MovieChat Forums > Little Big Man (1970) Discussion > This Film Was Once Accused of Being Anti...

This Film Was Once Accused of Being Anti-American

posted 17 years ago by gnolti
18 replies | jump to latest

The battle scenes against the Native Americans was said at the time to remind people of the Vietnam War, and the indians were made to appear as "oriential" as possible to enhance the effect.

Just as people get in a hissy fit about "Redacted" and other anti-Iraq War movies, Little Big Man was once reviled as anti-war and unpatriotic. Today it's a classic.

Kind of like Redacted for the 1960s...

I am in a blissful state, so don't bug me.

[–] 17 years ago

[deleted]

[–] pazuzu-2 17 years ago

Not to mention showing some of the canibalism some tribes engaged in

Polls... One of the Main Stream Media's Jedi Mind Tricks.

[–] mstanley-1 17 years ago

But that's not what this film was about. We had 70 years of "murdering redskins" in films (something I'm absolutely sure you find no problem with), and this was one of the first to show their side of things. Indians weren't saints, but the larger crime was against them, if you know anything about the frontier and official policy. The novel by Thomas Berger was larger in scope and more even handed, but Penn had a film and chose to concentrate on the more startling aspects of our genocide against the Indians. To deny it means denying reality.

[–] chris-3649 17 years ago

So what was Operation Phoenix? and who said 'The only good Indian is a dead Indian'? Now there's an open mind. My Lai/Black Kettle, bit of a link I'd say.

[–] 17 years ago

[deleted]

[–] AtrusDent007-2 16 years ago

I doubt you'll find many soldiers, or Vietnam vets for that matter, that sympathize with Lt. Calley.

[–] 16 years ago

[deleted]

[–] chris-3649 16 years ago

Kill 'em all.

[–] 16 years ago

[deleted]

[–] 16 years ago

[deleted]

[–] 16 years ago

[deleted]

[–] oluckymanuk 16 years ago

Look at your sig, social *beep* darwinism? You must be an emotional retard, bordering on fascist. You should be banged up in prison really. Your justifying a genocide with 'kill or be killed' without even taking into account the fact the settlers legalized expropriation of land that wasn't theirs to begin with, native Americans had no legal status etc. Thats horrific and is a text book example of racism along with nazi Germany and the slave trade.Every country has done horrific things in the past, but to deny it is not only extremely ignorant and quite delusional but also pretty damn close to a hate crime. You can still love your country and also understand that its not perfect, it was built by human beings and we're all fallible.

[–] schappe1 15 years ago

...waiting to see an old movie in which the hero talks about "murdering redskins" or "the only good Indian is a dead one" and haven't seem one. Either such sentiments are those of a lesser character, often an unsympathic one or, in rare cases, such as "The Searchers", the hero starts out bigoted but learns tolerance by the end of the film. There are many films that don't view things from a Native American point of view, as this film does and many where the Native Americans are simply viewed as a formidable military opponent but this "murdering redskins" image of Hollywood films is, at best, vastly overstated.

[–] brandtm 17 years ago

Doesn't the Battle of the Little Bighorn depict "carnage against white people"?

[–] jrireland 17 years ago

Yeah, but Redacted was panned by the vast majority of critics. It also wasn't funny or interesting in any way. Honestly, who liked Redacted?

[–] newtonhooton17 16 years ago

Well that just goes to show how far the government will go to make it so people will hate movies about the truth. They think it will ruin patriotism.

[–] skiop 15 years ago

Eh, whatever people can find to whine about, they will.

[–] oluckymanuk 15 years ago

Not really. People were killed and it ended with destroying a whole way of life on top of almost wiping out an entire race, I think that's worth talking about.