Sunday, March 11, 2007

Manzar, the White Indian


This might be the greatest show on television. "Barbarians" on the History channel is fucking awesome. This first episode I watched was about the Vikings. These people were the Klingons of their time. Or of any time, for that matter. This next episode is about The Franks. European barbarians roamed during the Dark Ages and frightened just about everyone and enslaved the rest. Oh yea, they burned Rome.

When I was at the movie theater the other day watching "300," among the dozen or so terrible previews of upcoming movies, one preview stuck out in my mind. This upcoming movie is called "Pathfinder." The beginning of the preview started off good, set around 1000 AD in Newfoundland, Native Americans are besieged by the oncoming horde of Viking barbarians. The Native Americans drive them out briefly and the Vikings vow to return. Now here is where I get a little pissy about this movie. The Vikings leave behind one of their babies, who the Native Americans raise as one of their own. Then when the Vikings return, this half-Viking/half-Native American, kicks ass and drive the horde out once again. Sounds like an interesting action/historical period piece, right? Wrong. Its just another excuse to let a white actor play a Native American role. Why the shit does a crappy white actor have to dress up in a loin cloth and play native? I'm sure there are some great Native American actors out there dying for a chance like this. Yea, I think Hollywood is racist. This movie is just another push, that has been going on since Fenimore-Cooper, of the image of a noble savage, and what is more palatable to the American public, but a white Native American.

God I hate Hollywood.

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