How does the film challenge European stereotypes about monolithic or “savage” Indians?
Please note that for Film Paper #1 analysis you need to have read Watson, chapters 3, 4, and 5. See especially Watson’s sections on Indian warfare, the Middle Ground, the French and the Indians, and the Seven Years’ War. The best papers will cite Watson (for sure) and Zinn (if appropriate).
Furthermore, please note that I don’t want papers that contain ONLY summary. However, every paper is bound to contain SOME summary. I simply want more analysis than retelling of the film.
Just to clarify, each film paper assignment is over one film. The first is The Last of the Mohicans (1992), which is due on Monday, February 8. The papers should answer/address the prompts (questions) posted here. The strongest papers will use the course textbooks to support their arguments.
In other words, watch the film and write a critical review by addressing some or all of the themes and questions I have posed.
Here are some basic questions and themes you could address in your papers. Remember that you must also connect the film to the course readings.
The Last of the Mohicans (1992):
Imperial Rivalry: How does the film capture the continental and even global scale of the Anglo-French rivalry that spurred the Sevens Years War (known in the Americas as the French and Indian War)?
Backcountry: What was the Backcountry and how does the film depict upstate New York as a middle ground that was dominated by neither white nor Indian, neither British nor French?
Indigenous diversity: Explain the diversity of Native peoples depicted in the film (tribal groups and their interests and loyalties). How does the film challenge European stereotypes about monolithic or “savage” Indians?
Colonial loyalties: The film depicts a noticeable gap between the British officials and the British military on the one hand, and their colonial subjects on the other. How
Types of warfare: The film is heavy on violence and battle. What did eighteenth-century European combat look like? How was Indian combat different, particular with regard to things like small scale engagements and captive warfare?