W&M ScholarWorks Articles 11-2014 The burden of historical representation: The case of/for Indigenous film Jeremy Stoddard College of William & Mary,
[email protected] Alan Marcus University of Connecticut David Hicks Virginia Tech Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/articles Part of the Education Commons Recommended Citation Stoddard, Jeremy; Marcus, Alan; and Hicks, David, "The burden of historical representation: The case of/ for Indigenous film" (2014). Articles. 9. https://scholarworks.wm.edu/articles/9 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by W&M ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Articles by an authorized administrator of W&M ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. The Burden of Historical Representation: The Case of/for Indigenous Film Jeremy Stoddard, Alan Marcus, and David Hicks The College of William and Mary, University of Connecticut, and Virginia Tech THE CLICHÉD and often-repeated claim that “history is written by the victors” is as true for history films as it is for the historical record. More accurately, the historical film is created (written, produced, directed, and funded) by—and for—the victors who represent the interests of the dominant culture. This is particularly true for blockbuster Hollywood films about indigenous peoples that are widely distributed throughout U.S. and world movie houses. From American Westerns to colonial and even post- colonial films set in Africa, Australia, or Asia, indigenous peoples appear on screen, but are rarely given voice or provided the opportunity to share their perspective or have their history represented.