Blackface: Offensive; Redface: Still Okay, Apparently

[woodwardiocom]

Johnny Depp as Tonto in forthcoming Lone Ranger.

[sigh]

Comments

[taura-g.livejournal.com]

Not that I dislike Johnny Depp or anything... but SERIOUSLY?

[mrw42.livejournal.com]

Wow. I thought Hollywood had stopped doing that... I guess not.

[trowa-barton.livejournal.com]

Please tell me that Tonto is going for a Dances with Wolves schtick.

[be-well-lowell.livejournal.com]

Hey, Graham Greene is *my* hero, but I think he's too old for this.

[lillibet.livejournal.com]

Depp does have Native American ancestry and has commented publicly about hoping to honor that heritage with is portrayal. So I'm not sure this counts as red-face, exactly.

[woodwardiocom.livejournal.com]

...Well, I'll give him a chance.

(I'd love to see a good Lone Ranger movie.)

[princeofcairo.livejournal.com]

It probably won't be a good Lone Ranger movie, as its avowed purpose is to deconstruct the Lone Ranger. It might be a good Tonto movie.

[fangirl715.livejournal.com]

Yes, one of his great-grandmothers was Cherokee or Creek (he's not sure which); another source says one of his grandfathers/great-grandfathers was Native American as well, and from what little I've read about this particular production, it sounds as if it's taking a seriously revisionist approach to Tonto. If it were some other actors, then yes, it might qualify as redface, but it sounds as if Depp is at least trying to do it right.

[notthebuddha.livejournal.com]

See that mooky white boy in my userpic? He also has a Cherokee ggm, but I wouldn't presume to play Tonto. In the US, finding white people *without* native blood is harder than finding ones with. Even George Washington was part indian.

This is aside from the fact that "tonto" is Hispanic slang for stupid, though it could be ironic since Tonto has been portrayed as very clever indeed, other than his English grammar.

[minkrose]

I was just coming here to make that comment. But I don't think a lot of people know that -- the image is on the front page of IMDb right now, and I can see how that would be upsetting if you didn't know Depp's background (plus, that's a pretty obscure bit).

[dani-namaste.livejournal.com]

Don't get me started on how irritated that picture makes me. I was just ranting about it this morning.

[metahacker.livejournal.com]

If we complain enough, maybe they'll fix it?

...Nahhh.

[spinrabbit.livejournal.com]

http://nativeappropriations.blogspot.com/2012/03/johnny-depp-as-cultural-appropriation.html

Summary: having some Native American ancestry does not in itself give one a pass for portraying Native Americans however one wants. Johnny Depp is not culturally Native American. And that costume is bullshit.

[lillibet.livejournal.com]

Following up, there's a story in IMDB News today about Depp (and co-stars and producer) meeting with elders to gain approval for his portrayal and their filming locations within Navajo territory.

I am still not sure he's doing the right thing, but I do think that he's trying.