A Rhetorical Analysis Of The Film Trudell

Rhetorical Analysis of the Film Trudell:
The Struggle for Equality in the Native American Community
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”(Declaration of Independence US 1776). Does anyone truly know the meaning of these words? Take into consideration that the Declaration of Independence was written in a time when human beings were the possession of other human beings, and these people had about as much right as a stray cat. The notion of all men being equal was exclusive. The documentary Trudell depicts the American Indian Movement (AIM) of the late 60’s early 70’s, told

Human beings are highly emotional creatures; therefore, poetry used in Trudell serves as a way to draw out the viewer’s sympathy and allows the film to quickly establish a connection with the audience. In the opening of the documentary, Trudell reads lines from one of his poems in which he uses a metaphor to show the sick relationship the government has with its citizens: “society a broken promise / economy’s war / citizen whores / political pimps / leaving us flat on our backs” (Trudell). These line tells how the government makes all kinds of promises to the citizens that it has no intention of keeping and how the government will use the citizens is any way it sees fit to accomplish whatever task is feels necessary and the citizens do whatever it takes no matter how demining or disgusting to see those promises come true. Trudell’s poems acted as an outlet for a release of the frustration he felt due to the things that were taking place in his community, and for other Native People, his poetry was a refuge they could run to, to seek shelter from the invading

Trudell asks the audience to recount an ugly period in U.S history in order to gain a better understanding of the devastation that took place. For centuries, the Government has built an image of the Native people as one of uncivilized savages and though the years has portrayed them as the cause of the average American’s suffering in order to bring genocide against them with minimal resistance for the public. When a culture or race is villainized based solely on that criteria it create a climate of hate that entrenches itself in the minds of the people and is passed down through the generations. People are no longer driven by facts, but instead feed into the racial rhetoric of which they have become accustomed. The film highlights the need for change to the way the people are treated by their Government. This call for change is something we can hear reverberating through today’s economy. It is the anthem of campaign slogans as wells as the outcry heard from the people who feel mistreated by factions of the Government. John Trudell uses his platform to advocate for the right of his people and calls for change to end inequality he uses words to motivate the people to fight for change, all he ever did was talk, but