Cooper's Good, Bad and White Indians in Three Cinematic Adaptations of The Last of the Mohicans

Abstract

In my essay I will compare Native American stereotypes in three filmed adaptations of The Last of the Mohicans (1826) by James Fenimore Cooper with a short overview of the status of Native Americans in American society and their representation in films based on Jacquelyn Kilpatrick’s book entitled Celluloid Indians. I will also touch upon stereotyping as a phenomenon, and the theory of filmed adaptations of novels through Brian McFarlane’s book entitled Novel to Film. An Introduction to the Theory of Adaptation.