Johnny Depp as Tonto

Now as an artist that has utilized The Lone Ranger as part of his body of work and is a staunch advocate for the accuracy of Indigenous portrayal in media, I am interested in this turn of events. Granted, Johnny Depp has claimed he is Cherokee, Irish, German with some Navajo(?) [via IMDB] all well and fine. The problem isn't is Johnny Depp Cherokee, it's what does he know about being INDIGENOUS, there I said it.

What authenticity is he going to bring to the silver screen that will translate what you and I know as Our shared cultural experience, Pan-Indian as some of it might be? I don't think he is going to offer anything to Indigeneity other than some dressed-up caricature of what he and Verbinski thinks "Indian" is. Now, is it okay since Tonto is a fictional character? How much fantasy is he going to project to an audience that not only loves Depp, but practically worships him? How much of this character will the audience actually walk away with as truth and how much as fiction? We know that the majority of America gets their information from media, and that information is framed in its presentation. So, if Depp's portrayal of Tonto is a caricature of what he has conjured in his mind about Indigenous people then we should be prepared to do battle with fantasy. If he doesn't embellish on his character's persona, a la Capt. Jack Sparrow then we might hope for a more humanistic approach to his rendition of Tonto. I'm hoping for the latter. My biggest qualm regarding this turn of events, Johnny Depp as Tonto is when has he ever portrayed an Indigenous person?* Why now? What not utilize the myriad other Indigenous actors known for their Native roles? Wes Studi? Damn, even Cherokilmer (term coined by friend, Maria Colon of FLABMAG.COM), Val Kilmer is more known for his role as FBI half-breed, Ray Levoi as well as his charitable endeavors with the Native American Indigenous Cinema and Arts Organization. Why not Adam Beach or Benjamin Bratt?

Honestly, I look at this casting existing only in the end product, cha-ching $$$. Director Gore Verbinski, Pirates of the Caribbean franchise will be taking on the task of directing Depp once again in his performance of Tonto. Now, that franchise has earned to date $2.68 billion in worldwide box office revenue. How is this not the reason? Where are the other people dismayed at having Tonto resurrected by Verbinski, Disney, and Johnny Depp and thrust into the popular culture as something that is Indigenous? Disney is infamous for its horrendous representations of Indigeneity and its place in popular culture as somehow the man behind the curtain.

* Yesterday my friend, colleague and FLABMAG.COM founder/editor extraordinaire, Maria Colon enlightened me. I didn't know Depp was the star of his own directorial debut in The Brave, where he plays what is a typical Native American stereotype. Funny thing is Depp adapted the novel of the same name from Gregory McDonald. "The film was first shown at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival[1] where it received mixed reviews. The film was released in theaters and on DVD internationally, but not in the United States." You can actually view it on youtube. Thanks to Maria for bringing this to my attention.

RoundUP, NAISA, NAICA, FLAB MAG, Athens International Film + Video Festival, and Terrance Houle

As any day starts out this one has been no exception. The click of my dog's nails on the hardwood floors woke me from sleep. My dog likes to sneak in my bedroom and check to see if I'm awake. Sometimes, I greet him and welcome the day, other times I just cringe to know it's time to wake up. Thankfully, I knew a fresh pot of coffee was just minutes away from being brewed. That would definitely lessen the impact of an early rise on Sunday morning.

So the near future has been plaguing most of my waking minutes. The uncertainty of it mostly, and the somewhat seemingly directionless wandering of my days. I have the Native American Indigenous Studies Conference (NAISA) to attend in Tucson at the end of May, which I recently found out I was presented to NAISA as an affiliate of Native American Indigenous Cinema and Arts Organization (NAICA), which I am, but NAICA has somewhat shape-shifted into the more encompassing FLAB MAG and now I see my future assignment for FLAB being coverage of NAISA. Too much usage of acronyms in one paragraph, time to move on. Needless to say, I am excited for this opportunity.

At the end of April, I am fortunate to have been accepted into the 2010 Athens International Film and Video Festival, which is 37+ years old. This festival is in Athens, OH a sleepy, quaint, little town snug in the hills of south-central Ohio. It is also home to Ohio University. I am ecstatic to attend this festival, and to be honest, I usually don't get excited, but I am feeling a little excitement already. I normally reserve my excitement a couples days prior to an event. I have three short pieces in the festival: The Mechanics of Being NDN, The Ecstasy of Indigeneity Or the Passion of Billy Jack, and Technical Difficulties: a Fraud and a Fake. The last two pieces subvert famous "representations" on Un-Indians in American media, whereas the first piece comments on the objectified Native, literally. These three pieces originated from a past exhibit entitled, Round-Up, at the Urban Shaman Gallery in Winnipeg, MB Canada in October 2009. Round-Up is traveling to Santa Fe, NM August 1st, 2010 - January 1st, 2011 at the Museum of Contemporary Native Arts thanks to curator, Ryan Rice. I am already excited for this too.

Lately life has taken on the quiet hum of the mundane. Somewhere the routine infiltrated my life and pushed out creativity. It seems to have been a silent coup, no warning, no stirrings of unrest just the slow realization that something different is at the helm. Fortunately, friend and fellow artist, Terrance Houle has been able to talk me down from the ledges I find myself climbing, even as he himself has been enduring a change in his life. I am fortunate to have been asked to take part in one of his upcoming exhibits. In the fall, Terrance and I will be heading to Germany to collaborate on a video piece together and currently I am in pre-production on a feature length documentary that will utilize Terrance as the interviewer. Stay tuned.