The Mapuche theme has been present since the beginning of cinema in Chile, highlighting in particular two films from the silent period; The Agony of Arauco (1917) and Araucanian Nobility (1925). In both films a rather contradictory image is constructed, since in one way or another the situation of this town in the face of the abuses of the white man is evident, but there is also something exotic in the physical characterizations and clothing. The following article will address the representation of the Mapuche in these early cinematographic productions, allowing us to reflect on that trap of mirrors that is combined in the visual construction of native peoples in cinema.