Native Americans on Film by M. Elise Marubbio

Author:M. Elise Marubbio
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780813140346
Publisher: The University Press of Kentucky

A shot–reverse shot shows Seymour split into two physical selves in The Business of Fancydancing.

In his “mind-space,” Seymour removes the signifi ers of his Native identity in The Business of Fancydancing.

The last shot: living with the reality of cultural dislocation in The Business of Fancydancing.

This pervasive pessimism about hybrid identities continues in the film’s ending. No matter how fluid the film’s geography, Alexie had to choose a final shot, and the fact that the final shot is Seymour in Seattle with Steven—having made his choice—underscores a melancholy aspect of the film’s message: while one may psychically inhabit many geographies, one can be physically present only in one. This last shot contrasts the different ways the two characters experience the same moment and thus continues the film’s interest in perspective. When combined with the spectator’s independent observation of Seymour and Steven, the shot offers an assemblage of points of view that are greater than one character, or, more important, than one cultural identity—but instead of unified omniscience, the points of view remain distinct and unassimilated. Thus the nomadic viewing position does not allow an easy exit from the film, a feeling of totality and resolution. Seymour has chosen in which place he will live, and the spectator, having experienced the multiple geographies and cultures between which he lives, understands that either choice, reservation or arty Seattle, results in some loss.23 But we also see the good sides of both places: while Fancydancing does not encourage spectatorial affection toward Seymour’s white audiences, it does portray his lover Steven as fairly sympathetic. Since Steven is the prime representative of the hip Seattle art world in which Seymour lives, this depiction renders the cultural landscape of “artistic Seattle” a plausible choice for Seymour. When the film cuts to scenes on the reservation without Seymour, it underscores the strong bonds between the residents that form a true community, which I discuss more below. These varied place-based identifications accumulate and at the film’s end, they cause us to consider both the liberating and wearying effects of cultural hybridity.24

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