Brando in the Eyes of Minorities

In response to the Dick Cavett's question, "“if you had the Academy Awards night to do over again, would you do any of that differently,” Brando expressed that he felt that Native American’s needed the chance to be heard because of the way that they were mistreated in film (Brando). The fact that Brando said this shows that he truly believed that there was inequality in the film business. As a white man, this was very powerful for him to say because this inequality would never directly affect him. If he wanted to, he could have been blind to the fact that Native Americans as well as “all non-whites” were being mistreated in film and he would still be a successful actor (Brando). Because Brando acknowledged Native Americans and other minorities, he showed that he was selfless and humble. Brando showed that for him, being an actor was really about art not awards and recognition. By standing up for Native Americans and other minorities, he took a risk of losing white fans that did not care about “Indians being represented as savage, ugly, nasty…” (Brando). On the other hand, he gained fans in minorities by letting them know that someone in Hollywood recognized the wrongs that were done to them.

White Radicalism and the Star Image

Fonda's radical political views greatly impacted her career in a negative way. In the earlier years of her career, Fonda was seen as a sex symbol and was loved by a large audience. As her focus began to change towards her radical views, her star image changed for some of her audience. Fonda became less desirable because she was not the same Fonda that her fans loved and adored. Thus, people began to turn against Fonda becasue she was engaging in something that had nothing to do with her job as an actress. Though her political views had nothing to do with her job as an actress, it is possible that the two areas did in fact overlap because she did not win an Oscar the year that she had great political involvement. The most important point that Dyer makes addresses the sad reality of the attempts of stars like Fonda and Brando to bring certain racial issues to the attention of their audience. Dyer states that "what the star does can only be posed in terms of the star doing it, the extraordinariness or difficulty of her/his doing it, rather than in terms of the ostensible political issue involved" (Dyer 78). This quote addresses the idea of "white radicalism" where the audience was more concerned with what a white woman like Jane Fonda was doing trying to help those less priviledged than her, rather than focusing on the cause she was supporting (78). The audience was not really concerned with the political issue that the star was addressing, but rather why they are choosing to distract from their star image by taking such a radical position. This idea can also be applied to many political issues that Brando was involved in like the treatment of Native Americans in film. The audiences main concern and their disapproval came from the fact that the great actor Marlon Brando was involved with these particular political issue, but they did not necessarily pay attention to what the issue was that Brando was supporting.

Jane Fonda, Marlon Brando, & Radicalism

Though there were not many actors or actresses who believed in equal rights for minorities, there were a few besides Brando who continually expressed there concern for minorities in America. One of these well known political rebels was Jane Fonda. Fonda was known for her "adoption of radical politics" which raised much controversy concerning her star image (Dyer 77). Like Brando, Fonda was actively involved with the Black Panthers and expressed concern for the treatment of Native Americans. In Richard Dyers Stars, the active  involvement of stars concerning Native American and African American rights and treatment are noted as two of "the four major areas of radicalism recognized by the American mass media" (77). Because these topics are "major" in the eyes of the media, it was a guarantee that Brando and Fonda's involvement would have a major impact on their careers.

Brando's 1973 Oscar Stand-in Recounts Fallout

After Sacheen Littlefeather's speech at the 1973 Academy Awards, people expressed their dissaproval of Brando's support for equal treatment of Native Americans in films through more violent measures. In the article titled "Brando's 1973 Oscar Stand-in Recounts Fallout," it says that when Sacheen went to visit Brando after the show, gunshots were fired at Brando's home (Associated Press). Although no one was hurt, the fact that an attempt was made at Brando's life shows how serious the situation really was. The fact that someone tried to harm Brando shows that there were people who strongly dissaproved of  Brando's involvement.

Brando's actions also had a great impact on Sasheen. Because Sasheen agreed to take part in expressing the need for fair treatment of Native Americans, it was hard for her to find jobs in film. No one would hire her because of her involvement and she even claimed that the "government encouraged the entertainment industry to avoid hiring her as part of an effort to squash Native American activism" (Associated Press).
Stand-in Recounts Fallout

Academy Awards: "The Godfather"

Marlon Brando's refusal to accept his Academy Award for "the Godfather" was a prime example of Brando's great dedication to the advancement of minorities in film and American society. Instead of accepting the award, Brando allowed the President of the National Native American Affirmative Action Committee to voice the opinion of her people to millions of people. If Brando did not sacrifice his moment of glory for the President of this committee to voice the opinion of her people, the voices of Native Americans probably never would have been heard. Brando's decision to do this was very bold and was definitely something that most actors of his time would never have thought to do. Thus, Brando's drastic action sent a clear message that was not appreciated by all in attendance at the Oscars. This was indicated by the fact that people were booing as the Native American woman was trying to talk about the fact that Native Americans did not appreciate how they were being treated in films. It can be implied that this booing was directed at Brando and not the Native American woman because Brando expressed that the crowd was not pleased with him specifically for disrupting the ceremony in his interview with Cavett.

Oscars: The Godfather

Marlon Brando Interview With Dick Cavett Part 2

Marlon Brando Interview With Dick Cavett Part 1

Marlon Brando's Interview with Dick Cavett

Brando’s interview with Dick Cavett clearly depicted his rebel personality that was discussed in Richard Dyer’s Stars. Although this label was in reference to his personality in movies, Brando’s rebel attitude also applied in his actual life. Brando’s comments on Native Americans in films showed that he was a rebel because a typical actor probably would not have voiced their opinion about the treatment of Native Americans in film, in fear of upsetting their audience. Brando was unlike other actors because he didn’t care and he did what he wanted even if he lost popularity. In this interview, Dick Cavett served as a representation of the public opinion of Brando by the specific questions that he asked Brando, and the way he approached these questions. Cavett seemed to be concerned about offending Brando or making him feel uncomfortable in anyway when he suggested that Brando “give [him] a signal” if at any time he brought up something that Brando didn’t feel like discussing (Brando). Cavett did this because he was not sure how Brando would react to him asking him about the Academy Awards incident because it was such a bizarre and unusual situation. When Cavett did ask Brando whether he would do the Academy Award nights over if he could, Brando answered calmy and provided his thoughts as to why people reacted the way they did when a Native American accepted his award and gave a speech. This showed that Brando was aware of the fact that people did not appreciate the great involvement that he was putting into helping minorities gain equal rights, and also that the opinions of others would not stop him from doing what he felt was right.

Marlon Brando: A Great Actor Who Stood Against Racism

Monica Moorehead’s article on Marlon Brando’s political involvement clearly indicates that many people were not happy with Brando’s political engagements. Moorhead says that critics “labeled Brando as eccentric” because he was “anti-hollywood and anti-establishment” (Moorhead). These statements indicate that Brando was different from most actors of his time because he did not care about being a star and maintaining his star image. Instead, Brando used his fame to help others in need which was not common for other actors of his time. An example that Moorhead uses of Brando's deviance from the norms of Hollywood stars was when she says that “[t]here were not too many celebrities who supported the Black Panther Party, but Brando was one of the most prominent” (Moorhead). This statement clearly shows that many celebrities did not share the same interest in supporting the Black Panthers as Brando did.

Brando & Racism

Opening Statement

This blog was created to recognize the great contribution of the actor Marlon Brando to the advancement of minorities within the film industries and society. This recognition was accomplished through the brief analysis of various articles and interviews about or featuring Brando and his involvement in the strive for equal rights of minorities. The analysis of these sources serve to support my belief that Brando’s active involvement in obtaining equal rights for minorities in films and American society was not positively received by a majority of his audience because it was different from most actors of his time.