Film Review #1

The film "The Columbian Exchange" explores the effects of trade among Europeans and Native Americans. The focus in this film is on the portmanteau biota of introduced plant and animal life, rather than on disease and weeds. The assertion of this paper is that ecological imperialism is inadequate in fully explaining the temporary decline of the Native American and Irish populations.

Both the North American Indians and Irish people adapted to particular introduced species, the former being that of horses, the latter potatoes. For a time, these cultures even thrived on the introduction. What derails the success of these two introductions is, in part, attributable to similar causes.

The film included an interview with a Crow native who stated that by the 18th century the introduced horse became a center point of their culture. In support of the introduction of the horse, the Crow native said the efficiency of hunting buffalo by means of horse afforded them more time to engage in the arts and philosophy. Similarly, the potato grew in Ireland with little effort and provided a major food source for the Irish who labored hard for their English rulers. Both portmanteau biota appear to have had benefits to the native cultures.

The two cultures share another similar parallel. Although the disease component of the portmanteau biota introduced to the Native American population made them vulnerable, the planned systematic extermination of a major food and cultural resource, as in the case of the Plains Indian, was one of the last major calamities they suffered. The case was the same for the Irish who were forced to export the food they had grown even with the threat of starvation. The New World settlers systematically exterminated an essential component of the Nativeís food supply: buffalo. The imperialist British forced the Irish to export to England the crops they cultivated even in the face of mass starvation of the Irish, for the Irish were merely tenant farmers. The oppressors in both societies sealed the nativesí decline by removing the ample food sources that were present.

In summary, "The Columbian Exchange" challenges the viewer to think critically about applying the concept of ecological determinism to all components of the European portmanteau. However, the producer of this film could have given a brief history of the Irishís political status, thereby allowing the viewer to come to a more informed decision about the effects such "Columbian exchange" had. With additional investigation, this viewer found the role of sociopolitical imperialism is also a major factor of consideration in cultural domination. Nonetheless, this film begins to unravel the complicated effects of cultural interaction and suggests some interesting ideas.