[Ed. Note: This is part two of a two-part series. You can read part one here.]

The Noble Redskin, or Blueskin stereotype that James Cameron’s Avatar shoves down historically ignorant sci-fi geeks throats is one of the most damaging myths in our country’s history today. Cameron’s Na’vi are definitely warrior-like and have geographic based clans, the mountain people, the coastal people etc., but there is no mention of previous inter-tribal warfare and inter-culture wounds to mend. The Na’vi are good, noble and courageous while the humans, American type humans at that, except for the scientists are greedy, selfish and bloodthirsty. Michael  Medved’s excellent recent book The Ten Big Lies About America quotes less then politically correct Harvard archaeologist Steven LeBlanc showing that genocides and land raids amongst regional and ethnic groups have always been the norm for native peoples, regardless of ethnicity.

Historian Elliot West’s award winning 1998 book The Contested Plains also points out that inter-tribal warfare before the white man hit the shores of North America claimed many more native lives then warfare between the tribes and Europeans. I guess Cameron’s Na’vi are just so much more evolved then our own real-life historical Indian tribes. That doesn’t even include the good old cannibalistic Aztecs who managed to make more then a few of the neighboring tribes part of their daily menu. Did you ever wonder how Cortez and his small band of merry Spaniards managed to make allies of almost all of the surrounding tribes? It wound up being pretty damn easy to do when the local bully has been using you and yours as a convenient Burger King for the last few generations. (more…)

“Youth in Revolt” is a movie with a good premise but a lackluster plot that revolves around a witty, intellectual teenager experiencing the isolation of adolescence while living with his mother (played by Jean Smart) and her boyfriend.  Played by the likable Michael Cera, the lead character, Nick Twisp, spends a lot of the movie trying to attract the attention of a girl he desires. Unfortunately, the movie frequently becomes unnecessarily crass and stereotypical, detracting from an intriguing premise.

At the beginning, in order to protect his mother’s boyfriend from a fight with some sailors he sold a malfunctioning car to, the mother takes her son and boyfriend for a brief vacation. On that vacation, Nick meets a girl he’s immediately attracted to but she’s dating someone else. However, Nick still thinks he has a chance. In order to make himself more attractive to her he develops an alternate and “dangerous” personality named Francois, who has a mustache and enjoys causing trouble and destruction. (more…)