I got dressed in my traditional Indian regalia, but there was a man, he was the producer of the whole show. He took that speech away from me and he warned me very sternly. “I’ll give you 60 seconds or less. And if you go over that 60 seconds, I’ll have you arrested. I’ll have you put in handcuffs.”
– Sacheen Littlefeather in Reel Injun(2009), dir. Neil Diamond.
They were MAD, CONFUSED AND PRESSED that Marlon Brando would betray White Supremacy in this way.
To this very day, they are TWISTED over this.
And when Littlefeather got up there and READ THEM FOR FILTH, they GAGGED. For eons.
So I imagine there are people like me out there who’ve never even heard of Marlon Brando and are extremely confused over why this is important.
Marlon Brando was the Don in The Godfather, and in 1973, he was nominated for and won an Academy Award for it. However, he was also a huge Natives rights activist, and boycotted the ceremony because he felt that Hollywood’s depictions of Native Americans in the media led to the Wounded Knee Incident (which I was always taught as “the second massacre at Wounded Knee” but apparently that’s not the real name). He sent Sacheen Littlefeather, an Apache Native rights activist, in his stead. Wikipedia’s article on her explains the rest:
Brando had written a 15-page speech for Littlefeather to give at the ceremony, but when the producer met her backstage he threatened to physically remove her or have her arrested if she spoke on stage for more than 60 seconds.[5] Her on-stage comments were therefore improvised. She then went backstage and read the entire speech to the press. In his autobiography My Word is My Bond, Roger Moore (who presented the award) claims he took the Oscar home with him and kept it in his possession until it was collected by an armed guard sent by the Academy.
That is what this gifset is about.
You have GOT to read up on this. The Wounded Knee Incident, Marlon Brando and Sacheen Littlefeather, Anna Mae Aquash. ALL OF IT.
Someone correct me if I’m wrong but she was also threatened with physical harm by actors that were there. I believe John Wayne aka the duke aka Marion Mitchell Morrison, was one of them. Reports said he had to be held back by others backstage.
The reason it reminds you of a Renaissance paintings is because of how the people’s gestures and gazes direct your eye between each other and ultimately toward the central motif of the Beib getting choked.
It’s also the colour scheme and the lighting. The deep red and the pale greens, the lighting so dark that some figures are obscured but the others stand out with brighter lighting. Even the circular pattern in the back references halos or other decorative features meant to draw attention. 10/10 good Renaissance art.
And I enjoy the subject matter too.
And some of the hoodies and T shirts look like robes at first glance…?
Malone, Post, and Justin Bieber. ‘Judas Gets His Ass Beat in the Club as Jesus Laughs.’ 2016. Phone Camera. Tumblr, The Club.