encounters a tribe of Sioux Indians. At first, both parties are quite wary and almost hostile to each other, but after some time, Dunbar realizes that they
have both grown to love and value each other as friends. As the movie critic Robert Ebert comments, "Dunbar possesses the one quality he needs to cut through the entrenched racism of his time: He is able to look another man in the eye, and see the man, rather than his attitudes about the man. As Dunbar discovers the culture of the Sioux, so do we. " As the viewpoint of the hero gradually shifts throughout the film, it is also paralleled by the similarly shifting perception of the audience- from one of initial, stereotypical fear to a much more positive one, of respect and sympathy. This overall effect on the viewer is accomplished through the skillful use of several techniques in the film, as well as through the use of some memorable scenes, as portrayed through Dunbar's eyes.
In the first several scenes of the movie, the audience is introduced to the hero, John Dunbar, and is instantly able to sympathize with him. Firstly, he is a war hero, and thus, brave and respected. Then, when he chooses to move to the frontier, he reveals his adventurous spirit, and when he toils tirelessly each day to build the post, he also shows his hardworking and disciplined personality. Furthermore, Dunbar is a well-educated man, for he eloquently records his experiences in his journal each day, and his thoughts and insights reveal a man of noble and upright character. Thus, these qualities constitute the foundation of a hero with whom the audience can better sympathize, and through whose view the audience can more readily perceive others throughout the remainder of the film.
When the Native Americans are, therefore, initially portrayed in the film in stark contrast with Dunbar, the audience is, not at all surprisingly, immediately biased against them. While Dunbar is noble and upright, the Indians are wild and brutal; for example, they murder Dunbar's wagon driver Timmons in a most violent and cruel way, by hacking him with knives and tomahawks. Their actions confirm traditional views of Indians as bloodthirsty savages who kill for no better reason than the fact that Timmons was ignorantly tending an open fire on their territory. Another case in point is when Dunbar finds Stands With a Fist by the river, cutting herself with a knife. He immediately tries to help her and gently returns her to the Sioux Indians. The Sioux, however, respond in a quite different manner; instead of being grateful towards Dunbar, Wind in His Hair screams at him and fiercely snatches the woman away from him by her hair. As a result, the audience feels indignation and anger at the Indians, especially for treating its esteemed hero in such an apparently unjust and unwarranted manner.
As the movie progresses, however, the perception of Dunbar and, in turn, the perception of the audience, towards the Sioux, begins to change. Several episodes reveal how Dunbar and the Indians gradually begin to grow closer to each other. Firstly, each party ventures to visit the other and, thus, tentatively begins to build a better understanding of its neighbor. Then, when they are more comfortable together, the two sides begin to extend the hand of friendship; the Indians give Dunbar a buffalo blanket, while, in return, Dunbar gives the Indians some of his food supply and their first taste of coffee. As the relationship between Dunbar and the Sioux becomes much more relaxed, the audience, too, becomes more open-minded and accepting of the Indians. Granted, Dunbar and the Sioux experience several misunderstandings, such as the scene where they are trying to communicate the word "buffalo," or when Dunbar is grinding coffee for his baffled Indian guests. The differences between the two groups no longer cause feelings of animosity or fear, however, but instead add a pleasant element of comic relief to the film.
Some technical elements of the film contribute to this transition, as well. For example, tense, ominous music is replaced by more joyful and melodious sounds, causing the audience to feel a much more relaxed and playful mood. Another major component of the film is its use of symbolism and parallelism. As the relationship between the Indians and Dunbar develops, the relationship between Dunbar and the wolf begins to grow as well. Like the Sioux, the wolf is at first perceived as dangerous and hostile, a beast that Dunbar thinks may attack or harm him at first. As time passes, however, both parties learn to trust the other, little by little, and they soon develop a strong bond of loyalty and friendship. Through the symbolism of the wolf, the film teaches the audience that appearances or stereotypes should not be the sole basis for judgment; for outwardly, although the wolf appears to be very ferocious and bloodthirsty, in reality, it is actually very gentle and kind-hearted, just as the Sioux Indians.
The final stage of the shifting perception of the Indians by Dunbar and the audience occurs when Dunbar actually reaches a deeper level of friendship with the Sioux Indians, beyond mere understanding or respect of differences, to actual emotional attachment. The shift is symbolized in the scene where the wolf, who has always been friendly yet cautious around Dunbar, actually ventures to make physical contact for the first time, and eat out of his hand. Thus, in addition to mere tolerance, the two are able to experience trust in each other. Likewise, Dunbar begins to become more emotionally involved with the Sioux tribe, and comes to realize that they are not simply a tribe whose differences he should merely respect, but rather, a group of people quite similar to himself and very human at heart. Scenes from the movie, such as the one of the Holy Man making love to his wife, of the laughing children playing in the fields, and of the tribal members joyfully celebrating the hunting season, all make Dunbar come to this realization, and he finds himself starting to feel a love and loyalty for the people as if they were his own. In a like manner, the audience also finds itself paralleling the same changing perception of the Sioux as Dunbar.
Ironically enough, Dunbar and the audience not only begin to love the Sioux Indians, but also begin to view the whites with the same resentment and fear with which they once viewed the previous group. Just as the Indians were once contrasted with Dunbar in the beginning of the movie, to make them seem even more evil and savage in light of Dunbar's good character, the whites are now contrasted sharply with the Indians to reveal their own bad qualities. For example, the audience sees how the white settlers carelessly leave buffalo carcasses to rot on the prairies, repugnantly exposed to flies and vultures. On the contrary, the Sioux Indians are respectful of the buffalo, grateful to the animals for providing them with sustenance, and are careful to only hunt those that absolutely needed. In another scene, the film presents the audience with the invasion of the army into Dunbar's camp, and as the audience sees the uniformed soldiers sauntering around, full of insolent confidence and disrespect, it begins to feel a strong emotion of resentment and violation. After so much time learning the ways of the Sioux Indians and their quiet respect for nature, the audience cannot help but feel indignation at the whites' loud and arrogant manner. This reversal in the perception of the whites vs. the Sioux is further reinforced by the way in which the film handles the music- the same tense and dissonant music that was once used in the initial scenes with the Indians, now reoccurs in the later scenes with the appearance of the white soldiers. The same fear and animosity once felt towards the Sioux has effectively transferred to the whites.
By the time the whites capture Dunbar, the audience's allegiance has totally shifted to the side of the Indians. Thus, no remorse is felt when the Sioux slaughter the whites in order to rescue Dunbar. The audience has reached a point where it can completely sympathize with the Sioux's and Dunbar's point of view. In fact, further background research into the injustice suffered by the Sioux, under the hands of the white American armies, would only cause the audience to support the white massacre all the more. For example, according to the website of the Standing Rock Sioux Nation, in actual history, the Sioux were forced to relocate several times throughout the Dakota plains, and when they resisted to a direct violation of the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty, the US Army responded by engaging in a long and bloody war with the Native American nation. The scene in Dances With Wolves, in which the Sioux are impelled to attack a few white soldiers, pales in comparison to the actual massacre of Wounded Knee in 1890, where 300 Indians were killed and left to freeze in the snow by the whites.
Nevertheless, perhaps the intent of the film is not so much to vilify the whites in favor of the Sioux, as it is to simply point out that judgment and stereotypes should not be based upon exterior appearances alone. In fact, not all the white characters in the movie are bad; Dunbar, of course, is the obvious example of one who desires to help the Sioux, rather than annihilate them. Likewise, not all the Indians are as friendly as the Sioux Nation; for example, the Pawnees are clear antagonists in the film, both to the whites and their neighboring Indian tribe. Thus, rather than make an over-simplistic claim that all whites are bad or all Indians are good, the film strives to develop an overriding theme- that all humans possess common emotions, desires, and traits, and that these human elements alone are what should be the distinguishing factors in one's identity, rather than race, gender, or any other external sub-category. Overall, the film causes the audience to change a traditional, stereotypical view of the Sioux Indians, but on a broader scale, it also challenges the audience to view all people from a more humanistic point of view.
Works Cited
Costner, Kevin, dir. Dances with Wolves. Perf. Kevin Costner, Mary McDonnell, Graham Greene, and Rodney A. Grant. 1990. Videocassette. Orion, 1991.
Ebert, Robert. "Dances With Wolves." Rev. of Dances With Wolves, dir. Kevin Costner. The Chicago Sun-Times 9 Nov. 1990.
Standing Rock Sioux Nation. Home Page. 31 Mar. 2000. Standing Rock Sioux Nation. 12 Oct. 2001. http://www.standingrock.org.
have both grown to love and value each other as friends. As the movie critic Robert Ebert comments, "Dunbar possesses the one quality he needs to cut through the entrenched racism of his time: He is able to look another man in the eye, and see the man, rather than his attitudes about the man. As Dunbar discovers the culture of the Sioux, so do we. " As the viewpoint of the hero gradually shifts throughout the film, it is also paralleled by the similarly shifting perception of the audience- from one of initial, stereotypical fear to a much more positive one, of respect and sympathy. This overall effect on the viewer is accomplished through the skillful use of several techniques in the film, as well as through the use of some memorable scenes, as portrayed through Dunbar's eyes.
In the first several scenes of the movie, the audience is introduced to the hero, John Dunbar, and is instantly able to sympathize with him. Firstly, he is a war hero, and thus, brave and respected. Then, when he chooses to move to the frontier, he reveals his adventurous spirit, and when he toils tirelessly each day to build the post, he also shows his hardworking and disciplined personality. Furthermore, Dunbar is a well-educated man, for he eloquently records his experiences in his journal each day, and his thoughts and insights reveal a man of noble and upright character. Thus, these qualities constitute the foundation of a hero with whom the audience can better sympathize, and through whose view the audience can more readily perceive others throughout the remainder of the film.
When the Native Americans are, therefore, initially portrayed in the film in stark contrast with Dunbar, the audience is, not at all surprisingly, immediately biased against them. While Dunbar is noble and upright, the Indians are wild and brutal; for example, they murder Dunbar's wagon driver Timmons in a most violent and cruel way, by hacking him with knives and tomahawks. Their actions confirm traditional views of Indians as bloodthirsty savages who kill for no better reason than the fact that Timmons was ignorantly tending an open fire on their territory. Another case in point is when Dunbar finds Stands With a Fist by the river, cutting herself with a knife. He immediately tries to help her and gently returns her to the Sioux Indians. The Sioux, however, respond in a quite different manner; instead of being grateful towards Dunbar, Wind in His Hair screams at him and fiercely snatches the woman away from him by her hair. As a result, the audience feels indignation and anger at the Indians, especially for treating its esteemed hero in such an apparently unjust and unwarranted manner.
As the movie progresses, however, the perception of Dunbar and, in turn, the perception of the audience, towards the Sioux, begins to change. Several episodes reveal how Dunbar and the Indians gradually begin to grow closer to each other. Firstly, each party ventures to visit the other and, thus, tentatively begins to build a better understanding of its neighbor. Then, when they are more comfortable together, the two sides begin to extend the hand of friendship; the Indians give Dunbar a buffalo blanket, while, in return, Dunbar gives the Indians some of his food supply and their first taste of coffee. As the relationship between Dunbar and the Sioux becomes much more relaxed, the audience, too, becomes more open-minded and accepting of the Indians. Granted, Dunbar and the Sioux experience several misunderstandings, such as the scene where they are trying to communicate the word "buffalo," or when Dunbar is grinding coffee for his baffled Indian guests. The differences between the two groups no longer cause feelings of animosity or fear, however, but instead add a pleasant element of comic relief to the film.
Some technical elements of the film contribute to this transition, as well. For example, tense, ominous music is replaced by more joyful and melodious sounds, causing the audience to feel a much more relaxed and playful mood. Another major component of the film is its use of symbolism and parallelism. As the relationship between the Indians and Dunbar develops, the relationship between Dunbar and the wolf begins to grow as well. Like the Sioux, the wolf is at first perceived as dangerous and hostile, a beast that Dunbar thinks may attack or harm him at first. As time passes, however, both parties learn to trust the other, little by little, and they soon develop a strong bond of loyalty and friendship. Through the symbolism of the wolf, the film teaches the audience that appearances or stereotypes should not be the sole basis for judgment; for outwardly, although the wolf appears to be very ferocious and bloodthirsty, in reality, it is actually very gentle and kind-hearted, just as the Sioux Indians.
The final stage of the shifting perception of the Indians by Dunbar and the audience occurs when Dunbar actually reaches a deeper level of friendship with the Sioux Indians, beyond mere understanding or respect of differences, to actual emotional attachment. The shift is symbolized in the scene where the wolf, who has always been friendly yet cautious around Dunbar, actually ventures to make physical contact for the first time, and eat out of his hand. Thus, in addition to mere tolerance, the two are able to experience trust in each other. Likewise, Dunbar begins to become more emotionally involved with the Sioux tribe, and comes to realize that they are not simply a tribe whose differences he should merely respect, but rather, a group of people quite similar to himself and very human at heart. Scenes from the movie, such as the one of the Holy Man making love to his wife, of the laughing children playing in the fields, and of the tribal members joyfully celebrating the hunting season, all make Dunbar come to this realization, and he finds himself starting to feel a love and loyalty for the people as if they were his own. In a like manner, the audience also finds itself paralleling the same changing perception of the Sioux as Dunbar.
Ironically enough, Dunbar and the audience not only begin to love the Sioux Indians, but also begin to view the whites with the same resentment and fear with which they once viewed the previous group. Just as the Indians were once contrasted with Dunbar in the beginning of the movie, to make them seem even more evil and savage in light of Dunbar's good character, the whites are now contrasted sharply with the Indians to reveal their own bad qualities. For example, the audience sees how the white settlers carelessly leave buffalo carcasses to rot on the prairies, repugnantly exposed to flies and vultures. On the contrary, the Sioux Indians are respectful of the buffalo, grateful to the animals for providing them with sustenance, and are careful to only hunt those that absolutely needed. In another scene, the film presents the audience with the invasion of the army into Dunbar's camp, and as the audience sees the uniformed soldiers sauntering around, full of insolent confidence and disrespect, it begins to feel a strong emotion of resentment and violation. After so much time learning the ways of the Sioux Indians and their quiet respect for nature, the audience cannot help but feel indignation at the whites' loud and arrogant manner. This reversal in the perception of the whites vs. the Sioux is further reinforced by the way in which the film handles the music- the same tense and dissonant music that was once used in the initial scenes with the Indians, now reoccurs in the later scenes with the appearance of the white soldiers. The same fear and animosity once felt towards the Sioux has effectively transferred to the whites.
By the time the whites capture Dunbar, the audience's allegiance has totally shifted to the side of the Indians. Thus, no remorse is felt when the Sioux slaughter the whites in order to rescue Dunbar. The audience has reached a point where it can completely sympathize with the Sioux's and Dunbar's point of view. In fact, further background research into the injustice suffered by the Sioux, under the hands of the white American armies, would only cause the audience to support the white massacre all the more. For example, according to the website of the Standing Rock Sioux Nation, in actual history, the Sioux were forced to relocate several times throughout the Dakota plains, and when they resisted to a direct violation of the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty, the US Army responded by engaging in a long and bloody war with the Native American nation. The scene in Dances With Wolves, in which the Sioux are impelled to attack a few white soldiers, pales in comparison to the actual massacre of Wounded Knee in 1890, where 300 Indians were killed and left to freeze in the snow by the whites.
Nevertheless, perhaps the intent of the film is not so much to vilify the whites in favor of the Sioux, as it is to simply point out that judgment and stereotypes should not be based upon exterior appearances alone. In fact, not all the white characters in the movie are bad; Dunbar, of course, is the obvious example of one who desires to help the Sioux, rather than annihilate them. Likewise, not all the Indians are as friendly as the Sioux Nation; for example, the Pawnees are clear antagonists in the film, both to the whites and their neighboring Indian tribe. Thus, rather than make an over-simplistic claim that all whites are bad or all Indians are good, the film strives to develop an overriding theme- that all humans possess common emotions, desires, and traits, and that these human elements alone are what should be the distinguishing factors in one's identity, rather than race, gender, or any other external sub-category. Overall, the film causes the audience to change a traditional, stereotypical view of the Sioux Indians, but on a broader scale, it also challenges the audience to view all people from a more humanistic point of view.
Ebert, Robert. "Dances With Wolves." Rev. of Dances With Wolves, dir. Kevin Costner. The Chicago Sun-Times 9 Nov. 1990.
Standing Rock Sioux Nation. Home Page. 31 Mar. 2000. Standing Rock Sioux Nation. 12 Oct. 2001. http://www.standingrock.org.
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