Square Head, Pale Face is a pastiche of early anthropological film. Francis Summers explores themes raised by the problematic photography of Edward Curtis who documented North American Indians at the beginning of this century; he manufactured the myth of the Indian image bringing props with him to alter the reality he found. To deal with this issue, Summers acts as both the observer and the observed, acting as the Indian and as Curtis.

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Square Head, Pale Face is a pastiche of early anthropological film. Francis Summers explores themes raised by the problematic photography of Edward Curtis who documented North American Indians at the beginning of this century; he manufactured the myth of the Indian image bringing props with him to alter the reality he found. To deal with this issue, Summers acts as both the observer and the observed, acting as the Indian and as Curtis.