Flower Moon Killers
Directed by Martin Scorsese, 2023
At the heart of this film are the rights of Indigenous peoples, the harms of trade and political barriers, and the challenges faced by First Nations people. It depicts the broader indigenous struggle and encourages local mobilization to ensure the empowerment of these groups in the United States and around the world. This film is an adaptation of the multi-award winning 2017 novel, Flower Moon Killerswritten by David Grann. Produced by Dan Friedkin and others, the film stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro and Lily Gladstone. In content, it is essentially an epic American Western crime drama, but its subplot concerns the birth pangs of the global indigenous power.
Set in 1920s Oklahoma, it focuses on a series of mysterious murders of leading members of the Osage Nation after the discovery of oil on tribal lands. Tribal members had retained their mineral rights on their reservation, but a corrupt local political leader sought to steal the riches. The film premiered at the 76th Cannes Film Festival on May 20, 2023 and received critical acclaim, with praise for the film’s integrity, Scorsese’s direction, screenplay, cinematography, musical score and the performances of the actors (especially DiCaprio, Gladstone and De Niro). , although the long runtime (well above the industry average) was subject to some criticism.
There is much in the plot and message of this film that will be of particular interest to instructors and students of international relations. It would, for example, be a valuable resource for classroom discussions on indigenous rights, environmental protection, multinational governance, political gamesmanship and many other related themes. If an IR instructor is looking for a modern example of Machiavelli, this film has one. In Grann’s insightful book and Scorsese’s empathetic portrait, many themes relevant to IR are paramount. The relevance of our IR literature is clear from the opening scene. Thus, we see the elders of the Osage Nation burying a ceremonial pipe, mourning the assimilation of their descendants into white American society.
What follows is something of an exposition of the existential reality of the “mixed blessings” of life. An indigenous people experience a seemingly “rags to riches” story, only to be faced with tragedy. Happily wandering their Oklahoma reservation, during the annual “flower moon” phenomenon of the fields of flowers, members of the Osage tribe discover oil. The tribe becomes wealthy, as it retains mineral rights and its members share in revenue from oil leases, although racist laws of the time required court-appointed white legal guardians, assuming that First Nations people were intellectually ” incompetent.”
The challenge of global racism is an essential part of the international relations curriculum. This kind of (less than) subtle racism in the American South is familiar and receives less attention in IR than it deserves, mainly because we are accustomed to thinking of the United States primarily as a ” universal success story. In many ways, this film continues the message of residual racism depicted in Green Book, a 2018 American biographical comedy-drama inspired by the true story of a 1962 tour of the Deep South by the African-American pianist American Don Shirley. This cosmetic but (in reality) state-sanctioned racism should be a recurring theme in the analysis of indigenous peoples in IR courses. Students of IR will find even more direct evidence in Killers.
Scorsese also offers a subtle parody of the famous Rodgers and Hammerstein, Oklahoma, making brief references to the hermetically sealed conduits of black and white life in the American South. A news story about the 1921 Tulsa race massacre, in which many black residents were murdered, traumatized the Osage. The thematic analysis of Grann and Scorsese’s narration distinguishes Flower Moon Killers and traditional westerns in the old Hollywood tradition.
Jorge Cotte of The Nation suggests: “Unlike the visions of unlimited freedom found in traditional Westerns, Martin Scorsese’s new film is a study of a West limited by the vertical geometry of oil rigs and violent conspiracies of powerful men. » Cotte then clarifies some of the thematic differences. Grann’s book recounts the unsolved crimes that plagued Osages from 1921 to 1926 and the intervention of the Bureau of Investigation (the predecessor of the FBI). Grann diligently contextualizes the mass murders and J. Edgar Hoover’s subsequent role in the formation of the bureau. Scorsese’s narrative simplifies the story by focusing on how one individual descends, “through greed, complicity and cowardice, into unforgivable acts of dispossession and violence.”
Scorsese centrally involved the Osage Nation in the film’s production. He met Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear in Pawhuska and sought to become fully involved. He cast Osage actors in many roles and hired hundreds of tribe members as extras and production crew to ensure accurate representation of the tribe. Osage translator Christopher Cote taught the actors the Osage language.
Scorsese’s frequent collaborator Robbie Robertson (himself of Cayuga and Mohawk ancestry) composed the incidental score. Critics called it “old-fashioned”. This reviewer would suggest that it is a sincere and lyrically haunting effort to reproduce authenticity. The film also features a soundtrack of popular music from the 1920s and Native American songs. This was Robertson’s last completed film score before his death in August 2023. The film is dedicated to his memory. This is a significant achievement and a fitting tribute to Robertson.
The film’s true coda garnered audience respect and even praise for its acknowledgment of the historic silencing of crimes committed against indigenous people, with Slate’s Joel Robinson writing the scene, “turning the camera both toward the ‘inward and towards the public simultaneously’, and the New Yorker. Richard Brody noting: “Scorsese’s control over form and tone, and the bold but subtle way in which he stages the incident, indicate that he intends not only to tell the story but also to disrupt the consciousness of people. its (no doubt largely white) audience.” These are questions that the IR community will reflect on, as we are particularly concerned about how these films are received among the communities they seek to represent.
There appears to be broad consensus among indigenous peoples that the drama succeeded in accurately depicting the culture and language of the Osage peoples. On November 9, 2023, the day the SAG-AFTRA strike ended, Lily Gladstone published a magnificent message of acclimation to the Osage Nation, widely republished on social networks, encouraging indigenous people to view it, “when and only if you feel ready, and see it with people you feel safe with…” Lily was very aware that the Osage would likely have a lot of generational grief to deal with.
There is so much in this film that will excite and engage IR instructors and students. It is a beautiful example of the hardship and injustice of indigenous people, but it is also a celebration of their resilience and remarkable potential. These are topics that we should cover with pride and enthusiasm in our IR classes.
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