The Lone Ranger

Just this week I learned Disney is doing a remake of “the Lone Ranger” series. From what I know about the Lone Ranger, Tonto is portrayed in a not so positive light. He was always the stereotypical western Indian. Also, he spoke in very fragmented speech leaving out “the, a, and.” Not only that, he always played the second hand man to the trusty cowboy. Of course the Indian wouldn’t be the main character, this was the old west! I found an article about this new version of the movie, and Johnny Depp is playing Tonto. What is surprising to me is how the movie is going to play out. Apparently, Depp felt like Tonto’s character was really played down in the original series and he wants some change. Here is a quote from Depp regarding the movie, 

"I liked Tonto, even at that tender age, and knew Tonto was getting the unpleasant end of the stick here. That's stuck with me. And when the idea came up [for the movie], I started thinking about Tonto and what could be done in my own small way try to -- 'eliminate' isn't possible -- but reinvent the relationship, to attempt to take some of the ugliness thrown on the Native Americans, not only in The Lone Ranger, but the way Indians were treated throughout history of cinema, and turn it on its head."(Entertainment Weekly) 

http://insidemovies.ew.com/2011/05/08/johnny-depp-tonto-lone-ranger/

 

I think this will be a huge step in the right direction for public awareness of Native Americans! It will be wonderful if the movie really revolves around Tonto’s story and his relationship with the Lone Ranger-not the other way around. One worry I have is how Depp seems to make his characters in movies very exaggerated. Take the Pirates movies-his character Jack Sparrow was the stereotypical pirate we hear about in stories. Let’s hope he doesn’t just play a stereotypical character, but really tries to get the audiences to like the Indian Tonto. I am slightly nervous about how he will take on the character after seeing the makeup he will be wearing for the movie. First of all, it looks like he is dressed up as an Indian version of Jack Sparrow. Second of all, the makeup is extremely stereotypical, with the head dress and the feathers and makeup. How is Depp going to change perceptions of Indians when he is playing into the stereotype?

 

Another potential problem I see is that Disney is making the movie. We know from class Disney already has two versions of stereotypical Indians-the dancing singing Indians from Peter Pan and the Indian Princess Pocahontas. I question Disney’s ability to not reinforce the stereotypes and still produce an enjoyable movie.They failed twice already, maybe third time is a charm.

Only time will tell whether Disney and Depp will be able to create a movie that doesn’t stereotype Indians, and actually paints them in a positive light.

image from http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-31749_162-57394118-10391698/the-lone-ranger-remake-thrusts-tonto-into-the-spotlight/