The noble savage is another waay over-done cliche. The "noble savages" are never more than 1-dimensional props in a morality play, juxtapositions for the perceived failings of civilization. They never seem to have individuality, or motives of their own, or failings, or any difficulty from the brutally hard circumstances that inevitably accompany a lack of civilization.
I suppose an earlier era in moviemaking had it's inverse cliche- the evil barbarian, with similar conditions applying.
That's one thing I sort of liked about Mark Twain's "Indian Joe". He may have been a villian, but he was a <i>human</i> villian, not a morality play villian. He had an actual background, actual motives, ect. It seems a lot more real to me.
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