This Blog is a resource tool for the students taking the "FACING HISTORY AND OURSELVES" elective at Westborough High School, Westborough, Massachusetts.
Thursday, September 13, 2012
PERIOD 6 - WHITE MAN'S IMAGE
Over the past two days, we watched and discussed the documentary, In the White Man's Image. Please post your thoughts about the film.
38 comments:
David Morency
said...
I think "White Man's Image was an informing video showing us what America might really be. Even though the Native Americans were here first after gaining power of them it wasn't enough to leave them alone. Since we couldn't kick them out they had to be a exactly like the white man to show an accurate portrait of what America was. Pratt's motto was "Kill the Indian and the save the man," suggesting that being Native American can mean you aren't as superior as the white man.
I think this documentary was eye-opening and descriptive towards the injustice that was committed on the Native Americans at this point in history. I strongly believe that as Americans we did not handle the confliction with the Native Americans in the most humane and considerate way. Both Americans and Native Americans were created in the same way, and therefore we should all receive the same rights and be entitled to live freely according to our individual beliefs and cultural traditions. It often saddens me while looking back on American history how cruel we can be to other human beings without a second thought. This film reminded me that I should keep an open mind towards the people I meet, despite the differences that may be between us.
The above anonymous comment was Juli Upham's. I think David Morency brings up an accurate point behind the mindset that the American's had during this point in history.
I agree with Juli that both Americans and Native Americans were created in the same way so it so we shouldn't have to shape one another into someone's image.
I think "White Man's Image" was meant to show us how certain individuals can look upon an entire society or race of people and see them as inferior. Events such as genocide relate to this topic and show that certain people believe others can be treated as less than human simply because they are different.
I agree with Jake that sometimes people treat others as less than humans simply because they are different. In this case, the Americans felt superior and forced the Native Americans to change their own identities, so they could fit in with society and not be different.
I think that this video was very eye opening to me. It is unbelievable how much hate and intolerance was present in the US. I couldn't imagine being told I had to pick a name, something that identifies who you are and where you came from. As well as being told I had to change how I looked just to try and "fix" my appearance. The "White Man's Image" gave me a full understanding of the terms "we" and "they".
I think that this video was very eye opening to me. It is unbelievable how much hate and intolerance was present in the US. I couldn't imagine being told I had to pick a name, something that identifies who you are and where you came from. As well as being told I had to change how I looked just to try and "fix" my appearance. The "White Man's Image" gave me a full understanding of the terms "we" and "they".
I agree with what David said. It's hard to believe that the image of the Indians were less than that of a man. Even after they learned about them they still refused to allow them into society.
I think that this was shown to prove a point about stereotyping, and how it isn’t true. The white men were classifying the Native Americans as savages, dumb as well repeated the statement that they were “trying to save the man not the Indian”, but on the other hand, saw themselves as superior and like they were doing the Indians a favor by assimilating them. While the Indians saw it as the white men torturing them, and taking away their culture. They saw themselves becoming an image like a white man and becoming their soldiers. This proves that neither stereotype is correct. They both see two completely different things while looking at one.
I agree with Maria, on how it was very cruel to treat the Native American people like they were below everyone else due to their culture and appearance.
I think the “White Man’s Image” documentary showed a part of US history that many times is overlooked. The white men tried to completely change the culture of the Native Americans and assimilate them into their own culture. Not only did they try to change the Natives, but the white men thought that they were superior to the Natives which justified what they were doing.
I think the White Man’s Image showed an ugly part of our nations history. America tried to assimilate the native americans and it was quite clear that they did not want to change their culture and past times. The whites believed that they were in the right, but in actually what they were doing was wrong. America is about freedom and these Native Americans were forced to do these things, and change their culture against their will. It is despicable.
I agree with what Eric said, i feel that this is about an ugly part of US history, and what is often overlooked. It is something that needs to be remembered more so it wont happen again.
I agree with what Jennifer Pilkington said about how the white men were blinded by their ignorance and because of this they could not see that the Indians were people too, even though they had different beliefs.
I thought "The White Man's Image" was very interesting. The film showed the intolerance that the white people had, thinking that they were above superior to the Native Americans. They assumed that what they were doing was right; that they were helping the Native Americans and guiding them towards a 'better life,' but instead, they were just so ignorant in thinking that they were better than the Native Americans that they tried erasing a culture. I also thought it was interesting to see how the same thing that happened in Germany during the Holocaust occur in the United States as well, in a sense.
The "White Man's Image" was a film that enlightened me on several events that I have never even heard as before. The experiments that the white men were doing to the indians was dehumanizing in several ways and was very unjust. People should not be judged based on their culture and their ways of life.
I think the "White Man's Image" is a fairly interesting topic. It made me think about my history, my parents history and so on. On one side, I'm from germanic descent but on the other I'm from Native American descent. This film made me more interested in where I came from and caused me to look into it. I learned that some of my ancestors were on the trail of tears. It's hard to imagine that my family went through an experience like that. This film also made me think about America's past. It showed that we were born from an imperialistic mindset; we wanted land so we kicked out the Native Americans and solidified our role as "The Chosen People", looking to christianize and civilize the "savages".
Connie brings up a good point. When the white man was pushing Native Americans out of their homeland, they viewed it as a just cause. Even though the Native Americans were viewed as less then human savages, it was seen as just.
I thought the movie “A White Man’s Image” was a real interesting film. I couldn’t believe that those Native Americans were stripped of their identity and made off to like white men. I personally think that these Native Americans were brutally violated, controlled, and tormented. Its one thing to give them different clothing to make them look like white men, but to cut their hair and to give them new names is crossing the line.
I agree with David when he said that this video shows us what America might really be because this video shows how the Americans were extremely cruel to another group of people.
I think that the "White Man's Image" was very informative of how, within our own past, we're also guilty of trying to perfect our country's image by eliminating any opposing cultures and lifestyles. Though we didn't go so far as to systematically mass murder the natives, the video brought to light how stripping them of their identities so they could fit a "civilized" image was also terrible.
I agree with Connie's drawing parallels to the Holocaust. Although the two events do not at all relate in magnitude, they were somewhat similar in the sense that the aggressors (white man/nazis) truly believed that they were doing good by eliminating a facet of their nation's image.
This documentary is important to the history of the U.S. because it shows the mistakes we made in terms of treatment of other races and how we handled the entire situation. We violated the rights of human beings, we treated the Native Americans like they werent humans, making them a public attraction. We can look back on this event and see what we did wrong, and apply it to events that could occur in the future. This documentary is also meant to give the Natives perspective, putting the viewer in their eyes, and showing how they felt during this time period.
I agree with Connie when she said that the white men thought that what they were doing was right. This is why is it so important that we look back on this time period and see what we did wrong so that it can be fixed in future situations.
I believe that "White Man's Image" was a interesting way to show what problems Native Americans had to go through while living in the United States. Like many of these videos we have watched, it shows how people can dehumanize others and take away their identity.
I agree with what David said because it is showing that White man try to take over control of land that belonged to others before, and that other ethnicities are not as powerful as white men.
I believe the film "White Man's Image" was educational, interesting, and upsetting. The film potrayed an era of time many people, or at least I, didn't think was relevant to discrimination, but after watching the movie it altered my views greatly. It made me realize how the native americans were treated cruely by being removed from their home, stripped of their identity, and torn away from their families. On top of all those awful actions, then the native americans were forced to assimilate to the americans way of life.
The "White Man's Image" gave a look from the Native American side to assimilation. The film showed and described how the assimilation "experiment" worked. It treated the Natives like soldiers. There was a schedule for every part of the day. For whatever reason I feel as though the film didn't do it justice though. The film did go over all the information about it that is available,but it didn't give an impression on me. The film however did make me think about the race superiority that all people seem to have. The whole reason that the assimilation "experiment" worked was because everyone believed that as whites they were superior and it was their duty to train these savages. I don't know if it is because I am white and society has made me think this way, but I think that all races think that they are superior for different reasons.
I agree with Mark on the idea that America likes to think of itself as Land of the Free, yet we forced these people to assimilate into our society. Against their will and took away their freedom by making them soldiers. It is almost like saying you are free, only if you follow these rules and our accepted by our society. Almost like a double standard.
I agree with Mark on the idea that America likes to think of itself as Land of the Free, yet we forced these people to assimilate into our society. Against their will and took away their freedom by making them soldiers. It is almost like saying you are free, only if you follow these rules and our accepted by our society. Almost like a double standard.
The "White Man's Image" shows the disturbing tactics that the whites used to try and assimilate the Native Americans. I thought it was sad that the whole time the whites were dehumanizing them, the Native Americans were so peaceful and took it the whole time. The whites were blantantly ignorant thinking that they were helping them "live a better life" and thinking they were superior to everyone. It was so wrong for the Native Americans to lose their identity
I agree with mary grace in saying that this film showed a lot of awful things but did not do it justice. There were probably much more and even worse things happening that were not documented
38 comments:
I think "White Man's Image was an informing video showing us what America might really be. Even though the Native Americans were here first after gaining power of them it wasn't enough to leave them alone. Since we couldn't kick them out they had to be a exactly like the white man to show an accurate portrait of what America was. Pratt's motto was "Kill the Indian and the save the man," suggesting that being Native American can mean you aren't as superior as the white man.
I think this documentary was eye-opening and descriptive towards the injustice that was committed on the Native Americans at this point in history. I strongly believe that as Americans we did not handle the confliction with the Native Americans in the most humane and considerate way. Both Americans and Native Americans were created in the same way, and therefore we should all receive the same rights and be entitled to live freely according to our individual beliefs and cultural traditions. It often saddens me while looking back on American history how cruel we can be to other human beings without a second thought. This film reminded me that I should keep an open mind towards the people I meet, despite the differences that may be between us.
The above anonymous comment was Juli Upham's. I think David Morency brings up an accurate point behind the mindset that the American's had during this point in history.
I agree with Juli that both Americans and Native Americans were created in the same way so it so we shouldn't have to shape one another into someone's image.
I think "White Man's Image" was meant to show us how certain individuals can look upon an entire society or race of people and see them as inferior. Events such as genocide relate to this topic and show that certain people believe others can be treated as less than human simply because they are different.
I agree with Jake that sometimes people treat others as less than humans simply because they are different. In this case, the Americans felt superior and forced the Native Americans to change their own identities, so they could fit in with society and not be different.
I think that this video was very eye opening to me. It is unbelievable how much hate and intolerance was present in the US. I couldn't imagine being told I had to pick a name, something that identifies who you are and where you came from. As well as being told I had to change how I looked just to try and "fix" my appearance. The "White Man's Image" gave me a full understanding of the terms "we" and "they".
I think that this video was very eye opening to me. It is unbelievable how much hate and intolerance was present in the US. I couldn't imagine being told I had to pick a name, something that identifies who you are and where you came from. As well as being told I had to change how I looked just to try and "fix" my appearance. The "White Man's Image" gave me a full understanding of the terms "we" and "they".
I agree with what David said. It's hard to believe that the image of the Indians were less than that of a man. Even after they learned about them they still refused to allow them into society.
I think that this was shown to prove a point about stereotyping, and how it isn’t true. The white men were classifying the Native Americans as savages, dumb as well repeated the statement that they were “trying to save the man not the Indian”, but on the other hand, saw themselves as superior and like they were doing the Indians a favor by assimilating them. While the Indians saw it as the white men torturing them, and taking away their culture. They saw themselves becoming an image like a white man and becoming their soldiers. This proves that neither stereotype is correct. They both see two completely different things while looking at one.
I agree with Maria, on how it was very cruel to treat the Native American people like they were below everyone else due to their culture and appearance.
I think the “White Man’s Image” documentary showed a part of US history that many times is overlooked. The white men tried to completely change the culture of the Native Americans and assimilate them into their own culture. Not only did they try to change the Natives, but the white men thought that they were superior to the Natives which justified what they were doing.
I agree with what Mike said about how the hate and intolerance that was in the US. It seems like many people don’t realize all of this happened.
I think the White Man’s Image showed an ugly part of our nations history. America tried to assimilate the native americans and it was quite clear that they did not want to change their culture and past times. The whites believed that they were in the right, but in actually what they were doing was wrong. America is about freedom and these Native Americans were forced to do these things, and change their culture against their will. It is despicable.
I agree with what Eric said, i feel that this is about an ugly part of US history, and what is often overlooked. It is something that needs to be remembered more so it wont happen again.
I agree with what Jennifer Pilkington said about how the white men were blinded by their ignorance and because of this they could not see that the Indians were people too, even though they had different beliefs.
I thought "The White Man's Image" was very interesting. The film showed the intolerance that the white people had, thinking that they were above superior to the Native Americans. They assumed that what they were doing was right; that they were helping the Native Americans and guiding them towards a 'better life,' but instead, they were just so ignorant in thinking that they were better than the Native Americans that they tried erasing a culture. I also thought it was interesting to see how the same thing that happened in Germany during the Holocaust occur in the United States as well, in a sense.
I think that David brings up a really good point behind how the white men were thinking in terms of how they viewed America during that time.
The "White Man's Image" was a film that enlightened me on several events that I have never even heard as before. The experiments that the white men were doing to the indians was dehumanizing in several ways and was very unjust. People should not be judged based on their culture and their ways of life.
I like how Jake related this films to the cause of genocides. I feel like that is a very accuarate statement.
I think the "White Man's Image" is a fairly interesting topic. It made me think about my history, my parents history and so on. On one side, I'm from germanic descent but on the other I'm from Native American descent. This film made me more interested in where I came from and caused me to look into it. I learned that some of my ancestors were on the trail of tears. It's hard to imagine that my family went through an experience like that. This film also made me think about America's past. It showed that we were born from an imperialistic mindset; we wanted land so we kicked out the Native Americans and solidified our role as "The Chosen People", looking to christianize and civilize the "savages".
Connie brings up a good point. When the white man was pushing Native Americans out of their homeland, they viewed it as a just cause. Even though the Native Americans were viewed as less then human savages, it was seen as just.
i agree with chris that what was done to the natives was very inhumane and that nothing worse could be done then to strip a person of their culture.
I thought the movie “A White Man’s Image” was a real interesting film. I couldn’t believe that those Native Americans were stripped of their identity and made off to like white men. I personally think that these Native Americans were brutally violated, controlled, and tormented. Its one thing to give them different clothing to make them look like white men, but to cut their hair and to give them new names is crossing the line.
I agree with David when he said that this video shows us what America might really be because this video shows how the Americans were extremely cruel to another group of people.
I think that the "White Man's Image" was very informative of how, within our own past, we're also guilty of trying to perfect our country's image by eliminating any opposing cultures and lifestyles. Though we didn't go so far as to systematically mass murder the natives, the video brought to light how stripping them of their identities so they could fit a "civilized" image was also terrible.
I agree with Connie's drawing parallels to the Holocaust. Although the two events do not at all relate in magnitude, they were somewhat similar in the sense that the aggressors (white man/nazis) truly believed that they were doing good by eliminating a facet of their nation's image.
This documentary is important to the history of the U.S. because it shows the mistakes we made in terms of treatment of other races and how we handled the entire situation. We violated the rights of human beings, we treated the Native Americans like they werent humans, making them a public attraction. We can look back on this event and see what we did wrong, and apply it to events that could occur in the future. This documentary is also meant to give the Natives perspective, putting the viewer in their eyes, and showing how they felt during this time period.
I agree with Connie when she said that the white men thought that what they were doing was right. This is why is it so important that we look back on this time period and see what we did wrong so that it can be fixed in future situations.
I believe that "White Man's Image" was a interesting way to show what problems Native Americans had to go through while living in the United States. Like many of these videos we have watched, it shows how people can dehumanize others and take away their identity.
I agree with what David said because it is showing that White man try to take over control of land that belonged to others before, and that other ethnicities are not as powerful as white men.
I believe the film "White Man's Image" was educational, interesting, and upsetting. The film potrayed an era of time many people, or at least I, didn't think was relevant to discrimination, but after watching the movie it altered my views greatly. It made me realize how the native americans were treated cruely by being removed from their home, stripped of their identity, and torn away from their families. On top of all those awful actions, then the native americans were forced to assimilate to the americans way of life.
The "White Man's Image" gave a look from the Native American side to assimilation. The film showed and described how the assimilation "experiment" worked. It treated the Natives like soldiers. There was a schedule for every part of the day. For whatever reason I feel as though the film didn't do it justice though. The film did go over all the information about it that is available,but it didn't give an impression on me. The film however did make me think about the race superiority that all people seem to have. The whole reason that the assimilation "experiment" worked was because everyone believed that as whites they were superior and it was their duty to train these savages. I don't know if it is because I am white and society has made me think this way, but I think that all races think that they are superior for different reasons.
I agree with Mark on the idea that America likes to think of itself as Land of the Free, yet we forced these people to assimilate into our society. Against their will and took away their freedom by making them soldiers. It is almost like saying you are free, only if you follow these rules and our accepted by our society. Almost like a double standard.
I agree with Mark on the idea that America likes to think of itself as Land of the Free, yet we forced these people to assimilate into our society. Against their will and took away their freedom by making them soldiers. It is almost like saying you are free, only if you follow these rules and our accepted by our society. Almost like a double standard.
The "White Man's Image" shows the disturbing tactics that the whites used to try and assimilate the Native Americans. I thought it was sad that the whole time the whites were dehumanizing them, the Native Americans were so peaceful and took it the whole time. The whites were blantantly ignorant thinking that they were helping them "live a better life" and thinking they were superior to everyone. It was so wrong for the Native Americans to lose their identity
I agree with mary grace in saying that this film showed a lot of awful things but did not do it justice. There were probably much more and even worse things happening that were not documented
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