Stupid Fucking White Man or Goin' Indian, 2005, digital video
In a similar fashion to filmmaker Martin Arnold and his sub-textual deconstructions of films, I appropriate Dances With Wolves to deconstruct Kevin Costner's solo reenactment/interpretation of Native dance. Through a frame-by-frame approach in various parts of this scene, I reconstruct Costner's ridiculous desire to become Native by repeating certain movements, calling attention to the absurdity of his actions as a filmmaker following the audacity and arrogance of many non-Native people's desire to co-opt another culture. The co-optation of another culture is, in this instance particularly, for the sole benefit of profit and not accurate portrayals of Native culture. This film also explores the popular theory that engages white people's desire to become that which they've destroyed and which they feel nostalgia for. The title of the film comes from two Jim Jarmusch films, Dead Man and Ghost Dog, which are lines delivered by Native actor Gary Farmer's character, Nobody. I utilize Modest Mouse's, Cowboy Dan as a contemporary song befitting this commentary.
FESTIVALS & EXHIBITIONS - 2008: HOW: Engagements with the "Hollywood Indian", A Space Gallery (Toronto, ON, Canada). 2006: Video Now! 2006, Everson Museum of Art (Syracuse, NY).
all content ©2008 Torry Mendoza | all rights reserved