by Dr. John Ruhland

#16

Race and the Tarzan Genre

The movies on this list are well suited to watching as a group to stimulate political discussions. All can be found on DVD through independent video stores. In Seattle, try Scarecrow Video. A few are also available at Seattle Public Library.

*highly recommended    ** must see

The following films are a wide ideological mix. Although recommended and good for generating discussions, most are condescending or paternalistic to varying degrees towards people of color. Typically in the Tarzan genre, a white man comes to the rescue to �save� people of color, sometimes from themselves. People of color are sometimes even portrayed allegorically as non-human or alien species. In some such movies, the hero makes a profound transition: instead of �saving the natives�, he or she is saved by another culture.

The movies on this list may be found through independent video stores. In Seattle, try Scarecrow Video. Many are also available through public libraries.

A DRY WHITE SEASON. 1989. An Afrikaaner finds his humanity under an unhuman regime. Marlon Brando is a lawyer.

A MAN CALLED HORSE. Elliot Silverstein.

BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK. 1954. Western suspense. Spencer Tracy.

BLACK LIKE ME. Carl Lerner, 1964. White writer disguises himself as black man in order to try to understand life for blacks in America.

**BULWORTH. Warren Beatty, 1998. Examines America from a non-standard perspective.

CABEZA DE VACA. Nicolas Echevarria, 1993. Conquistador is accepted into native culture as a healer.

CHOCOLAT. Claire Denis 1989 A view of colonial Africa as seen by a child of a European official in a small town in Cameroon.

CRY FREEDOM. 1987 Native South Africans� struggle for justice. Highlights include quotes by Steve Biko.

DANCES WITH WOLVES. (1990) Lt. John Dunbar is dubbed a hero after he accidentally leads Union troops to a victory during the Civil War. He requests a position on the western frontier, but finds it deserted. He soon finds out he is not alone, but meets a wolf he dubs �Two-socks� and a curious Indian tribe. Dunbar quickly makes friends with the tribe, and discovers a white woman who was raised by the Indians. He gradually earns the respect these native people, and sheds his white-man�s ways.

THE EDUCATION OF LITTLE TREE. Relatives of Native American child boy try to raise him according to Native traditions.

EMERALD FOREST. John Boorman, 1985. Rainforest �developer� searches for his son, who disappeared into the Amazon rainforest and was adopted by a tribe.

Liberal white perspective, with an interesting albeit predictable ending.

GREY OWL. Richard Attenborough, 1999. Does not adequately touch on the life of Native Americans, rather focuses on living in harmony with the environment.

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

LAWRENCE OF ARABIA. 1962. Blacklisted writer wrote this moving film.

LITTLE BIG MAN 1970. Caucasian boy is kidnapped and raised by Indians, returns to �civilization, then becomes an Indian scout for General Custer.

Dustin Hoffman.

*THE MISSION. Roland Joffe, 1986. A mercenary turned priest dedicates his life to the Native South Americans he had previously kidnapped for slaves.

THE PATRIOT (Brazilian) 1998. An honest (!) politician working for the people.

THE POWER OF ONE. John G. Avildsen. Young white boy learns to stand up for oppressed black Africans.

QUIGLEY DOWN UNDER. Simon Wincer, 1990. American takes a job in Australia, unaware that he is being hired to kill off Aborigines from a wealthy cattle baron�s land.

RAGTIME. Milos Forman 1981. A view of various aspects of classism and racism in the US in the early 1900�s.

*ROSEWOOD. John Singleton, 1997. Based on a true story of a town owned by African Americans which is razed by ignorant whites in 1923 Florida.

*SIRENS. White American woman takes on the Cleveland Police who killed her ex-husband, a Black American man, in cold blood in front of her.

*TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD. Small town racism.

TONGTANA. 1990 Story of a young Swiss Man who joins the Penan Indians in Borneo to confront logging companies.

Conservative or reactionary films of the Tarzan genre are more typical of Hollywood. Here are some obvious examples:

BOWFINGER.

COLORS. Cops vs. gangs.

GREEN DRAGON. Marine �rescues� Vietnamese refugees.

KING OF NEW YORK.

MEDICINE MAN.

OMEGA MAN.

OUTBREAK.

OUT OF AFRICA.

PLANET OF THE APES. Series of five movies. (There is a revolt in the final BATTLE FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES).

SERPENT AND THE RAINBOW.

STARGATE.

STAR TREK.

and of course TARZAN.