Historical Accuracy in 'Dances with Wolves' Film

The film dances with wolves starts In 1863, with First Lt.John J. Dunbar who is the main character. Throughout the film he attempts to get rid of any assumptions that the watcher may have had about the Native American Indians being a savage and brutal race. He does this by first unwinding the obscurity of these people then he carries the watcher to a point of connectedness with Indians and their way of life. We at that point go to genuine gratefulness for them as people and end up favoring them in issues of devotion. The start of the story takes place during a large battle that happened between both Union forces and Confederates. During the firefight, his leg gets injured and he was told he would have to get an amputation. Instead, he grabs a nearby horse and charges straight into battle thinking he will die. While he gets shot at a lot he never actually gets hit by the confederate front lines, allowing for union troops the chance to rally and push to the enemy line. Because of his perceived bravery, he is given an award, he also gets proper medical care for his leg allowing him to make a full recovery. Because of his heroic behavior, he is given the option to pick where he is posted. He ends up choosing the western frontier because it is was shrinking every day and he wanted to see it before it was too late. This film showed what life on the frontier was truly like.

The film “Dances With Wolves” was directed by Jim Wilson and co-directed by Kevin Costner. The main character Lieutenant John J. Dunbar was also played by Costner. The motion picture released November 9, 1990, and its way outperformed expectations. According to IMDb, Dances with Wolves was nominated for twelve Academy Awards and won seven, including Best Director (Kevin Costner), Best Writing, Screenplay by (Michael Blake), and incredibly Best Picture of the Year. Another amazing fact is Greene's nomination for Best Actor in a Supporting Role was the second time a Native North American had received the honor (1970). While most American critics liked the film, reviews from native Americans were mixed.

It was brought up by filmmaker George Bordeaux a native American himself that even though it was filled with a good view of native Americans it was directed by a white male. While this is true both Jim Wilson along with Kevin Costner did their best to show the truth about native Americans.

The movie uses emotions such as sympathy and empathy to help build a deep connection with the characters. In the first scene when Lt. Dunbar charges into battle trying to get shot Jim Wilson gave us a sense of his loneliness and desultory. Since these emotions are quite common it gives watchers an immediate connection to the character. The main acquaintance we have with genuine Indians themselves is the point we discover the Pawnee Indians examining the stupidity of white men and how they ought to be killed. This band of Indians executes Timmons, a wagon driver who takes John to his new stronghold, and subsequently, we feel that our underlying stereotypes are supported, anyway, we don't see this through the eyes of John and in this manner we are as yet vulnerable to an improvement of our assessments. It is just through John's encounters and emotions that we feel genuinely connected to what is happening in the film.

All through his experiences with the Indians, explicitly the Sioux, John starts to see that these individuals are not savages as well as they are real people that have families and companions, they work and play, they live and breath simply like every other person just in their particular social ways. We see that they are effectively terrified now and again like when Kicking Bird keeps running from the naked John who is additionally as stunned by the Indian's presence he doesn't want his steed, Sisco, to be upset. We can see through the lieutenants eyes that it is so disappointing and upsetting for him to not have the option to speak with other individuals and if revered we see how much of an issue this has most likely been for the Indians previously. We consider them to be extremely generous individuals, like when John is given a Buffalo skin from them just as their kindness in accepting his endowments. We likewise recognize how the Indians are creating characters of their own as people and not only a gathering of individuals.

The American frontier as shown in 'dances with wolves' involves the geology, history, legends, and social articulation of life in the forward rush of American development that started with English frontier settlements in the mid-seventeenth century and finished with the confirmation of the final western regions as states in 1959. This period of gigantic movement and settlement was specially empowered by President Thomas Jefferson following the Louisiana Purchase, offering to ascend to the expansionist way of thinking known as 'manifest destiny'. This massive cultural movement developed the United States into the country that we all know today. While the frontier was a great triumph of the American people it wasn't all good. The Indian wars according to official United States documents have been reported at more than 40 in number. These bloody battles have cost the lives of around 19,000 white men, ladies and kids, incorporating those murdered in individual battles, and the lives of around 30,000 Indians. The real number of slaughtered and injured Indians is thought to be particularly higher than the given government number. Some sources say that this could be as much as 50% more deaths than the 30,000 according to a government report (1889).

By using the sources provided on Wikipedia I was able to find really good information about the expansion into the frontier and interaction with native Americans. Because a lot of these documents are directly from the 1800’s it allows me to trust that they have not been changed through time. By using both the textbook and other primary sources, it has given me a good idea of the events. I believe that a very helpful source would be a journal from solder or native American from this period. Like how Lt.Dunbar kept his journal. There are lots of government documents available but not a ton of accessible journals. This would let me get the perspective of an actual person living in this time that I could use to compare against what is portrayed in dances with wolves.

Dances with Wolves was nothing like the old John Wayne movies like Stagecoach and Fort Apache how they portrayed the Native Americans as careless savages. In this motion picture, their life was portrayed thoughtfully and precisely. Indeed, even to the degree of the Lakota (Sioux) communicating in their very own language, captions giving us the interpretation underneath. At the point when John Dunbar experiences American soldiers in the wake of living among the Indians, he sees them as ghastly, savages contrasted with his embraced companions. This was one motivation behind why it was effective, in light of the fact that I, similar to the numerous other people who overwhelmed to see it, we're happy to see the Native Americans depicted as individuals. In spite of the fact that the film is seen through the eyes of John Dunbar, his previously established inclinations are regularly tested and the Sioux or Lakota appeared as humans. It is their humankind and culture which radiate through. The content, course, and acting accomplish this amazingly. For the period, this film stands out as trying to show the truth.

By and large Dances with Wolves stands the trial of time, it is a romanticized and nostalgic legendary depiction. The story is told essentially in stages, regularly told through Dunbar recording his encounters and emotions in his diary. The force of the dramatization is helped by a delicate bit of funniness which regularly shows connections and real capacities are all-inclusive, regardless of what class or culture one is from. The music in the film is a background which elevates the feelings. My creative mind had been well and genuinely hijacked for three hours and my feelings had been extended and fixed and extended once more. It was two or three days until I understood what they'd had me accept: that two white individuals from the time had been absorbed into local American life so well that they were to proceed with an actual existence in the regular wild. This film did an incredible job of transporting the viewer into this time.

Works Cited

1. Dances with Wolves. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099348/?ref_=ttpl_pl_tt.
2. Dances with Wolves. (2019, October 21). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dances_with_Wolves#Cast.
3. Report on Indians taxed and Indians not taxed in the United States (except Alaska). (1889, April 20). Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books?id=KWkUAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA637#v=onepage&q&f=false.