When I say Native American what is the first image that pops into your head? If I had to guess, I would bet it looked a little something like this...
Native Americans are often portrayed in media as stone cold warriors, and more often than less, the enemy. In "Because My Father Always Said He Was The Only Indian Who Saw Jimi Hendrix Play 'The Star-Spangled Banner' At Woodstock" by Sherman Alexie, an Indigenous American and Libra, Alexie writes about peoples distorted outlook on Native Americans.
If you listen to Jimi Hendrix's version of The Star-Spangled Banner, you would notice that it sounds, for lack of a better word, different. Hendrix's screeching guitar and pounding drums mimic the sound of screams and bombs. This warped version of the national anthem is a symbol for people's distorted view on Native Americans. Listen to the song and tell me what you think in the comments below! https://www.youtube.com/watch
Alexie also writes about the attire worn at Woodstock that year, "bell-bottoms and flowered shirts" (25). Alexie's father takes this 'hippie' facade as people trying to dress like Native Americans. After knowing this information, the reader can look back at the title and infer that Alexie's father felt like the only Indian at Woodstock, because everyone else was a 'fake' Indian.
Alexie's father and Jimi Hendrix both feel like outsiders in society. Hendrix being, half black and half white, didn't feel like he belonged anywhere in the music world. He felt either too white for the black people, or too black for the white people. Hendrix and Alexie's father, both minorities, share the same feeling of not belonging in society.
This blog is very true. I also feel that minorities aren't getting the proper acceptance they deserve. If we are to truly follow the constitution, we must stop racial prejudice and accept everyone.
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ReplyDeleteHey Liv! I really liked how you compared Alexie's father and Hendrix, and I agree that both of them felt like outsiders and turned to music for comfort. Just a fun fact but Henrix is actually part Cherokee! He did have a very diverse background but i think he focused mostly on his black heritage. Although, I don't understand how Hendrix's performance is a symbol of the distorted view on Native Americans, to my understanding his performance really didn't have much to do with them at all, he's even wearing the stereotypical hippie outfit thats used to "distort" their culture. Hendrix mimicked screams and bombs to represent how violent wars are. He used his platform as a way to protest, specifically, the Vietnam War.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the point of Hendrix's performance most likely was not about Native Americans at all; he was actively protesting the Vietnam War, especially due to the large amount of black casualties. I think the perspective that it is about Native Americans is really just the bias Alexie's father had from being Native American himself. This just shows how music can be perceived in different ways and people can apply meanings to it that fit their own lives. This explains why so many people can find such comfort in music as Alexie and his father do.
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