The essay for this lesson is required to be 1,000-1,500-words and clearly demonstrate your understanding of the prompt. Essays should be 5 or more paragraphs with a clear introduction, thesis statement and conclusion, written in APA format (APAstyle.org). When you have completed the assignment, save a copy for yourself in an easily accessible location and submit a copy to your instructor below using the Submit Paper link. You may select from one of the following prompts:

Discuss some of the ways that Native Americans and African Americans have been depicted in Hollywood films throughout the history of cinema. How have Native American and African American filmmakers responded to these depictions and subverted them by reshaping visual narratives of cultural identity? Use specific filmic examples to support your analysis. Your answer should demonstrate a breadth of knowledge about Native and African American cinema as well as the dominant cinematic discourses on race and ethnicity that these self-representations challenge.

Select any two of the fictional films from the assigned viewing from this lesson (EXCEPT FOR BIRTH OF A NATION), and discuss how these films defy stereotypical representations of African Americans or Native Americans. Your answer should also demonstrate that you have viewed at least two of the assigned documentary films carefully (i.e., Reel Injun, Classified X, and Ethnic Notions).

Drawing from Reel Injun, Classified X, and Ethnic Notions, discuss 4 or more stereotypical representations of Native Americans and African Americans in Hollywood films. How are race and ethnicity represented in Hollywood films, historically and currently? Which types of characters and experiences are represented, and which types are excluded? Who constructs these representations and how do they reflect contemporary socio-political contexts? Use specific examples from each of these documentaries to support your analysis.

Characters in many of the assigned films are confronting not only questions of their racial and ethnic identities, but also issues of class, gender, and sexual orientation. Discuss how the intersection of these identity elements affects characters in at least 2 of the films discussed. Be sure to use specific examples from these films, and contrast your selected individuals with other characters who are not integrating multiple identities.