North American Indigenous Cinema and Its Audiences
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
_________________________________________________________________________Swansea University E-Theses North American indigenous cinema and its audiences. De Ruiter, Brian How to cite: _________________________________________________________________________ De Ruiter, Brian (2013) North American indigenous cinema and its audiences.. thesis, Swansea University. http://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa42866 Use policy: _________________________________________________________________________ This item is brought to you by Swansea University. Any person downloading material is agreeing to abide by the terms of the repository licence: copies of full text items may be used or reproduced in any format or medium, without prior permission for personal research or study, educational or non-commercial purposes only. The copyright for any work remains with the original author unless otherwise specified. The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holder. Permission for multiple reproductions should be obtained from the original author. Authors are personally responsible for adhering to copyright and publisher restrictions when uploading content to the repository. Please link to the metadata record in the Swansea University repository, Cronfa (link given in the citation reference above.) http://www.swansea.ac.uk/library/researchsupport/ris-support/ North American Indigenous Cinema and its Audiences Brian de Ruiter Submitted to Swansea University in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Swansea University 2013 ProQuest Number: 10821256 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 10821256 Published by ProQuest LLC(2018). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 LIBRARY This dissertation examines the fictional and non-fictional films of Sherman Alexie, Chris Eyre and Zacharias Kunuk in the larger context of the development of North American indigenous cinema and its audiences. It examines the relation of the films to mainstream cinema and representations of North American indigenous populations by drawing on a wide range of critical responses. After the introduction, which surveys the literature in the field and demonstrates the need for the present study, Chapter One will discuss the persistence of stereotypical representations of Native Americans in cinematic texts and the manner in which they continue to influence people’s perceptions of Native Americans. Chapter Two focuses on Sherman Alexie’s Smoke Signals and The Business of Fancydancing as conscious and sophisticated responses to these stereotypes which offer a new sort of dialogue regarding Coeur d’Alene and Spokane identity. This chapter also looks at the relation of the films to the texts from which they originated. Chapter Three looks at the wide range of filmic texts directed by Chris Eyre, and his exploration of contemporary Sioux and Navajo identity, particularly the complex problems of representing • spirituality, while Chapter Four focuses on shamanism as represented in the fictional filmic texts of Zacharias Kunuk. Chapter Five provides an account of the funding of indigenous cinema, and the problems that can potentially arise in production and distribution if not connected to government sources of funding. Chapter Six examines how A Thousand Roads and Inuit Knowledge and Climate Change utilises images connected to indigenous identity for their own political purposes. The conclusion of this dissertation will provide a brief assessment of the current state of North American indigenous cinema. DECLARATION This work has not previously been accepted In substance for any degree and is not being concurrently submitted in candidature for any degree. S igned __________________________________________________________________ Date CLc, ( 2 Q \~ ^ ______________________________________ STATEMENT 1 This thesis is the result of my own investigations, except where otherwise stated. Where corrections services have been used, the extent and nature of the correction is clearly marked in a footnote(s). Other sources are acknowledged by footnotes giving explicit references. A bibliography is appended. Signed J ___________________________ Date , 2c\-^ ______________________________________ Statement 2 I hereby give consent for my thesis, if accepted, to be available for photocopying and for inter-library loan, and for the title and summary to be made available to outside organisations. Signed. ^ ___________________________ Date . Z o Table of Contents North American Indigenous Cinema and its Audiences - Volume 1 Acknowledgements j Introduction - Setting the Stage for North American Indigenous Cinema 1-20 | Chapter 1- Establishing the Context of North American Indigenous Cinema 21-39 I | Chapter 2- The Many Faces of Sherman Alexie: Exploring Identity and Relations 40-77 in Smoke Signals and The Business o f Fancy dancing Chapter 3- Constructing Community and Spirituality: The cinematic works 78-121 of Chris Eyre Chapter 4- The Films of Zacharias Kunuk: Negotiating Inuit Identity and 122-156 I Spirituality for Inuit and Qallunaat Audiences Chapter 5- “I Scratch Your Back, You Scratch Mine”: North American Indigenous 157-182 Cinema and Funding I | j I Chapter 6 — Promoting Identity and Politics inA Thousand Roads and Inuit 183-207 | Knowledge and Climate Change ! i I Conclusion - Looking into the Future of North American Indigenous Cinema 208-217 Bibliography 218-243 This dissertation could not have been completed without the support and feedback of several individuals who influenced my life over the last four years. There are far too many individuals to name in such a short dedication piece, but I would like to acknowledge the people who were most influential in supporting this dissertation. I would also like to thank my future wife Aleth Rapsing, for putting up with me during the many late nights to ensure this dissertation was completed in a timely manner. This dissertation would not have been completed without the support, both emotionally and financially, of my parents, to whom I am indebted to. Introduction - Setting the Stage for North American Indigenous Cinema This introduction has multiple purposes. Firstly, it will provide an analysis o f the existing literature on North American indigenous cinema to demonstrate how this dissertation contributes to the field. Secondly, it will establish the parameters for this dissertation. Although the dissertation will rely on film reviews to ascertain audience reception to North American indigenous cinema, it is important to recognize the strengths and limitations inherent in the manner in which film critics have decoded the images projected in the films examined here. Following this discussion on media studies, the introduction will provide a brief biography of the three directors featured in the dissertation. An examination into the background o f Sherman Alexie, Chris Eyre and Zacharias Kunuk will explore their primary objectives when engaging in cinematic dialogues with indigenous populations and the dominant society. Finally there will be a summary o f the six chapters that comprise this dissertation. Scholarly Assessments of North American Indigenous Cinema The release of Smoke Signals in 1998 was met with academic and critical acclaim, and has been followed by feature films directed by other Native and Inuit directors eager to project self-representative images o f their respective race. Yet, despite this upsurge in North American indigenous feature films, there has been limited coverage of North American indigenous cinema from an academic perspective. Randolph Lewis acknowledged this absence of literature on Native American directors when researching for his text on the career of the Abenaki director Alanis Obomsawin.1 Within the last four years, there has been an increase in literature that examines North American indigenous film within a broader context o f global indigenous film and, more specifically, literature focusing on Zacharias Kunuk and Isuma. Prior to this increase in literature examining North American indigenous cinema, works by Jacquelyn Kilpatrick, Ward Churchill, Beverly Singer, Randolph Lewis and, to a lesser extent, Edward Buscombe were the key sources to explore this topic. Despite the fact that the bulk of Jacquelyn Kilpatrick’s text,Celluloid Indians: Native Americans and Films focused on Euro-American depictions o f Native Americans, Kilpatrick devoted the last chapter o f her book to examining Native directed documentaries and Native written screenplays for feature films. In this section, Kilpatrick focused on Native writers N. Scott Momaday (Kiowa), Gerald Vizenor (Chippewa) and Thomas King (Cherokee/Greek) and how their literary accomplishments led to films that were not widely distributed. Kilpatrick focused on directors Victor Masayesva, Jr. (Hopi), A.A. Carr (Navajo/Laguna Pueblo) and George Burdeau (Blackfeet) 1 Randolph Lewis, Alanis Obomsawin: The Vision o f a Native American Filmmaker (Lincoln