After watching the film Medicine River, it became clear to me that the movie was mostly focused on being for the Native American audience. However, I do think that it could have also been for the general audience. In the beginning of the movie it starts out in the city, which draws in the audience, with Will and his female coworker which makes you think that it is going to be based in the city with Will being the only Native American character. As the film goes on we find out that the entire movie is based on Native American land.
Throughout the film, Will begins to take back a huge role in his old life in Medicine River. He is asked to play basketball for the local tribe team and to take pictures for a local calendar to raise money for the town. The general audience is seeing this as a normal city guy helping out the town that he came from. The audience is forced to learn about the Native American background and its values and traditions. By having Will do all of these things, it helps us to better understand them because he is originally from there but has since long forgotten his family traditions that he grew up with.
I agree with you in many points you wrote about. Although a lot of the movie was through the lens of Native American culture and traditions, it still inhibited scenes were non-Natives could connect with. I believe if the white female coworker wasnt a semi-main character, it would have been more targeted for Native American audience.
ReplyDeleteI really like how you brought up the fact that Will is always drawn back to his old traditions. Even though he has immersed himself in society outside of the reservation, his faith always remains with his Indian values and traditions.
I like that you pointed out that in the beginning of the movie it shows the big city scenes. I also like that you brought the point up about Wills co-worker, a white female, and how it made the audience think that the movie is going to be about those two, and a Native American in the city. Along with those points, I liked how you pointed out how the audience has to learn about the native land that Will came from. If the audience was made up of mostly whites, it may be able to give them a better understanding of what the Indian Reservations may be like in a more present day setting. It helped the understanding with the learning of the reservation because Will moved away from it a long time ago, and he is like the audience in a way by having to learn things he is unaware of.
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