Dances With Wolves
It's easy to throw stones at this Kevin Costner western as "not perfect" - but to be honest, he did really try his very best to get it right. In its favor, the movie earned a top-100 rating from the American Film Institute of movies of all time, and it had an enormous viewing audience. This movie is one seen by millions of people, and it's at least attempting to present a reasonable view of Native Americans. That to me is a fairly significant milestone in the progression of cinema.Set in South Dakota, this was filmed on Lakota native soil and had the help of a nearby reservation with tens of thousands of Lakotas. Much of the film is spoken in native Lakota. The buffalo herd they used is the largest in the world. With all of the help and influence by the Lakotas, they at least had a great opportunity to showcase their culture, language, clothing, and way of life.
Yes, you have the "Good Lakota" and the "Bad Pawnee", and certainly there are stereotypes. However, again, compared with most cowboy-and-Indian films up until now, the movie does attempt to appreciate the culture of the Native Americans and to present their way of life as a healthy one.
In terms of the action scenes, I accept that you do have to draw in the average viewer to watch a movie before you can begin to help educate them.
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