Native Americans on Screen in 1939 and 2015 : A Postcolonial Study on the Portrayal of the Indigenous People of America in Films and How to Adapt it into the EFL Classroom

The essay originates from the idea that the United States has a history of racism evidenced in the displacement and discrimination of Native Americans and that the representation of Native Americans in films reflects the changing views of the indigenous population in the surrounding society. The purpose of this essay is to investigate how the Native American characters are portrayed in western films. Two films are going to be analysed; Stagecoach from 1939 and The Revenant from 2015. The theoretical framework that is used for the analysis is Postcolonialism. The findings reveals that Native American characters are portrayed more humanely in The Revenant than in Stagecoach. By applying the findings into the classroom the students can be given the opportunity to discuss human rights, equal value and solidarity between people, which can lead to reflections about the fundamental values of the curriculum.