in no particular order:
spoiler
- There’s a scene from Tintin in America that’s burnt into my brain of Native Americans being forced off their land by the US Army after oil is found on their land. This movie, however, is a neat reminder that the guns and bayonets were just a few of the tools employed during USA’s project of extermination. Every single White institution was complicit in the destruction of the natives even when they seemed to be fair and benign (especially when they seem to be fair and benign).
- Why the hell haven’t I seen more of Lily Gladstone? Just a phenomenal actress. Her portrayal of someone under constant siege with seemingly no way out evoked a sense of claustrophobia reminiscent of Get Out. Its elevated by the cinematography that just drives home the othering experienced by natives on their own land. Some of the shots of settlers glaring at the Indians reminded me of Lovecraft’s description of Innsmouth’s denizens.
- I was really afraid that it was gonna turn into a White Savior movie at some point, but it was thankfully undercut by Caprio’s character being such a dense sleazebag (seriously, his scummiest character since Monsieur Candy). Nearly all the White characters are scum which is certainly an interesting choice considering the state of media in the USA.
- There is largely no comeuppance for the crimes committed by the Whites. Indeed, against the scope of their crimes, their punishment was even lesser than a slap on the wrist. While this is in keeping with the history of the incident, it did leave quite the sour taste in my mouth. There is also a larger focus on the moral character of the Hales (who are, weirdly, both Freemasons and “greedy Jews”) with the institutional nature of the crimes showing up in just a few scenes and snippets of exposition. Towards the third act, it ends up feeling like a run-of-the-mill Scorsese crime flick, and I was beginning to feel if he really was the right creative mind to tackle such a subject.
- Somebody get Marty an editor, for the love of god
- I’m starting to understand why so many American horror films reference Indian burial grounds- seems to me it’s just some weird expression of generational guilt
Go watch it folks, it’s not a winner on all fronts but definitely a breath of fresh air. As a descendant of a colonized population myself, the film’s gruesome depiction of the mistreatment of Native Americans did leave me feeling a little sick, so I think I’m going to re-watch Prey to cleanse my palette a bit.
Yeah I mean I think it’s pretty insidious that way. I think the film needs to be viewed within the context of the zeitgeist if liberal recuperation of the FBI in the context of Trump investigations. Here the FBI is presented as a kind heroic liberatory (white saviour) force that defends the Osage from white terror. We may be left with the conclusion that it might be problematic to not support the FBI.
Furthermore it appeals to white liberal self-flagellation fetish where indigenous people are all dignified and white people are all scuzzy(which is fine/good), but there is little critique within the film of the material basis for this: Osage aren’t dignified because of their inherent right to be respected, but because they are rich and can afford all the treats of rich people and are isolated from the constant terror of needing to hustle to survive. I think this reinforces the idea that the people we should view as “good” in our society are people who can afford nice things, and we should look with suspicion at poor people who don’t have that access to security.