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.
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Be sure you read that blog post on Native Appropriations to get one Cherokee young woman's take on this film.
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