In this year of threatened boycotts for the lack of diversity in those nominated for the Academy Awards, there is one exceptional movie that should be honored as being a testament to diversity ... and artistry. The movie is The Revenant. It is a movie that is directed by a Mexican (Alejandro Inarritu) and portrays with a great deal of authenticity the interactive world of Native Peoples and Europeans in the 1820s. You can read more about it at
and if you go to see the film, I believe you will find out why Leonardo DiCaprio should win the Oscar for Best Actor ... and why Tom Hardy should win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.
In addition to the portrayal of the Native Peoples in this film, one of the momentary curiosities that caught my attention occurs early in the film during the mayhem that occurs during an attack by the Arikara. During the ensuing battle, one will find a black man amongst the white fur traders being attacked. This presence along with the story itself peaked my interest.
As it turns out, the movie is based upon a true story. There really was a Hugh Glass who endured and survived being mauled by a grizzly bear... and he really did go in search of those who left him behind. Of historical note, one of those who left Glass behind was a young Jim Bridger ... the same Jim Bridger who would go on to become one of the most famous mountain men of all time. You can read their stories at
As for the black man, ... well, he too would make his mark on history. You see the black man amongst the white fur traders was none other than Jim Beckwourth ... the man who found an easier way through the Sierra Nevadas that enabled so many people to travel to the gold fields of California. You can read about him at
and will note
In 1850, Beckwourth was credited with discovering, what came to be called Beckwourth Pass, a low-elevation pass, through the Sierra Nevada Mountain chain. In 1851, he improved what became the Beckwourth Trail, originally, a Native American path, through the mountains. It began near Pyramid Lake and the Truckee Meadows east of the mountains, climbed to the pass, named for him, and went along a ridge, between two forks of Feather River, before passing down to the gold fields, of northern California, at Marysville. The trail spared the settlers and gold seekers, about 150 miles (240 km) and several, steep grades and dangerous passes, such as Donner Pass.
Granted one movie does not redress the lack of diversity in Oscar nominees in particular and in movies in general, but for at least this one movie it seems a shame not to use it as a teachable moment to celebrate the diversity of cultures and history that lies within.
Peace,
Everett "Skip" Jenkins
Class of 1975
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