INDIANS by: Arthur Kopit
Indians is a show about the survival of nations, American identity and how a single individual can affect how the entire world perceives the Indian culture.
The play examines several states of consciousness resulting in the death of the Native American culture. Buffalo Bill represents not only his own personal conscious but the ever changing American conscious which resonates paranoia and resolves to crush what it cannot absorb.
Buffalo Bill, while the quintessential American, has the capacity for goodness and generosity. However, his so-called heroism has destructive effects and as the play progresses he becomes more and more conscious of the fact that he has betrayed these ideals.
Buffalo Bill considers himself a friend to the Indians yet unwittingly slaughters their main source of food for the American dream – money and fame. While he acts as an interlocutor between the U.S. government and the Indian people to help air grievances he also exploits their circumstances and horribly exaggerated reputation and incorporates them into a three-ring spectacle. These demonstrations, while allowing the Indians the opportunity to tell part of their story also institutionalizes their slavery. Their falsely exaggerated image held by most American citizens became further misconstrued forcing the dependency of the Indian people on the U.S. Government. The U.S. Government, in turn, unable to tame and force conformity on the Native American people, takes advantage of that dependency and looks for a way to further their own interest at the lowest cost. It turns the Indian people into the violent enemy the American society needed in order to justify its own inhumanity. By the Conclusion of the play Buffalo Bill is aware of the repercussions of all his actions but still struggles with his growing inability to separate what is true from what is made up.
In the beginning of the play the Native Americans have a greater sense of self and culture. Their dress, while obviously infused with some European pieces, consists of more traditional regalia: patterned blankets, full headdresses, etc. As the culture dies off we start to see wear and tear on these symbolic items until eventually they disappear.
The same applies to Buffalo Bill. As the play progresses we start to see the weight of his conscience tear him apart. His flashy and very put together appearance in the beginning is nothing compared to the plain, worn and dingy exterior he has in the end, an outward manifestation of his inner turmoil and confusion.
Buffalo Bill is a haunting character. He is both victim and perpetrator of an inhumane violence reinforced by American materialism. While the heritage of the Native American culture is in the past, the process by which it was destroyed is very much alive and masked by humanitarian ideals.
The play examines several states of consciousness resulting in the death of the Native American culture. Buffalo Bill represents not only his own personal conscious but the ever changing American conscious which resonates paranoia and resolves to crush what it cannot absorb.
Buffalo Bill, while the quintessential American, has the capacity for goodness and generosity. However, his so-called heroism has destructive effects and as the play progresses he becomes more and more conscious of the fact that he has betrayed these ideals.
Buffalo Bill considers himself a friend to the Indians yet unwittingly slaughters their main source of food for the American dream – money and fame. While he acts as an interlocutor between the U.S. government and the Indian people to help air grievances he also exploits their circumstances and horribly exaggerated reputation and incorporates them into a three-ring spectacle. These demonstrations, while allowing the Indians the opportunity to tell part of their story also institutionalizes their slavery. Their falsely exaggerated image held by most American citizens became further misconstrued forcing the dependency of the Indian people on the U.S. Government. The U.S. Government, in turn, unable to tame and force conformity on the Native American people, takes advantage of that dependency and looks for a way to further their own interest at the lowest cost. It turns the Indian people into the violent enemy the American society needed in order to justify its own inhumanity. By the Conclusion of the play Buffalo Bill is aware of the repercussions of all his actions but still struggles with his growing inability to separate what is true from what is made up.
In the beginning of the play the Native Americans have a greater sense of self and culture. Their dress, while obviously infused with some European pieces, consists of more traditional regalia: patterned blankets, full headdresses, etc. As the culture dies off we start to see wear and tear on these symbolic items until eventually they disappear.
The same applies to Buffalo Bill. As the play progresses we start to see the weight of his conscience tear him apart. His flashy and very put together appearance in the beginning is nothing compared to the plain, worn and dingy exterior he has in the end, an outward manifestation of his inner turmoil and confusion.
Buffalo Bill is a haunting character. He is both victim and perpetrator of an inhumane violence reinforced by American materialism. While the heritage of the Native American culture is in the past, the process by which it was destroyed is very much alive and masked by humanitarian ideals.