Teehee

                The clips assigned to the class by Dr. Morris were varied and interesting, to say the least.

                The bit that caught me off guard the most was the “Dropping the Feather” piece. I was startled by the sudden noise and perplexed by what was going on. If my assumption is correct, there must be a sort of stigmatism against dropping a feather to the ground. Perhaps like letting the flag touch the ground to some Americans? But in my confusion, I found the clip very funny. Psychologically, it’s because the juxtaposition between “traditional” Native dress and beliefs and the techno beat partnered with the modern dance moves created an absurd picture…and I laughed. The point of Youtube is to share videos with people of every race, color, and creed. So my laughing at the clip was acceptable and the intended point. However, one Youtube commenter thought otherwise. He (I assume) was horribly offended by such a poke at Native tradition. Essentially, he called the 3 actors sell-outs because they were playing into some Hollywood stereotype. The tone of the comment was accusatory and mad. This once again echoes the issue Native have even amongst themselves. What do we call them? What’s funny? If it’s funny, can non-natives laugh at it? If we do find it funny, does that make us racist?

                But I digress. I appreciated the “Being Gay and Native American” clip for the reinforcement of my last blog. Natives are people just like the rest of us. And some of them are bound not to tickle my particular funny bone. Just like every other comedian out there. It’s a level playing field: regardless of gender or race, you may be the funniest guy alive or you can flop completely. The “Gay” clip, to me, wasn’t funny. The material may have been unique in that I’ve never heard another gay Native comedian before. But its delivery was off and Charlie Ballad seemed uncomfortable on the stage.

                The vlog with Jim Ruel was funny. I actually watched it with my eyes closed (headache). And had I not known, I never would have assumed him to be a Native. And his jokes were funny, regardless of his blood. Anyone saying jokes with his delivery style would have been a hoot.

Time for Some Self-Reflection

                Thus far in this class, I’ve struggled with a few things. First and foremost, the idea that I truly know nothing about this culture. I’ve seen enough PBS specials to know the base minimum about, say, Chinese culture. I can consciously recognize that they are more than Kung Fu movies and crowded cities. Their history is vast and long. But I could pretty well generalize it if I was put on the spot on some strange game show. I can say the same of France, England, Ireland, Germany, and Spain. But then there are the Natives. I knew nothing of the American Indian Movement or occupy Alcatraz or the Wounded Knee incident or even the fact that there is a whole museum in D.C. dedicated to Natives. And I was oblivious to their culture, or rather, their many different cultures: fry bread or hair or humor or rez cars that only go in reverse or a billion other things I’m not yet privy to. Heck, if I think about it, I probably know more about the Aztecs and the Mayans than I do of contemporary Native Americans.

                More than all of this, though, is one bit I cannot seem to comprehend. Call me naïve, call me ignorant, call me blond. But I simply do not understand where these negatives stereotypes of Natives are being portrayed and prolonged. I don’t mean on boxes of butter or caps of sports fans. I mean on a daily basis. Are there people just sitting around with a Bud in their fists bad-mouthing Natives? How is this group of people even coming up in conversation?

                Yes, I grew up in a small town. But that never made me blind towards the bad things said behind backs. I heard people gash the gay kids in school. I saw the compact riot against the African American kids. The football team was no stranger to Asian jokes, despite the Asian on the team. So how am I missing the hateful perpetuation of bad Native stereotypes? I never once assumed Natives didn’t have a sense of humor. I never assumed them to be “noble creatures” or drunken, abusive savages. They’re just…people. No better or worse than anyone else purely because of their genetics. Of all that I struggle with in this class, this tops it.

                If you can give me an insightful response, I will surely welcome it.

Mexican Drinking Worm

            Over spring break, I did some shopping with my mother. In one area were classic puzzles: puzzles that were printed with famous paintings. They were very pretty. And then over in the children’s section of puzzles, I came across things like boats and cats. But on the second to highest shelf I found the following three puzzles.

            Once again, this class is compelling me to pay more attention to my surroundings. So I stopped to take photos of them. My mother asked if I wanted them. I said, “No, I’m just making an example of this. It’s going in my next blog for class.” And so here they are.

            Later during spring break, my boyfriend and I were watching one of my new favorite movies, Bridesmaids. It’s like the female version of The Hangover, just as filthy and just as hilarious. In my opinion. Anyway. The dumb British woman accosted her roommate/the main character of the film to show her a free tattoo she got off some guy in a van. It was infected but the woman only cared about explaining what it was: “It’s a Mexican drinking worm. It’s the Native American symbol for ‘wasted.’” And this time (my 3^rd time watching it) that line caught my attention. And I got to thinking of other films that have quick, derogatory ideas about Natives. The next movie to jump into my head was Good Will Hunting. The two old college roommates/professors are having dinner and discussing Matt Damon’s prodigy character. As an example to support his claim, the one professor tells a story about an uneducated genius living in a cave. Indian. “Dots not feathers.”

            And these films are so unlike Smoke Signals (a movie I found myself quoting to my brother over break. He thought I was insane). They’re not directed or written or acted by Natives. They’re merely used as a medium to get a joke across or a point to stick. And it’s not like they’re blatantly crude or offensive quotes. They’re just quickly stuck into the film, toss away lines you’d hardly notice unless you were looking for them.

            What a shame.

The Next Tonto

            I saw this photograph come up on my yahoo homepage and this class has forced me to click on the link to see what it was all about.

            This is Johnny Depp portraying Tonto in the newest Long Ranger movie. There’s practically no information about the film. However, in the yahoo news article, it does say that this film is supposed to revolutionize the vision of Tonto. Rather than being the silent sidekick to the badass main character, Tonto is supposed to be the brains of the operation.

            Maybe it’s just me, but this photo doesn’t exactly say that. The bird in Depp’s head makes him look positively ridiculous. Given, I have a very limited amount of information about Natives or the traditions of their tribes. I know that a lot of African indigenous people mimic their dances after the Birds of Paradise that are so prevalent in their regions. But this stuffed crow-looking fowl on top of his head seems ridiculous.

            Technically, from Lyons’ theory on Native education, this would be a more honest portrayal, since Depp has Native blood in his history.

            I’m pleased with the hard look that Depp seems to have. At least just sitting there, Depp doesn’t look like an uneducated simpleton playing a Native in the usual offensive manner.

            It’s not posed to come out until May 2013. So I suppose we’ll have to wait and see how this comes out. I just worry that Depp’s ridiculous portrayal of certain things could mar the hopeful future this film may have. However, that could be entirely attributed to Tim Burton’s consistently strange take on movies.

            Fingers crossed, I suppose.

Link:

http://movies.yahoo.com/blogs/movie-talk/johnny-depp-cool-tonto-lone-ranger-181416009.html

Me Funny, You Laugh

            After reading the first 100 or so pages to the book Me Funny, I decided that it’s my favorite novel we’ve read thus far in class.

            At one point, there’s a discussion about how the brain needs to interpret jokes. Laughter involves a fast-thinking process of deconstructing what you already know and what is known as commonplace, and then reconstructing it in a shocking new way that creates the response of laughing. Along those same lines, I think laughter is also a liberal reaction. Remember, this is just me. But to find a wide number of things to be comical, you need to keep an open mind about things. If you make a joke about “white trash,” and you are part of what the comedian considers to be white trash, you have to keep an open mind and be able to have the ability to be self-effacing in order to find the joke funny. It requires a liberal, open mind set. If you’re determined to take offense, then you’ve already shut down and you won’t find anything funny.

            Which is just what Thomas said in the movie Smoke Signals: “Know what’s funnier than Indians in movies? Indians watching Indians in movies.” He recognizes the comedic irony taking place and is willing to laugh at himself.

            I find the study of humans a fascinating topic. There are so many people on the earth and so many completely different mindsets that watching people react to any situation is interesting to me. So this novel Me Funny is a great read, as it delves into the ideas and theories behind jokes.          

            And of all things, for something to be funny or thought-provoking to an audience, they have to have a frame of reference for the information being presented. If they don’t understand the information or the context, then the following joke won’t be comical. For example, the last chapter of the book we were assigned over break is a discussion between two Cree women on treadmills. The conversation they are having is so beyond me that I had difficulty understanding or liking it. Maybe they were being funny; maybe they were being highly philosophical. But either way, I wouldn’t know because the things they were referencing were over my head. Just like jokes aren’t funny when a comedian tells jokes about being married to a college campus, since very few people in the audience would be able to relate. At this point, how I see it, a Native comedian has to make blatantly obvious jokes about being Native for a non-Native audience to find it funny. If you make jokes about Occupy Wounded Knee or Occupy Alcatraz, most of the audience won’t laugh: we’ve never been educated about it.

            Now that I’m thinking on it, I’d like to watch more Native comedians at this point. With my slightly expanded frame of reference, it would be interesting to see what else I would understand and find funny.

Smoke Signals

            We watched Smoke Signals in class. Afterwards, I decided to take a look at the IMDB.com page, see what it had to say. I wasn’t so much struck by what the site said about the film as by the general cover to the DVD case. I was rather hoping it would show Thomas in his braids, glasses, and suit. If that’s who the character truly is, they should have portrayed him as such. But that’s neither here nor there.

            I really enjoyed the movie. It had everything: fire, anger, comedy. What I really enjoyed was that there was no play or cheap shots on the fact that the story was based on Natives from a reservation. I felt heartbroken watching little Victor run after his father and telling him not to go. That’s not an “Indian” storyline. I could sympathize with the grief of Victor over what his father had failed to do. I could even further sympathize with the awful idea that Arnold was the cause of the fire that killed Thomas’s parents. Yes, it played off the stereotype that Natives are awful drunks. But that could be any race! I know white alcoholics, black alcoholics…it’s not just the story for one set of people. The movie also proved that alcoholism wasn’t an option for some people: like when Victor’s mother saw her young son destroying the truck and denounced their current lifestyle. It was a bit of the plotline that showed Natives can, just like everyone else, stop a bad habit and get better.

            My favorite part, as I’m sure I’m not alone in this, was Thomas. He cracked me up. He’d close his eyes and you knew a good story was coming. He was more like the older, stereotypical Natives, the one always telling stories. The best part of it though was the fact that the audience would assume that his stories had some grand meaning behind it, like a glimpse into an unknown fountain of truth. Usually, they were just silly stories or completely made up occurrences.

            Overall, I enjoyed it as a good movie as well as the point it was trying to make about contemporary Natives. It’s definitely a movie I wouldn’t mind having in my own collection.