In American movies, why do historical and fantasy characters have a British accent?
Because no other accent sounds as universal as an English upper class accent. Remember in the examples you've cited they're not using any English accent. They don't fill ancient Rome with guys from Liverpool who sound like Ringo Starr, they inevitably use an English accent that sounds trained, cultured and educated and therefore hard to geographically pin down. It's not anchored to a particular culture and is easy to replicate which means everyone in the cast can easily develop the same tones and sound like a communal group but not one you can readily identify.Over the years it's become such a generic accent and tone of voice that you can immediately stop thinking about it once you've heard it. It stops being an English accent and becomes the character's accent.If they used American accents you would immediately associate a degree of cultural baggage to the regional tones ("Hey! Julius Caesar is from California! I wonder if he surfs?")Don't believe me? Here's a quick scene for you from The Greatest Story Ever Told. This is the moment when Jesus is crucified and finally dies. It's supposed to be the most dramatic moment in the entire film and fill the audience with a sense of awe, which it does... right up until the moment the centurion speaks.
What is the best documentary about Native American history and culture?
I don't know of one single best documentary. But here are by now a great many of good documentaries by Native filmmakers, Most are not a general survey of history but about a particular people , event or history or issue. Here is a list from Indian Country Today. 10 Fascinating Documentaries About Native Americans You Can Watch Right Now . 11 Essential Native American Films You Can Watch Online Right Now . You may find that watching film by Native people may give you are better sense of the diversity and vibrancy of native life. Documentaries by outsiders are often not as good. Also don't forget to check out First Nations (Canadian Natives) films and documentaries. Because of the higher percentage in the Canadian population demographics and the way the Canadian government funds local film and TV content there are many more from Canada. Also, there is now a whole native run Provence in Canada, Nunavut. Some general ones I can recommend as an introduction are the book and DVD "500 Nations". and Ted Turner's "The Native Americans". Here is a good list to start exploring. Native American Documentary Films . Also, you might want to seek out good native made fiction films. Sometimes fiction is better at expressing things. "Smoke Signals"(1998), "Powwow Highway" and "Winter in the Blood" (2013) come to mind. There are a number of Canadian ones like "The Fast Runner".A little note: I'm sure you did not mean anything by it, but most people I know who are native would be very surprised and a bit annoyed at the news off their "tragic demise". There at least 2 million enrolled tribal members and a few million more of native ancestry. There are many many cultures and some languages that are vibrant, alive and well. There are also millions of people from Mexico and central America of Native descent Millions of people in Mexico speak native languages and many do here too. "We are Still Here" is a not so rare slogan. Different tribal nations are still living and thinking and being in their world today.
Which era in pre-1911 Chinese history is most "accessible" to modern Americans?
FeiFei is really nailing it, but I figure it’s not the answer you’re looking for. That’s why I’m providing a context of that sentiment.All the official ancient Chinese history (pre 1911 or pre 1840) documents are within public domain. You’re asking which is most comprehensible to modren Americans, and since there are tons of sinology papers I can google, it’s fair to assume you know nothing about Chinese history. Unlike America which was founded less than 300 years ago and can trace most of her history in a single museum, China has a history of 5000 or 4000 years depends on your academic background . We take our legacy really seriously, and have been struggling a long way to survive with it. If you don’t believe me, check the post 1911 Chinese history you’re trying to avoid.The point goes like this, imagine you’re in 6th grade and you just heard this thing called Calculus. You want to choose the easiest portion of this “Calculus” for a 6 grader and you want to quickly understand it from the POV of a professional mathematician. You pop your question with a 9th grade math instructor (I don’t know what grade Americans teach their kids with Calculus). If he’s really nice, you’d think he will give a 6th grader like you a reasonable speech about learning step by step.Well, you’re not a 6th grader, and China is not some neighboring countries like Mexico or Canada to which common folks can play a lot of stereotype jokes without feeling disrespectful, or maybe it is. You can check the post 1911 Chinese history to see how we feel about that.I assume you mean well with the question, but the question itself shows arrogance or ignorance, I don’t know which you prefer.If you still want to learn Chinese history, congrats. I recommend the three kingdom period (220–265 AD). It may give you a medieval or Game of Thrones feeling, just saying.
Idiotic Native American Stereotypes?
Like someone else said, it's a genetic fact that Native Americans tend to be alcoholics. Not a stereotype. Not ALL Native Americans. That just means you are more susceptible. Certain people are more susceptible to alcohol based on their bloodline. Let's not be politically correct here.