Blog #6

Ethnographic films and photography are seemingly intertwined because they served the same purpose; to try to explore/expose different cultures and the way they lived. The ethnographic films were biased since their perspective was from white filmmakers and because of this native americans were viewed as subjects. Photos were used as a form of propaganda, native americans were seen with certain costume-like attire such as feathers, costumes, buffalo hides) and the lighting was often dark and shadowy subliminally communicating a savage like identity, these photos and films were seen by people who hadn't any weren't likely to connect with native americans which created a form of prejudice against them and allowed a genocide-like interaction to be accepted. The pictures of the women were indeed pornographic, the pictures possess a strong sense of masculinity due to the pose, the dark overcast in the photos and the strong, angular poses of their bodies. These photos reinforces the idea of the native american as a savage. Native American women were often viewed as too masculine, rather than courageous and strong and that is clear in the photos, yet the exposure of their breasts seems to be a form of mockery, as if exposing them in such a manner would obliterate any sort of fear/uneasiness most europeans had with the native american women's strength.