According to Reel Injun, when aboriginal histories have been represented in
mainstream culture by white filmmakers, they have often been rendered a people
preserved and even romanticized as a tragedy relegated to the past. What is the
“romance of the native tragedy” and what are the politics of representing history in
terms of tragedy? Does it represent an attempt to re-tell history in ways that make it
more sanitary, entertaining or digestible? Conversely, should we look at films like
Whale Rider and Moana as correctives? Are these narratives of spiritual connection,
community identification, and collective survival that address some of the damage
created by racist misrepresentations of aboriginal cultures? Consider this in
relationship to Ben Anderson’s concept of the “hoped body.”