I. Introduction
Ethnic identity is not only a sense of belonging to the group, but also an original identity with all the information and marks of the original ethnic group. The cultural perspective becomes an inseparable part of the individual, determining the coordinate system in which he observes and probes the world.
At the same time, as individuals gradually integrate into a certain ethnic group, they will develop a deep emotional attachment to that ethnic group. Deep emotional infiltration will affect the solidification of the original ethnic identity at the rational level.
The film is based on the Tennessee Civil War in the 1860s and the colonial history of the United States. The border lines divided by the Indians during the colonial period of Britain, Spain and other countries continued to be used after the independence of the United States [1] . The film first develops its storyline from the perspective of white people, and then uses the Sioux language that occupies most of the film to tell the story of former lieutenant John Dunbar's suspended history and identity fusion from the perspective of the Sioux.
2. Ethnic nature and national identity
Anthony Smith called the pre-modern nation "ethinie" in the concept distinction between "ethnic group" and "nation". He pointed out that "although race and modern nation have common proper names, myths, and common memory and other factors, two The center of gravity of the people is different—races are largely defined by the myths and historical memories of their common ancestors, modern peoples are defined by the historical territory they possess and the public culture and common laws of their masses. A nation must possess its own homeland, a race need not.” [2]
Historically, national identity was overshadowed by other factors such as religion, territory, class, etc., and the concept of nationality and nation-state did not appear until after the modern democratic revolution in the West.
In my opinion, in the existence of different types of identity, such as ethnic identity, national identity, and religious identity, usually ethnic identity may be higher than other identities. . If we refer to the concept of atomic theory in physics and define the smallest unit of culture, then I think that nation, as a language family and cultural customs with a wide span, can be called the smallest cultural unit.
Ethnic identity reflects its inertia in the flow of cultural identity. When ethnic identity is higher than civilization identity, "Boxer thinking" will occur, which will inevitably lead to the inevitable elimination or extinction of an ethnic group. The Sioux in the film do not change their way of life and production from safaris to cultivation because of their geographical location and other factors, resulting in their inability to be self-sufficient in life. At the same time, its safari methods are backward, and it is shown in the film that when John Dunbar mastered the appearance of bison, he got the needs or admiration of the Sioux. When we lament the inevitable fate of being recruited, is this national inertia, which is immersed in backward and barbaric civilizations unable to project its vision to other advanced civilizations, in the old saying, "Poor people must have something to hate"?
3. The identity flow of Dunbar in the film
In the film, Lieutenant John Dunbar's assimilation consists of three stages: prevention, adaptation and assimilation. As a colonizer, in the process of contacting the Indians, it was inevitable to imprint the other side with the mark of "darkness, savageness, and ignorance", and later inform the Sioux of the bison's action path, During the war between the Sioux and the Pawnee, the marriage with a fist, the two cultural identities were constantly pushed and pulled. In the process of feeling the cultural estrangement and inner self-identification of the coexistence of pain and happiness, he finally became an exiled white identity. The Sioux identity was chosen and recognized by the Sioux ethnic group. It can be said that Dunbar has experienced a cruel original identity fragmentation, which is also the biggest conflict in the film and the expression of Dunbar's inner pain.
The two important episodes in the film are events with huge push and pull factors in the flow of Dunbar's identity.
Dunbar's questioning of his own ethnicity and identity peaked after his involvement in the Sioux and Pawnee wars. When the Pawnee's attack on the Sioux village ended in a fiasco, Dunbar looked at the revelling Sioux, narration: It's hard for me to articulate the mood at this time, I've never experienced such a struggle, it has nothing to do with ugly political purposes, nor It has nothing to do with disputes over territory, wealth and freedom. People fought to protect food reserves for the winter, to protect women and children within easy reach. Shi Niu's death was a major loss, but even the elderly cannot remember such an overwhelming victory. I've come to see it (war) in a new way, and I've never felt more proud. I never really realized who John Dunbar was, and maybe the name itself is meaningless. But when I heard my Sioux name being called up again and again, for the first time I really knew who I was. Dunbar's name evolved from John Dunbar - Rutanta - Dancing With Wolves. The name is like a symbol, symbolizing its true acceptance and empowerment by the group. After having the Sioux name, Dunbar gradually integrated into the Sioux group in language and attire.
The second episode is at a bonfire celebration after the Sioux for killing whites, when Dunbar sees the Sioux dancing and celebrating for killing whites, he writes: "My heart is low, as I try to convince myself that the killed White people are heinous and deserve what they deserve, but it's no use. I try to believe that the wind scatters and kicks the birds and others who are involved in the killing, are not delighted by their actions, but they are rejoicing for it. When I faced the familiar faces, I realized that the gap between us was more serious than I thought. When they reveled into the night, the upcoming hunt, they didn't know where to start. I don't know if they understand, but in their midst, I can't sleep at night. No expressions, no complaints, just confusion about the future.
In the film, Dunbar's identity flow is successful, the old chief "Ten Bears" said - "The white soldier that soldier was looking for is gone, and now there is only one Sioux called Dances with Wolves." This is Dunbar's A proof that identity is recognized in the heart of the Sioux. At the end of the film, Dunbar leaves as a Sioux with his Sioux wife. Banishment from the white world is an important driving factor in the flow of their identities. The ethnic charm of the Sioux is an important driving factor. In Dunbar's eyes, the savage Sioux, when he saw the mess left after the white man slaughtered the bison, began to think that perhaps the white man was synonymous with savagery.
4. The Limits of Hybrid Identity Flow and the Ambiguity of Identity
Dunbar's mimicry is akin to what Robert JC Young called "unconscious hybrids whose deep meaning breeds new forms of fusion rather than conflict," in subtle or invisible processes. Because of the long-term contact with the Sioux, Dunbar is deeply in the "contact zone" of white and Indian identity and culture, and unconsciously simulates his behavior and habits, thus entering the "third space".
Throughout the film, Dunbar's identity swayed in the "contact zone", in the "between cultures", and gradually changed from "localization" to "hybrid". Hybridization is "a new form of interculturality arising from colonial activity within the contact zone", a "revolution of presumed colonial identities as a result of repeated differential treatment of identities", thus "reflecting the relationship between colonizers and colonized Depend on each other and jointly build subjectivity” [3] , making each other’s cultural identity enter the “third space”.
In the 1950s, Weber defined an ethnic group as—an ethnic group is a group that has a subjective belief in a common lineage due to a similar physical or customary or memory identification with colonization and immigration, a belief that The common relationship of non-relatives is of great significance [4] .
But there is no doubt that identity mobility has its limits, and correspondingly, identity may not be clear.
In the second half of the film, John Dunbar was exiled by whites because he lost his diary and could not be identified, and was called a "traitor". At that time, I wondered why he was called a "traitor" because he didn't do anything in a reverse or a clear sense of mutiny. Later, after learning about the ethnic divisions, I realized that the basis of this "betrayal" lies in its acceptance of the cultural and linguistic identity of the "other" for white people. After Dunbar married with a fist, his language and cultural identity passed It is embodied in Sioux costumes.
If each individual is as highly promiscuous and open as Dunbar, and can flow through one group to another faster and better, does it mean that the group is an "imagined community" and its entity is questionable as a group The presence?
But it cannot be denied that the flow of individual identity has its limits. The limit of identity comes from the mutual push-pull effect of two or more ethnic groups. The pursuit of interests and self-determination of individuals are also inseparable from factors such as the special nature of the individual, such as its cultural tolerance. In the film, Dunbar pays more attention to the Sioux because he was exiled by the original ethnic group. If the situation and conditions are changed, his white identity is recognized by the white people, and he becomes a kind of colonized and colonized between the Sioux and the white people. In what form will the conflict between the two be manifested? Or do both parties have better qualities to undertake different ethnic cultures? But what we can determine from historical facts is that the film will not go to the end of the two ethnic groups shaking hands and coexisting. The identity of the colonizer depends on it, and it is inevitable that it will make decisions to annex other ethnic groups and the cultural, historical and natural geographical resources occupied by the ethnic group.
First of all, at the individual level, Dunbar is a brave, open and inclusive individual whose "cross-cultural awareness" is his characteristic. As a cowardly and evasive character who unexpectedly became a hero in the white world, in the process of interacting with the Sioux, he used his enthusiasm and sincerity to exchange for the identity. Indispensability of conditions.
Secondly, in terms of the push-pull effect of the group, Dunbar does see the shortcomings of the white group of the original ethnic group. In the violent environment of the colonial world, the kindness and simplicity of the colonized group are exactly the ethnic characteristics that Dunbar recognizes. In addition, it is undeniable that the original white woman standing with her fist clenched is a bridge in the flow of her identity, and it can even be said to be a model. The ethnic identity theories put forward by Anthony Smith, which are generally recognized in the anthropological field, are primordialism and scene theory. The clenched fist identities tend to be more pristine, because they have been living in the Sioux group since childhood. Dunbar's identity is a mixture of primordialism and sceneism.
In terms of identity, assuming that Dunbar is not exiled from the white world, he will continue to be mixed between his white peers and Sioux groups as a hybrid, not as clear as leaving as a Sioux in the final film. Benedict Anderson proposed in "Imagined Communities: The Origin and Spread of Nationalism" that both the state and the nation are concepts of imaginary communities, that is, an individual fantasizes about which group he belongs to, and his self-identity Which one is inclined. Identity itself is ambiguous in the fusion of essential and imaginary (later written) histories.
V. Another: Reflections on Ethnic Integration
Hobsbawm believes that "nations do contribute a lot to the development of the modern world, but there is a weakening trend, and nationalism is bound to perish".
At the end of the film, the Sioux cannot escape the fate of being recruited. Does it mean that the ethnic and ethnic language and cultural groups will inevitably be eliminated or integrated into the transnational and transnational world system in the process of the emerging ultra-nationalism rebuilding the world? [5]
my country is a multi-ethnic country, but the diversity of its national culture needs to be questioned. The ethnic identity and national identity of ethnic minority groups are also frequently faced by the Han ethnic group, which has a large number of people. Will the nations merge? Does the so-called "national is the world" only indicate the function of the temporary existence of the nation?
references
[1] He Yanli. "Dancing With Wolves": John Dunbar's Swinging Identity [J]. Legend. Selected Biographical Literature (Teaching and Research), 2011(2):53-55+58.
[2] Anthony Smith. Nationalism: Theory, Ideology, History [M]. Shanghai People's Publishing House, 2011.
[3] Bill Ashcroft, Gareth Griffiths and Helen Tiffin. Post-colonial Studies The Key
Concepts [M]. Routedge, 2007:108.
[4] Marx Weber. 1961 "The Ethnic Group". In THEORIES OF SOCIETY Parsons and Shils et al (eds.) [J]. Vol. 1Gleercol Illinois, The Free Press: 306.
[5] Ren Xiaomei. The Double Identity of John Dunbar in the movie Dances with Wolves [J]. Film Review, 2014(7).
[6] Anderson. The Imagined Community [M]. Shanghai People's Publishing House, 2003.
[1] He Yanli. "Dancing With Wolves": John Dunbar's Swinging Identity [J]. Legend. Selected Biographical Literature (Teaching and Research), 2011(2):53-55+58.
[2] Anthony Smith. Nationalism: Theory, Ideology, History [M]. Shanghai People's Publishing House, 2011.
[3] Bill Ashcroft, Gareth Griffiths and Helen Tiffin. Post-colonial Studies The Key
Concepts [M]. Routedge, 2007:108.
[4] Marx Weber. 1961 "The Ethnic Group". In THEORIES OF SOCIETY Parsons and Shils et al (eds.) [J]. Vol. 1Gleercol Illinois, The Free Press: 306.
[5] Eric Hobsbawm. Nation and Nationalism [M]. Shanghai People's Publishing House, 2006.
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