Has anyone seen "The New World"

[wolfcreek]

Just wondering if it's factual or offensive?

[wolfcreek]

My Wife and I both have some Native-American blood but she's really into the history and culture. I don't want to take her to the movie if it's offensive.

[af_vet_rr]

Considering that if it is factual, liberals will consider it offensive.... I'm more curious to see Mel Gibson's new movie, Apocalypto or whatever - I believe the whole movie is done in Mayan (it's about Mayans), and it should be interesting.

You'll hear the "Europeans wiped out natives with diseases" crowd, and while it is completly true that old-world diseases wiped out huge numbers of natives from North and South America, the fact is, it would have happened eventually - that's just nature and how diseases are spread, and how immunities work.

You can't talk to these people, because you ask them "Well what should the Europeans have done, stayed in Europe?" and they get the blank look, or you point out that many North and South American natives were hell-bent on wiping each other out (and doing a damn fine job of it), and if the Spanish, French, and English (and Dutch) hadn't accelerated the process a little bit, they would have still wiped each other out.

[Jessica24]

Considering that a) It stars Colin Farrell, and b) is directed by Terrence Malick, the only man to ever make a four hour war movie with no action whatsoever, I'm not holding my breath on this one. But if you want more than my snarky assumptions (and who wouldn't?), there's a column on it at Townhall. Hope it helps! The 'Real' Pocahontas Story

[Publius6961]

It's not just liberals.
The ignorant just don't know that they don't know. I work with one who went to Peru once. And based on that, he hates Spain with a passion that makes him physically ill when he talks about it.

The common phenomenon of the universe and cultures began when he became aware of something. His personal experience overrides perspective, history, in-depth knowlege or anything else.
He thinks it's perfectly reasonable to judge 16th century behavior by 21st century standards.

Oh well.

[af_vet_rr]

He thinks it's perfectly reasonable to judge 16th century behavior by 21st century standards.

I heard somebody like that going on about "europeans brought disease, etc. over" and I'm thinking "medical technology of that time consisted of leeches, some herbs, a knife sterlized in liquor (if it was sterilized) and/or a belief that the devil inflicted whatever illness on somebody".

I know medical technology was a little more advanced, but the fact is, diseases could have easily jumped from the Americas back to Europe and wiped out millions just as easily as it did in the Americas - it was just the luck of the draw that the Europeans had engaged in organized agriculture for a very long time, and had large cities with domesticated animals, etc., all of which contributed to a better immune system.

[Mike Darancette]

Indians vs Religious nus with guns.

[Casloy]

were hell-bent on wiping each other out

Read Ambrose's book about Lewis and Clark. Some tribes were almost starved to death by other tribes who raided them constantly. Indians mistreated each other as badly as the new settlers treated them.

[af_vet_rr]

Read Ambrose's book about Lewis and Clark. Some tribes were almost starved to death by other tribes who raided them constantly. Indians mistreated each other as badly as the new settlers treated them.

I have read that, and it's eye-opening to say the least.

A lot of people act like racisim is a European invention, when it's not (I'm using racism in a broad context - you and I might both be Chinese or African, but we speak different dialects and we are from different parts of the country or continent, and therefore despise one another's tribe).

It's been going on in Asia going back for centuries. It happened in Africa - tribes raiding other tribes for slaves to sell to Europeans. It happened in the Americas as well.

If you had a time machine it would be almost amusing to set a lot of these people down in the 1300s or 1400s in different parts of the Americas, to see how long they would survive. They would be in for a shock when they realize that the natives weren't going to greet them with open arms.

[Casloy]

I saw Ambrose debate several other historians about the treatment of Indians. While no one can excuse the way we repeatedly screwed the Indians in the late 19th Century, he did present a much more balanced picture of the situation. The other historians were not happy. They were all about bad white man versus noble and spiritual Indian.