Alejandro Inarritu’s movie The Revenant follows the life of Hugh Glass, a fur trader in the early 19^th century as he survives a bear attack and sets out for revenge against a fellow fur trader who left Glass for dead and killed his son. The movie highlights the struggles of many concepts, including race and how empires use race as a justification for conquest.

Fur trapping was an economic empire because of the amount of profit each empire was making from trade with its colonies and natives. Both the British and French empires were trying to expand their spheres of influence within the western hemisphere into the Ohio river valley because of the abundance of beavers residing within the area. The French had established several forts in the area and both parties had other forms of military presence. The French, British, and their native allies raided one another for valuable furs in small skirmishes. These small raiding skirmishes can be compared to the opening scene of The Revenant when the Arikara attack the fur trapping expedition that Glass is a part of. These tensions surrounding the fur trade and the Ohio river valley eventually led to the French and Indian war following General George Washington’s attack on aFrench reconnaissance team in 1754. The war ended in 1763 with the Peace of Paris.

Following escaping from their Arikara attackers, the remaining trappers stash their salvaged furs on a river bank.   As everyone is bringing the furs onto shore and Glass is mapping out a route to a fort, a fellow trapper, Fitzgerald, berates Glass with derogatory remarks directed at him for having a native son and blames the company’s misfortune on Glass and his “savage son.”

Fitzgerald’s attitudes reflect a broader problem with empire: subjects of an empire tend to discriminate against people who don’t match their appearance. Often, agents of the empire enforce racist practices to create this “us versus them” mindset. This is apparent in J.M. Coetzee novel “Waiting for the Barbarians.” In the novel, the magistrate of a small settlement is accused of “treasonously consorting with the enemy” by a member of the empire’s Third Bureau after he returns from returning a native woman to her people. The magistrate is used as an example of what happens when a citizen helps people who aren’t members of the empire. The situation also illustrates the mindset of many empires regarding non-citizens: if you aren’t a member of the empire, you must be an enemy of an empire.

The problem regarding the mindset of empire inherently having enemies is illustrated in the real world by the various waves of immigrants to America throughout its history. United States citizens generally adopt a xenophobic mindset when introduced to foreign immigrants.

For example, Irish, German, and Italian immigrants were all discriminated against for decades before they were properly integrated and accepted into society. During the Second World War, Jewish refugees were denied entry at Ellis Island because the US was still neutral in the war at the time. In the modern day, immigrants with Hispanic and Middle Eastern origins are discriminated against for their association with threats to the American way of life. Many citizens fear that Hispanic immigrants will “take” American jobs. Select Americans strongly stereotype people that appear to be from countries with a dominant Muslim population as being synonymous with terrorism.

The truth about empire is that it does not require to separate “us” from “them” and apply racist divisionism to remain in control. In fact, the quality of life of Americans after accepting that immigrants are going to stay in the country raises for multiple reasons. The different immigrants provide new cultures and ways of thinking that enter the melting pot of “American” culture. These ideas and traditions then take on new meanings that are blended with the old ways of life and enter American popular culture. Saint Patrick’s Day and Cinco de Mayo are two famous examples of foreign holidays that are popular in the United States.

Immigrants also enter the workforce and to help expand the economy. For example, Italian immigrants initially began working in many factories in the northeast during the 19^th century. In the modern day, many Mexican immigrants work in construction, landscaping, and restaurant industries. Contrary to (un)popular belief, Hispanic immigrants do not take American jobs but take jobs with an underrepresentation of native citizens employed.

Removing xenophobia from empire can remove the initial struggle for acceptance and accelerate the empire receiving the benefits of an influx of immigrant entering the empire’s culture and economy.

Bibliography

Coetzee, J.M. Waiting for the Barbarians. New York: Penguin Books, 1982.

Digital History. 2018. 10 December 2018.

“Here’s Everyone Who’s Immigrated to the US Since 1820.” 3 May 2016. Metrocosm. Photo. 10 December 2018.

Oxford University Press. The Oxford Companion to American Military History. Oxford University Press, 2000. Electronic Copy.

The Revenant. Dir. Alejandro Inarritu. Perf. Leonardo Dicaprio and Tom Hardy. 2015. Amazon Video.