I found a number of similarities while comparing the content of The Vanishing American to The Battle at Elderbush Gulch. Despite the fact that the story lines have two very different agendas, The Vanishing American focuses on the government's maltreatment of Native Americans while The Battle of Elderbush Gulch focuses on the defeated and over exaggerated noble savage, both movies help perpetuate (not always by author's choice) the melodramatic, either good or bad Indian stereotype.
If film, as Louis Reeves Harrison suggested really had the power to provoke social change, how do you think The Vanishing American (1925), if it had been acted out as it was originally planned, would have been received? Do you think the film would have had a positive impact with the potential to change the direction of thought towards the American Indian or do you think it still would have been too early for the Euro-American audience to digest the progressive message in Grey's "outspoken" film?
In the first few pages of Celluloid Indian Kilpatrick suggests that America's myth in centered on the idea of, "How the West Was Won." With this in mind, turn to page five and read the quote by film critic Peter Wollen then give three detailed examples from The Battle of Elderbush Gulch that coincide with this description of nationalist discourse. In what do you think the movie exaggerated the Native American image most?
Nikki Morris
Patti Sloan response to the last question of Nikki Morris:
In the Celluloid Indian, Kilpatrick discusses the development of a "national mythology of historical origin" as necessary to the production and continuation of a nationalist discourse (5). Greek mythology is a structured system, which inevitably reflects society. Even among the gods, there are many status levels and conflicts. The great myth of how the west was won must have its own structure and hierarchy, as well. The quote by Peter Wollen outlines elements that are necessary for the "creation of an invented national history." Wollen outlines some of the criteria necessary for this story of nationalism to become embedded in the national psyche. One of the examples in the film, The Battle of Elderbush Gulch, that reflects the monumental heroes Wollen discusses is the family structure. In order to have a hero, there must be someone to save. In order to have someone to save, there must be a brute. The monumental hero is the white uncle who takes in the orphans. It goes down the chain from there: next comes the other white men in town, then the couple with the baby, then the orphans, then the dogs who are stolen, then the Mexican who saves the day, and finally, the Indians are at the opposite end of the spectrum. The myth of the westward dynamic involves an elaborate hierarchy to build heroes. When the Indians are dancing for their dog feast, this establishes them as the lowest on the civilization ladder. Having dogs as pets, not food, establishes the white family as "taming the wilderness." The dance of the Indians is seemingly chaotic and a decent period of the film is devoted to the Indians on their turf, where there is no hint of the "civilizing mission of the settlers." Their violence by far was the most exaggerated characteristic of the Indian in the film. They are portrayed as though they are completely insane.
The second example in the film is the scene where the Indians are crawling on their bellies. They are portrayed like snakes, in their sneaking and creeping. They are not riding horses like the whites, or even the Mexican. They are creeping to the house to kill the baby, orphans and puppies. This image was very disturbing, and once again, I was surprised the amount of time it was given in the film. It highlighted the need for the land to be cultivated by the white settlers. All these Indians seem to do with the land is crawl around in the dirt, waiting to kill people. Why not take it from them and civilize it? This scene gives good reason for the appropriation of the land.
A third example is the scene where the mother of the baby is frantically praying to god to save her child. She prays to a god that will save her baby from the Indians. This has the inevitable conclusion, that when she gets her baby back, it has been delivered by a god that is there to help white people. The scene is held a few seconds longer than the other scenes in the crazed montage. This influence of religion, although not directly quoted by Wollen, ties in with his ideas of a "narrative goal." This goal of religious domination and suppression of the Indians is a force in this film. A single scene of a white woman praying for her baby to be safe from the violent Indian men betrays this motive effectively.
Patti Sloan