Categories
Module 2

Yolngu Boy

The film is reminiscent of Nanook in that it presents a similar but very current image of the collision of ancient indigenous, and modern westernized cultures. In this film the impact is felt by three Australian Aboriginal teens.  The boys are caught between their ancient culture and traditions, and the imposed cultural realities of their modern day-to-day lives. The boys search for their identities through the commodified world of peer pressure, football, and rap music.  And, through the Australian outback where they need to rely on their traditional knowledge of the bush.

The film website includes links to:

  • a film trailer
  • a synopsis of the story
  • a history of the Yolngu peoples
  • educational resources and a study guide

It is a striking reminder that things may not have changed much since the time of Nanook of the North. From the trailers one wonders if the movie reflects somewhat of a modernized version of the “Noble Savage”.  For those analytic research is in this area, finding a copy of this film could provide a modern perspective as counterpoint to the Nanook clip.

Categories
Module 2

Line in the Sand

This site was started by a group of natives who were concerned about misrepresentation of natives by non-natives.  It has evolved to become a place to debate over where to draw the “Line in the Sand” on the issues of Native American cultural property, sovereignty, identity, ethnic stereotypes, the commodification of Native American culture.

Line in the Sand provides first-hand insights into issues discussed in some of course readings for this module, including Chapter 4 in Indigenous Cultures – Cyberspace Smoke Signals (Zimmerman, Zimmerman & Bruguier, 2000).

The site includes discussion pages on stereotypes.  This area of the site includes discussion of stereotypes in sports team mascots, products, and the notion of looking “Indian enough” for Hollywood.  There is also a link for teachers which reviews what the site suggests as books to avoid (such as “Indian in the Cupboard”), as well as papers and discussion about the persistence and effects of damaging stereotypes.

Cultural property is approached from a number of perspectives including:

The site also includes a page linking to responses from Native Peoples in the form of papers, speeches, essays, books, poetry, and awards.

The site may provide interesting insights from a range of sources for analytic papers in any of these areas.

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