This Blog is a resource tool for the students taking the "FACING HISTORY AND OURSELVES" elective at Westborough High School, Westborough, Massachusetts.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
"White Man's Image" - Period 1
Today you watched the film, In the White Man's Image. Post your thoughts about the film and make sure to comment on at least one other student's post.
19 comments:
Anonymous
said...
I thought today’s movie was very interesting, for me I thought the most interesting was how once the Indians looks changed people acted different towards them. I think it shows that image means so much now-a-days and back many years ago. I thought it was also interesting how Pratt wanted the best for the certain Indians even though that’s not what his job/task was supposed to be.
In the film we watched today, I found it really interesting how the Native American's followed the white men and did what they said. I didn't think what the white men did to the Native American's was right. The white men told the parents that they were going to help them adapt and learn the speaking language. Instead, they gave them different clothes, and cut off their hair, which was a big deal.
What I found to be quite astounding in this film was how that one guy wanted to civilize the Indians to help them. While he was completely changing their identities, in his mind he was doing them a favor. I believe his intentions were good, but he overlooked a very important and necessary attribute to living, the ability to choose. The Indians had no choice. They were forced to become civilized, which is why changing them is morally wrong.
Mary Kate, I also find it interesting that the Native Americans follower everything the white men said. It was as if the Indians thought the white men were gods, like when they made it seem like they could bring them back to life. The Indians were feared into obey this order that they thought was very powerful and futile to go against.
The film that was showed today was somewhat scary to see in that the white man had so much influence over others. The superiority of the white man and the minority of the Indians just was something that was acceptable back then and for some is still today. It was just sad to see the customs, the way of dress, and culture be so easily forgotten for some experiment. The identities of these men and woman were lost and humiliated. The cutting off of the hair was significant to death and I highly doubt that anyone ever took their beliefs into account. I don't feel that in no way it was to better the lives of the Native Americans because most of them just ended back at the reservation. It was funny to see how the white man was teaching the Indians all of this civilized information but they did not want anything taught in return. I think it was really just a give and take relationship. They were used to prove a point and were given information that ended up being useless. I completely agree with Jared.
In the story of Samson, his hair is where his strength comes from. In many cultures, hair is symbolic of ones strength and maturity. For the white man to cut off the Native American's raped them of their identity, and strength. Another thing I found disturbing was how they were forced to wear a soldier's uniform. This disturbs me because it is someone in this same uniform that took many of their peoples' lives, and forced them to fight in the first place. It would be similar to forcing a Jew to wear a swastika on their sleeve.
Jared, I agree with you very much about the man's intentions. Yes they were good in wanting to help the natives mesh into a rapidly modernizing and industrializing society, but in this they took away what really makes a man human. This is the ability to choose, as you stated. What separates up from our ape cousins besides amounts of hair (for some of us), is that we have the ability to process a situation and act rationally with thought. By taking choice away from the Natives, the white man essentially degraded them to animals.
I thought today's movie was very interesting. I thought that it helped us see that the white man's view although it was meant to be for the better good, was actually causing pain to the Native Americans. In the movie we got to observe how it affect society and the native Americans as they journeyed through there life changes. I also agree with Lyndsey that I was also taken by surprise when I realized Pratt actually sympathized and cared for the Native Americans. Even though it was not part of his task. It helped me realize that we as a society have come a long way from that time and we are now more adaptable to other cultures and opened to other people view in today's modern day.
It was a great film. I cant understand how people can be filled with hate towards other people. It just sickens me. What happened to the Native Americans is similar to what happened to the Jews.The Americans wanted to change the Native American culture in a way the Americans really wanted to see them as. The Americans had a lot more power over the Natives which eventually destroyed the culture for them.
I agree with Lyndsay Handell. Prat thought he was doing them a favor, but really he wasn't. He was just making them feel uncomfortable to society and making them feel out of place.
I found this movie to be a good example of how the world (U.S.) works. The Native Americans had to change their ways and follow the white men in order to live a "civilized life." Today everyone has a certain way they have to act, speak, and present themselves so they could be considered a civilized individual. The problem is no one is willing to learn from each other and accept each other for who they are. I know the white men were trying to help the Indians but never once did they stop and learn something from the Natives. I think it's unfair. You can't ask someone to completely change who they are without willing to understand what makes them who they are.
Cindy- You bring out a good point. Pratt did have sympathy in the film which shows how one person can make a difference.
In the film we watched today, I thought the level of ignorance in the people at the time was astonishing. They honestly believed that they could change a person by literally imprisoning them and forcing them to change their lifestyles. You can't force people to change their lifestyles, give up freedom, and accept a place in a new society in which they are servants. The white people thought they were doing the right thing, but only because of their ignorance.
Mary Kate, I too find it strange that the Native American parents simply accepted this without much skepticism. But as we see in history, Native American - White relations tend to be based around trickery and/or massacre. I feel as if the Native Americans really had no choice but to give their children. Their chief might have realized that the tribe could have been massacred had they not cooperated. It was a military officer they were working with, after all.
I thought this movie was interesting because it showed the way the "white men" rip apart a culture. Acting like they know what is best for everyone, they strip people of their identities and teach them "what is right". This of course, does not apply to every white man, but to a majority at this time. It saddens me to watch the Native Americans put into an environment in which most of them are not comfortable in. Lyndsay, I completely agree with the fact that Pratts intentions and actions might not be his responsibilities.
One thing that I think about the movie which bothered me a little bit was that it didn't show the white man's side. I think that in order to completely understand our history and where we went wrong, we need to know not only how the Indians felt about their assimilation but also why the white men thought it was okay. Only by examining the past can we hope to make a brighter future.
I also agree with Lyndsay that Pratt's intentions and his responsibilities aren't the same thing.
i think prat thought he was doing the indians a favor by trying to make them civilized but he really wasntvbecause even though after he civilized them, they were still outcasts.
This movie was very interesting to say the least. It featured stories from the Indians' point of view. The actions of the white men were unjust and unfair, and this also gets to focus on the idea of "fitting into society." The Native Americans were forced to believe that the white man's ways were correct, and that their way was too "wild" for the modern world. Through power, the white society destroyed a culture. It is always good to look at things such as this, so we don't always have biased opinions of ourselves.
Salik-While I do agree with you on most parts, I don't think astonishing is the best fit word for the situation. The white men showed tremendous ignorance through our eyes, but if we do think outside the box, it was probably the normal thing to do for them at the time. I do like the fact that you mentioned that they were dealing with a military officer after all.
Jared, I also thought it was interesting that Pratt was doing what he thought was good and helping the Indians, but in reality he was saving their lives at the cost of their culture and everything they believed in. It is a sad statement about the tolerance our society had when the most progressive plan called for the destruction of an entire way of life. Katie, you have a good point though. The film does not show much of the other side of the story. At the very least, the captured Native American warriors weren't killed and were eventually given their freedom.
Today you watched the film, In the White Man's Image. Post your thoughts about the film and make sure to comment on at least one other student's post.
19 comments:
I thought today’s movie was very interesting, for me I thought the most interesting was how once the Indians looks changed people acted different towards them. I think it shows that image means so much now-a-days and back many years ago. I thought it was also interesting how Pratt wanted the best for the certain Indians even though that’s not what his job/task was supposed to be.
In the film we watched today, I found it really interesting how the Native American's followed the white men and did what they said. I didn't think what the white men did to the Native American's was right. The white men told the parents that they were going to help them adapt and learn the speaking language. Instead, they gave them different clothes, and cut off their hair, which was a big deal.
Lyndsay, I agree with you. I think that image was very important to them and it shows how image is important now a days.
Well Mary Kate, well said... i agree especially with how they cut their hair and how it was such a big deal.
What I found to be quite astounding in this film was how that one guy wanted to civilize the Indians to help them. While he was completely changing their identities, in his mind he was doing them a favor. I believe his intentions were good, but he overlooked a very important and necessary attribute to living, the ability to choose. The Indians had no choice. They were forced to become civilized, which is why changing them is morally wrong.
Mary Kate, I also find it interesting that the Native Americans follower everything the white men said. It was as if the Indians thought the white men were gods, like when they made it seem like they could bring them back to life. The Indians were feared into obey this order that they thought was very powerful and futile to go against.
The film that was showed today was somewhat scary to see in that the white man had so much influence over others. The superiority of the white man and the minority of the Indians just was something that was acceptable back then and for some is still today. It was just sad to see the customs, the way of dress, and culture be so easily forgotten for some experiment. The identities of these men and woman were lost and humiliated. The cutting off of the hair was significant to death and I highly doubt that anyone ever took their beliefs into account. I don't feel that in no way it was to better the lives of the Native Americans because most of them just ended back at the reservation. It was funny to see how the white man was teaching the Indians all of this civilized information but they did not want anything taught in return. I think it was really just a give and take relationship. They were used to prove a point and were given information that ended up being useless. I completely agree with Jared.
In the story of Samson, his hair is where his strength comes from. In many cultures, hair is symbolic of ones strength and maturity. For the white man to cut off the Native American's raped them of their identity, and strength. Another thing I found disturbing was how they were forced to wear a soldier's uniform. This disturbs me because it is someone in this same uniform that took many of their peoples' lives, and forced them to fight in the first place. It would be similar to forcing a Jew to wear a swastika on their sleeve.
Jared, I agree with you very much about the man's intentions. Yes they were good in wanting to help the natives mesh into a rapidly modernizing and industrializing society, but in this they took away what really makes a man human. This is the ability to choose, as you stated. What separates up from our ape cousins besides amounts of hair (for some of us), is that we have the ability to process a situation and act rationally with thought. By taking choice away from the Natives, the white man essentially degraded them to animals.
I thought today's movie was very interesting. I thought that it helped us see that the white man's view although it was meant to be for the better good, was actually causing pain to the Native Americans. In the movie we got to observe how it affect society and the native Americans as they journeyed through there life changes. I also agree with Lyndsey that I was also taken by surprise when I realized Pratt actually sympathized and cared for the Native Americans. Even though it was not part of his task. It helped me realize that we as a society have come a long way from that time and we are now more adaptable to other cultures and opened to other people view in today's modern day.
It was a great film. I cant understand how people can be filled with hate towards other people. It just sickens me. What happened to the Native Americans is similar to what happened to the Jews.The Americans wanted to change the Native American culture in a way the Americans really wanted to see them as. The Americans had a lot more power over the Natives which eventually destroyed the culture for them.
I agree with Lyndsay Handell. Prat thought he was doing them a favor, but really he wasn't. He was just making them feel uncomfortable to society and making them feel out of place.
I found this movie to be a good example of how the world (U.S.) works. The Native Americans had to change their ways and follow the white men in order to live a "civilized life." Today everyone has a certain way they have to act, speak, and present themselves so they could be considered a civilized individual. The problem is no one is willing to learn from each other and accept each other for who they are. I know the white men were trying to help the Indians but never once did they stop and learn something from the Natives. I think it's unfair. You can't ask someone to completely change who they are without willing to understand what makes them who they are.
Cindy-
You bring out a good point. Pratt did have sympathy in the film which shows how one person can make a difference.
In the film we watched today, I thought the level of ignorance in the people at the time was astonishing. They honestly believed that they could change a person by literally imprisoning them and forcing them to change their lifestyles. You can't force people to change their lifestyles, give up freedom, and accept a place in a new society in which they are servants. The white people thought they were doing the right thing, but only because of their ignorance.
Mary Kate, I too find it strange that the Native American parents simply accepted this without much skepticism. But as we see in history, Native American - White relations tend to be based around trickery and/or massacre. I feel as if the Native Americans really had no choice but to give their children. Their chief might have realized that the tribe could have been massacred had they not cooperated. It was a military officer they were working with, after all.
Justin, I liked your comments about apes.
I thought this movie was interesting because it showed the way the "white men" rip apart a culture. Acting like they know what is best for everyone, they strip people of their identities and teach them "what is right". This of course, does not apply to every white man, but to a majority at this time.
It saddens me to watch the Native Americans put into an environment in which most of them are not comfortable in.
Lyndsay, I completely agree with the fact that Pratts intentions and actions might not be his responsibilities.
One thing that I think about the movie which bothered me a little bit was that it didn't show the white man's side. I think that in order to completely understand our history and where we went wrong, we need to know not only how the Indians felt about their assimilation but also why the white men thought it was okay. Only by examining the past can we hope to make a brighter future.
I also agree with Lyndsay that Pratt's intentions and his responsibilities aren't the same thing.
i think prat thought he was doing the indians a favor by trying to make them civilized but he really wasntvbecause even though after he civilized them, they were still outcasts.
This movie was very interesting to say the least. It featured stories from the Indians' point of view. The actions of the white men were unjust and unfair, and this also gets to focus on the idea of "fitting into society." The Native Americans were forced to believe that the white man's ways were correct, and that their way was too "wild" for the modern world. Through power, the white society destroyed a culture. It is always good to look at things such as this, so we don't always have biased opinions of ourselves.
Salik-While I do agree with you on most parts, I don't think astonishing is the best fit word for the situation. The white men showed tremendous ignorance through our eyes, but if we do think outside the box, it was probably the normal thing to do for them at the time. I do like the fact that you mentioned that they were dealing with a military officer after all.
Jared, I also thought it was interesting that Pratt was doing what he thought was good and helping the Indians, but in reality he was saving their lives at the cost of their culture and everything they believed in. It is a sad statement about the tolerance our society had when the most progressive plan called for the destruction of an entire way of life.
Katie, you have a good point though. The film does not show much of the other side of the story. At the very least, the captured Native American warriors weren't killed and were eventually given their freedom.
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