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Dances with Wolves
Movie

Dances with Wolves

1990 • Adventure, Drama, Western

Woke Score
7
out of 10

Plot

Lt. John Dunbar is dubbed a hero after he accidentally leads Union troops to a victory during the Civil War. He requests a position on the western frontier, but finds it deserted. He soon finds out he is not alone, but meets a wolf he dubs "Two-socks" and a curious Indian tribe. Dunbar quickly makes friends with the tribe, and discovers a white woman who was raised by the Indians. He gradually earns the respect of these native people, and sheds his white-man's ways.

Overall Series Review

Dances with Wolves is a revisionist Western epic centered on the spiritual and cultural conversion of a Civil War lieutenant. The narrative positions the white American military and settler class as morally deficient, cruel, and destructive. The protagonist, John Dunbar, explicitly rejects this culture in favor of the Lakota Sioux way of life, which is heavily romanticized as peaceful, honorable, and in harmony with nature. The film operates primarily through a racial and cultural lens, defining characters and entire groups by their identity rather than universal merit. The core message is that the protagonist finds moral truth and vitality by abandoning Western civilization for the spiritual and communal life of the indigenous people.

Categorical Breakdown

Identity Politics8/10

The plot establishes a clear moral hierarchy where white American characters, particularly soldiers and settlers, are depicted as incompetent, unhygienic, greedy, and purely antagonistic. The protagonist's ultimate character merit is achieved by shunning his own cultural 'whiteness' and fully assimilating into the virtuous Lakota tribe.

Oikophobia9/10

The film functions as an explicit indictment of American/Western expansion and culture. The protagonist's home civilization is framed as fundamentally corrupt and barbaric, responsible for destruction and the reckless slaughter of nature. The Lakota culture is idealized as a spiritual and moral counterpoint, representing a pure connection to the land and a lost innocence.

Feminism3/10

The primary female character, Stands With A Fist, is capable and respected, serving as a cultural bridge for the male lead, but she is not a flawless 'Girl Boss' figure. She enters a traditional, complementary marital relationship with the male lead, and the story culminates in the couple starting a life together, which affirms family and pairing.

LGBTQ+1/10

The movie contains a normative structure for relationships. The romantic pairing is exclusively male-female, and the narrative contains no focus on alternative sexualities, gender theory, or the deconstruction of the nuclear family unit.

Anti-Theism7/10

The narrative heavily implies that the spiritual life and communal morality of the Lakota are superior to the empty, destructive materialism of the white American culture of the period. The greed and violence of the 'civilized' white invaders are morally condemned, suggesting a fundamental spiritual failure at the core of their world, while the Lakota exhibit transcendent morality through nature and community.