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March 21, 2006

An Overly Simplistic View

The following is a paper I have to rewrite. The original title was Narrowmindedness and Hypocrisy.

The idea of the “Primal” cultures being somehow better than “Western” cultures, that we must respect those that live close to the earth and shun those who live in cities and build wooden and brick houses is hypocritical and belies the statement that we should respect all cultures and all beliefs. Jamake Highwater presents an argument, using shame and guilt as the qualifications, that Western culture and the English language are symbols of oppression and enslavement. The biggest contradiction in the film comes from his assertion that he grew up speaking both Blackfoot and French, but that it was the English language that gave him problems. Méksikatsi translates to “pink-colored feet,” whereas in English the word is “duck,” and he couldn’t grasp the idea of a non-descriptive word. In French, the word is “le canard,” which has about as much meaning as “duck” and no descriptiveness at all. The blame is automatically placed on the English language rather than on his abject poverty and inability to integrate into the culture surrounding him. Integrating into a dominant culture does not mean giving up one’s heritage or self, it simply means being able to adjust to different social mores. Highwater seems to prefer that the western world adjust to his needs and the needs of all primal cultures. The old saying of “when in Rome, do as the Romans do” can be partially applied in this situation. We are told to teach our children to speak other languages so that they may become worldlier and understand other cultures, and as Americans, we are also often told that our society is harmful and oppressive, simply for being dominant. There are many contradictions in this view of the current dominant culture, and this film highlights all of them. Another example of this is Highwater’s view of the old New England church. While it is understandable that the Native Americans would see it as strange and terrifying, the opposing view, that the original immigrants and colonists would see the Native culture as strange and terrifying is never shown. It is human nature to be afraid of what you do not understand, and usually that fear leads to violence and destruction. Many wrongs have been done in the name of fear or modernization, but we are approaching a point where instead of trying to destroy that which we don’t understand, we try to bring it into our realm of experience. Highwater begins to show this at the end, by using the art school as an illustration, but it is too little, too late. He has already caused damage to how the western world and the primal world will understand each other. I wish that the beautiful, colorful section at the end of the film, where the art students talk about their experience in integrating western culture and techniques with their own, was the line of argument through the whole film. Instead, Highwater attempted to shame us into feeling like those of us who have never been oppressive or dangerous to the Native Americans should make reparations to a culture we want desperately to understand.

And here is the rewrite. My teacher thought it was harsh and inaccurate, so I'm taking a different tack and showing how the author/host (Jamake Highwater) is not taking into account enough how the world is changing and the diversity present in the world.

This is not done. I still have at least a page to write, if not more. There are also some awkward transitions and one section that needs to be moved around, but I can't seem to figure that out now. I'll see if maybe later there's a solution.

In the Jamake Highwater movie, Primal Mind, the idea of there being two types of humans is put forward; the primal culture and the western culture. What this view fails to take into account is that there are many human cultures and they are diverse and intertwined. Although America is not the center of the world, we have become dominant through absorption of the best and worst of the world’s peoples. In the course of this absorption, there have been great achievements and terrible roadblocks, oppression and enlightenment. The world has loved us, hated us, and loved us again. It is our diversity that is our greatest strength, and the one thing that has carried us through. There are so many cultures in the world - European, American, Arabic, Asian, African, Hispanic, Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, Communist, Capitalist, and so on. We as individuals are an amalgamation of our experiences and cultures, and our cultures are an amalgamation of individuals. A person can be a Communist Muslim African or a Catholic Capitalist Hispanic, or any other part of the mosaic that makes up the world. To say that the world is divided into “x” and “y,” whatever those two items may be, ignores this diversity. Highwater pays no mind to the Oriental cultures, or the Arabic and Persian cultures. He shows a vast divide between the Native Americans and the modern Americans, but doesn’t explain how the modern world is seeking to incorporate the natural one. There really is no clear division these days between the western cultures and the primal ones. Instead, we have a spider web of beliefs, incorporating the natural aspects of the world as well as the manmade ones. Pharmaceutical companies are researching plants from the Amazon to find new cures for new diseases. Religions are asking and answering the questions of how we came to be here and what our purpose is. Philosophers are seeking the same thing, many returning to the Greek and Roman ideas of the natural world and the beauty therein.

Comments? Revisions? I have to get to French class, but I'll have time later to check.

Posted by Kat at March 21, 2006 12:12 PM

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