In Whose Honor: Movie Review
In the movie “In Whose Honor?” directed by Jay Rosenstein we are told in depth about the reason why Chief Illiniwek is no longer the University of Illinois mascot. Throughout the film we are told about different perspectives of how the chief has caused harm to the Native American community. In the movie we are also able to hear the perspective of the students who admire the chief at every game. We are taken back to the very beginning of this whole issue and are told the story in Charlene Teters perspective; she has become the main leader of the removing of the Indian mascots. Clips of protest and interviews are shown within the whole movie giving the audience a better understanding of how delicate this topic is. We get to hear thoughts on both sides of the issue, but we hear more from the Native Americans.
Before watching the film I had some knowledge of how people were harmed by Indian mascots, but didn’t understand it completely. This movie did a great job in sending out the message of why Chief Illiniwek was removed. The interviews on the film showed how affected some people are by Indian mascots. In the movie we get an inside look to how sacred some of these positions are to the Native Americans, such as the Chief. When a mascot is a chief who didn’t earn the title within a Native American community both harms and ruins the beliefs of Native Americas. I was very amazed by the way some of the videos made me feel. In particular when we get to see Charlene Teters in tears because of how hurt she was when her most honorable figure is put to entertain people at a basketball game. The movie was narration was also very helpful to send out the message that they wanted to send. The director of the film did a great job in making the audience understand feel some type of way with the type of angles some shots were in, as well as with the music in the background. I would rate this movie, In Whose Honor? a 4.5, because it did a great job in both informing and explaining the whole issue. I felt like the director could have incorporated a little more about the students opinions, but over all this movie had a great impact on helping me fully understand the issue.