Module 7 Example: Fitness Trackers

Prompt

Find and discuss examples of the Culture Industry within popular culture. Remember to discuss how the example does most, if not all of the following things:

Provides an abundance of itself in slightly different forms (standardization)

1. Continually produces new version of itself (Pseudo-individualization).
2. Distracts us from real world change. 
3. Socially cements people to their popular culture.
4. Creates a self-perpetuating reinvestment in the popular culture.

In your post, you should do the following

1. Introduce and describe the example that fits in with the Culture Industry concept. Describe what it is and how it exists. (1 paragraph)
2. Identify the aspects of its that invoke the ideas of standardization and pseudo-individualization. (1 paragraph)
3. Explain how this example’s forms of standardization and pseudo-individualization contributes to distracting us from authentically changing the world and reinforces our connection with popular culture. (1 paragraph)

Avoid the following (since they have already been mentioned within the videos:

• Cereal
• Apple iProducts
• Apps
• Video games
• Cars
• Smart phones
• TVs
• Mac vs. PC
• Disposable razors
• Coffee

Relevant Tags:  Frankfurt School, critical studies, culture industry, [your example]

Example:  Fitness Trackers

My own fitness tracker, The Basis

This week, I am talking about fitness trackers.  Many of us have seen or use these items.  They are part of what we call "wearable tech"--devices that we wear that often provide feedback about our physical states.  These products are usually somewhere between $100-200 and fit right into the culture industry.  In this case, they fit into the pop culture phenomenon known as fitness.  

Some may not think that fitness is popular culture, but if we think about it, we find it fits.  After all, fitness is considered a lifestyle choice and if modern life was properly designed to meet our needs, "fitness" wouldn't be needed because we would have it built into lives without a need of gyms, clubs, classes, etc.  Instead, many of us work in employment that gives us little to no consistent physical exercise or encourages directly or indirectly bad eating habits.  Therefore, in our "free time" for entertainment and relaxing, we must inject fitness into it.  Fitness itself is a culture industry certain with different types of gyms (pseudo-individualization: L.A. Fitness, Work-Out-World, Planet Fitness--all three almost right next to each other on Route 1 in Danvers/Peabody), distracting us often from real-world change (creating a life/work environment that perpetuates healthy lifestyle choices), and creates a self-perpetuating reinvestment in popular culture (gym memberships, the push to make work-out clothes fashionable, the insistence on the right gear). 

But for me, I find that wearable tech is my own example since it's been many years since I've gone to a gym.  I own a Basis, which is a fitness tracker.  Some of you may have a Fitbit, Jawbone, Garmin tracker, or some other example.  They all largely do similar things:  track steps, heartbeat, sleep, and other body activity.  And they all come out with new versions (pseudo-individualization--some, like Fitbit, are on their 5-6 generation and have only been around for 8 or so years).  In some ways, they distract us from real-world change in the sense that we can often use fitness trackers as a means of not having to think about or consider why our culture as a whole doesn't make the world more health/fitness focused.  For instance, we privilege the car over walking or biking.  Many towns and cities will have many miles of road with no sidewalks and certainly no bike-lanes, but endless miles of roads.  Instead of focusing our efforts on making places and spaces more walkable or healthy, we chose to spend time and money on devices to make sure we get in enough steps.  Fitness trackers also connect us further with popular culture in that they are often seen on the body and thus become points for discussion or finding others with similar devices.  Such conversations reinforce our investment (and later investment) in our devices.  

Of course, fitness trackers also have a built-in reinvestment in them for several reasons.  The first is that many of them keep all of our data that we generate.  If I've had a Fitbit for two years, then all of my data is accessible on the Fitbit website.  To move away from FitBit or give up the device means I lose access to new data or even the old data that I've generated.  The second way they self-perpetuate reinvestment is that like the iPod and iPhone, they are closed products and therefore, there is no way to replace the ever-dwindling rechargeable battery unless you replace it with another device and of course, by the time that happens, a newer and slightly more pricier version of your fitness tracker is available.  In this way, fitness trackers are a great representation of the Franklin School's critique of the culture industry.

Feminist Frequency:Toy Ads and Learning Gender

In the video Toy Ads and Learning Gender by Youtuber Feminist Frequency an important distinction is pointed out between the advertisements of toys marketed towards boys and those towards girls. Boys toys were often sold with action and adventure, while girls toys were full of domestic work and child rearing. While boys were being challenged, getting dirty and getting into adventures girls were left cooking, shopping and looking after the children. Even similar toys were marketed differently depending on whether they were for a boy or girl. For example two different sets of Moon Sand were advertised, one set for a boy and another for a girl, the only difference between the two commercials was that while the boy's set was more focused on building while the girl's set was all about decorating. Even the plastic toy jeeps were different for boys and girls, with the girls jeep being endorsed by barbie and the boys being tough and ready to kick up some dirt. Clearly advertisers have two different expectations for boys and girls and what they would like to play with. Even computer games and electronics had divisions, boys could become pirates and go have adventures upon the high seas, while girls could become fashion models and do their hair.
These divisions in toys marketed towards boys and girls are harmful and limiting. Boys are encouraged to build, explore and challenge themselves, while girls are left behind to care for the children, cook supper and look pretty. Girl toys are limited and hindering, they may be pink but they lack creativity and imagination.

A few countries, such a Sweden and Quebec, have taken legal measures to ban advertising aimed at younger children due to the influences that they can instill. Maybe we should look into making some legislation to protect our innocent children from the gender stereotyping of our advertisements. This video was really an eye opener to me about the real distinctions between toys meant for boys and those meant for girls. I remember being bothered by this issue as a child and the impact it had on me and my perception of gender. We should really monitor the advertisements that can have an effect upon the young and influential minds of our children.

The Ms. Male Character and other Female Gaming Characters

Anita Sarkeesian, host of
Feminist Frequency (Image Source)

The video I watched this week was Ms. Male Character - Tropes Vs. Women in Video Games. In the video, Anita Sarkeesian speaks about the concept of a "Ms. Male Character" and how often they appear in video games. This concept came about due to a need for female characters in games, but these specific types of female characters are essentially female stereotyped clones of their male counterparts. In gaming, this began with Ms. Pac-Man, who is basically just Pac-Man with a bow, eyelashes, and lipstick. All of these things are what people identify as female, but Anita points out that these are things that are completely superficial, created by society.
There are examples of female characters in games that don't fall into the Ms. Male Character trope, such as Claire from Thomas was Alone (see left) and Ellie from The Last of Us, but unfortunately, most female characters will end up being created using this exact trope. This trope also tends to mean the characters have very little depth or personality, outside of being a female version of their male counterpart, like Ms. Pac-Man.

Claire from Thomas Was Alone (Image Source)

As an avid gamer, this makes me think a lot about what makes a female character in a game. Is it for the sake of having a female character? How were they created? Why are they dressed the way they are? I then realized that some of my favorite female game characters avoid these tropes, at least mostly. A recent favorite of mine was Lara Croft in my personal Game of The Year 2015 pick, Rise of The Tomb Raider. Lara is the central character, and has no male counterpart. She doesn't display many of the stereotypical female attributes, and in fact displays herself as one of the most bad ass characters around, male or female. She's tough as nails, doesn't wear pink, but she does have a bow. Only this one isn't the kind you stick in your hair. This is a total change from her original character's portrayal, who was a hypersexualized woman with large (albeit polygonal) breasts and long legs. The new Lara, which was changed for the 2013 reboot of the Tomb Raider series, removes this hypersexuality, going for a far more subtle look.

Zelda and her disguised persona, Sheik (Image Source)

Princess Zelda of The Legend of Zelda fame allows us to take an interesting look at this trope. Zelda herself, while not a "Ms. Male Character", does have some of the stereotypical female attributes. She has long hair, wears purple, and has a tiara. However, in one of the greatest games of all time, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, she disguises herself as another character named Sheik, who displays none of the female stereotypes we're used to seeing in games and pop culture in general.

It's important to look at female characters in gaming and understand where they come from. I believe more of an effort needs to be made in order to change the Ms. Male Character stereotype, but we seem to be well on our way, especially thanks to characters like Lara Croft in the Tomb Raider reboot.

Syndicating Feminism in Assassin's Creed

Successful, violent video game franchises aren't generally known for their feminist leanings, and the Assassin's Creed titles are no exception, until now... maybe. This video reviews Ubisoft's newest installment, Assassin's Creed: Syndicate, released in October 2015, which features some distinct differences from its predecessors. Most notably, it has two protagonists, one of which is a woman. Twins Jacob and Evie Frye fight to free London's oppressed working class from the clutches of evil businessman and Templar (Assassin arch-nemesis group) leader, Crawford Starrick. The storyline is pretty standard for any Assassin's game, but includes far more female characters than ever before. Sarkeesian notes that the expansive franchise has received criticism in the past for its lack of playable ladies (save for a tie-in game released mainly on handheld platforms that followed a female pirate), and Syndicate seeks to remedy the situation. 

The Frye twins are first presented together and it is made clear that they are equals, but as the game progresses, Jacob's plotline takes center stage. For side-quests players can choose to play as Evie or Jacob, but if they lean toward the latter, they only interact with Evie sometimes, though her story and character are far more compelling than her brother's. Many of Evie's quests see her cleaning up arrogant, brutish Jacob's messes. This is disappointing because a female character as well-realized as Evie is rare in the gaming world. She is never sexualized or objectified, is appropriately dressed for killing people and scaling buildings, and doesn't seem like a male character who was gender-swapped at the last second. 

Other than Evie, there are several female characters within the world, from rival Blighter gang leaders to Queen Victoria. One of the Frye's close associates, Ned, is a trans man. The prostitutes seen on street corners, used as cover for male protagonists in previous games, are completely absent from Syndicate. While the game is wonderfully gender-inclusive, it fails miserably where race is concerned. Henry Green, and Indian assassin with whom Evie has a romantic subplot, is the only recurring character of color in the entire game.

Evie and a Templar leader, pre-battle

I really loved this video because it echoes all of the feelings I had while playing Syndicate, which I finished last week. It was an especially enjoyable video because all of my friends who play video games are guys who aren't particularly interested in hearing me dissect the game's gender politics, so it was nice to hear my own thoughts vocalized. I attended San Diego Comic-Con last summer and ended up at the Assassin's Creed panel, even though I'd never played a game from the franchise before. I left the panel SO excited to play Syndicate because I'd be able to play a super-violent video game as a girl!!!! 

I've been a gamer since second grade and a feminist since I was born, so the lack of playable, or even humanized, female characters in the gaming world has never gone unnoticed by me. As I got older and became able to purchase rated-M games, I found that I liked my games as bloody as could be. This meant loving GTA V for car chases and shootouts, but not loving the first-person POV lap dances at strip clubs. Even playing Assassin's Creed II post-SDCC, I was disappointed to find literally one recurring female character... and she eventually seduced the protagonist. 

When I played Syndicate, I played as Evie whenever possible. Because of this, I didn't really notice that Jacob's story took up so much more of the game than his sister's, but I definitely see it now. I did notice, to my delight, that there were women everywhere throughout this game's 19th-century London, and they were all treated like competent human beings! To my disappointment, I also quickly noticed how white the game was. But despite its shortcomings, Sarkeesian and I both agree that Syndicate is a big feminist step in the right direction.

The Protrayal of Women in Video Games

In this video by Feminist Frequency discusses the role women characters have in video games. For the most part, Feminist Frequency says, women characters have the role of the damsel in distress or “passive victims”. Princess Peach, for instance, in the Mario Bros. game plays that role. They’re generally very feminine, attractive and princess-like. Rather than playing the role of the savior or the hero the characters are usually portrayed as submissive, weak and helpless. It’s the male characters who are the hero who save the female. Also, often times the female character is fought over and “a prize to be won” by the male characters. It’s almost as if she’s a ball in a game which is passed back and forth. She does point out that even if the female character starts out strong they will often become weak, particularly it their femininity becomes apparent.

Even though it’s just a game and really just for fun there is a social impact. These games are very popular and played around the world and they give a backward impression of women. The female characters are always the helpless victims that need to be saved. They also empower men by reducing women as helpless victims. This, I think, sends a message that women are not equal and need to be protected and shielded. These games also portray men as the subjects and women as objects and this only further exacerbates the different expectations society has of men and women.

Toy Ads and Sexism

        In this video, uploaded in November 2010, the topic of TV ads for toys are gender biased. In the clips we see boys toys as promoting a tough exterior, a strong reference of power and control, and an emphasis on competition. When we watch the ads for the girl toys we see a far different story: the homemaker, "mother", an emphasis on beauty, and everything sparkles and glitter. She even gives the example of a gender neutral toy "Moon Sand" and two very different ads for the same product. In the ad where boys are playing with Moon Sand, they are playing with tractors and how the sand can be built or smashed, leading the boy to a "masculine" job. When we see the ad for the girls the same product can be used "to decorate!" Overall, the video explains that these ads are a bad example for children. From a young age the boys are learning that they are the more prominent and dominant gender who can go on to any strong career, while the girls are being told they must be pretty and stay at home to cook, clean, and take care of the children.

         I really enjoyed this video because it explains the main problem with the sexism in advertising, which is it's influence on children. Of course girls will grow up thinking they are week if they are handed the toy broom and Easy Bake Oven, while the boy is allowed to play with guns and racing toys. The problem of sexism is starting at an early age because this is the idea that we are being taught from the beginning. Of course, this could all be different in the homes of each child. I know personally that more parents now are allowing their children to make the decision on what toys they want to play with, gender aside. But this only works so much, because the media will continue to portray men as strong and women as weak, which isn't a very powerful statement for little girls to see and hear.

Bayonetta Subway Advertisements in Japan

 This video discusses the sexuality involving the popular game Bayonetta in Japan. The entirety of the game is extremely sexual, involving pornographic poses, sexual innuendos, and a highly sexual themed outfit including a skin tight black leatherette with a cutout open back to have some skin showing, and high heels strapped with a gun, but the sexuality of just the game alone is not what this video is centered around. The video actually is more about discussing how this game was marketed. The marketing company presented two six foot banners that included the Bayonetta logo and a rectangular space that had small cards with a lipstick kiss on the front and Bayonetta’s strapped foot on the inside. The point of the cards, were that they were to be removed as people walked by. Each card that was removed revealed the sexual character Bayonetta lying on her stomach naked underneath, covered only by her long hair. This marketing strategy was very controversial because it encouraged passers by to literally “strip” Bayonetta naked in a subway station. 

This was also controversial because people believed it glorified the sexual assault that women faced in Japan in subway stations. The video states in 2008 there were over 2000 groping in subway stations in Japan and that 64% of women reported being groped on subway trains. Japan had to go as far as making women only passenger cars because of the assault and then the Bayonetta marketing team has a banner that is encouraging sexual assault behavior. I really thought this video made a great point how often times popular culture can make a mockery out of women in our society. The underlying reason why this marketing ad for Bayonetta was so concerning was because of the abuse that Japanese women are actually facing in the subway stations and this ad glorified that. I think many times games, movies, and television make a mockery out of real life situations that women face.

Module 6 Example: The Straw Feminist

Prompt

For this week, I'd like you to watch another video from Feminist Frequency.  You can pick from any of the videos at the links listed below. I encourage you to look at a video that is related to something you like or may have some interest in.  

Video lists to choose from:

• Season 4 - 2012
• Season 3 - 2011
• Season 2 - 2010
• Season 1 - 2009
• Feminist Frequency Reviews
• Tropes vs Women in Video Games
• Tropes vs. Women (2011)

In watching the video, pay attention to the criticism and critique that the creator offers up and the reasons why she makes such an argument.  Provide the following in your post:

1. The name of the video and a link to the video OR embed the video if you can figure out how to do it (Hint: it entails clicking on the icon in the edit bar that looks like a clapperboard).
2. A summary explanation of what the video covers (1 detailed paragraph)
3. A discussion about how it has influenced your thinking on the particular area she is discussing and if so, how it has impacted how you for other forms of related popular culture.  (1 paragraph)
4. How does the criticism relate to some of the academic materials that we have explored in this course?   (1 paragraph)   

Please keep in mind when watching this video and other content of feminist theory, this particular line of thinking from Caroline Siede: 

Criticism doesn't necessarily make it "bad'--rather, it's a way of meaningfully engaging with a text for understanding the ways it impacts us.  Criticism doesn't necessarily denote a simply "good/bad" dynamic, but rather, helps us to understand the ways texts can be understood.

Relevant Tags: Feminism, gender, sex, sexuality

Example: The Straw Feminist

This video takes on the cliche of the "Straw Feminist" in popular culture.  This cliche is often used to present an extreme (and largely non-existent) version of feminism where the feminist is presented as man-hating, aggressive and in some cases as Sarkeesian points out, villainous.  She draws on several different examples from television and comics, but of course, this is a version that is found in many different places within popular culture.  The point that resonates with me is that the straw feminist is often used as a contrast to smart, strong, and funny women, making the false dichotomy that a feminist cannot be such things.  She shows that many of these shows and our culture at large disregard feminism, often with the assumption that somehow gender equality has been achieved.  

I rather appreciated this video because Sarkeesian hits upon something I see too often and that is the disassociation between women who believe in equality and somehow the belief that that isn't what feminism is.  I also find myself eye-rolling as much as Sarkeesian whenever I see popular culture invoke this cliche of a feminist who is hateful of men, angry, and aggressive.  Every feminist I know (and I know hundreds) is so far from these images that you would think such depictions were from Bizarro world.  This reminds me of the Emma Watson's conversation with Malala Yousafzai, the Nobel Peace Prizer winner and what feminism actually means.  

What I find valuable about Sarkeesian's videos and this one, in particular, is how her critical eye about the presentation of women and feminists, in particular, brings us back to The Male Gaze. Even as feminism is made increasingly present in pop culture, there's still a sense of making the feminist (regardless of their gender) into a spectacle for derision by offering them up in a very simplistic manner.

Master of Representation

Aziz Ansari's Netflix original series, Master of None, premiered in 2015 to rave reviews from critics and general audiences alike. In the show, Ansari plays a 30-year-old actor named Dev who is struggling to find satisfaction amid post-modern ennui in New York City. Episodes touch on a variety of subjects, from Plan B, to street harassment, to the lack of ethnic diversity in television casting.

 

 A particularly striking episode comes in the form of Parents, wherein Dev and his friend Brian take their first-generation immigrant parents out to dinner in an effort to bond with them. They use this opportunity to ask their parents about their unique experience as immigrants, like what life was like when they first came to New York. Their mothers bond over an early fear of answering the telephone because of their heavily accented English. This is interesting because it acknowledges the differences in each individual's immigration experience while also highlighting similarities that people from totally different cultural backgrounds may encounter. Both Dev and Brian find it difficult to make time for their parents because of their busy lives, and because of the deep generational divide between parent and offspring. Dev's parents are from India, and Brian's parents are from China, so they all come from cultures much more conservative than modern-day America, providing different sets of frustrations for the parents and the children. This dynamic is especially authentic and effective because Ansari's real-life Indian immigrant parents play his parents in the episode.

Dev is an important, complex character who juggles his own identity as a modern American with his familial roots. Most notably, Dev is not constricted by any Indian stereotypes seen in commercials, film, and television (taxi driver, IT tech, etc.) Brian and his parents show that, contrary to the 1942 Superman clip that depicts little to no difference in its Japanese characters, Eastern Asian people have identities unique to their ethnic background and personalities. Master Of None is a wonderful show that tells the rich stories of people so often overlooked by television.

The African American Cowboy

A famous aspect of American culture is the myths of the taming of our wild west. Another famous although less fortunate aspect of our culture would be our spoiled past with the slave trade. When combined these two faucets of American culture make for quite the breaking of stereotypes. DJango: Unchained, a film by Quentin Tarantino is a breaker of such stereotypes.

In the mythological American West most cowboys were white men, sometimes you would have an occasional Mexican or Native American, but the majority of the heroes of the wile west had pale skin.

Django turned that all around. As a former slave he becomes a bounty hunter, hunting down white men for the bounties placed on their heads. Instead of him being the one running from the white man, he is the one chasing them down. An ironic scene in the movie is when Django is hunting down a group of brothers who are hiding out on a plantation. Well Django takes the opertunity to show one of the brother just how much the leather whip hurts. He turns the tables on slavery and takes charge.

Django is doubly surprising because he is an African American cowboy. The towns people are all shocked and confused when they see him riding about on top of a horse. At the plantation they visited, the owner even mentioned that it was illegal for a black man to ride a horse. Django didn't care, he was a cowboy and he had earned his freedom. He had just as much a right to be a top a horse as any man.

Spike Lee, the director of Bamboozled, would probably appreciate the originality of Django. He would like how the character strikes back against his oppressors and how he does not get used. Django fights against his suppressors and a society that sees him as a lesser. Django does not give up although the odds are against him, he keeps moving on because he must accomplish his goal and free his wife from the same oppression he so luckily escaped. Django is the image of a strong black man far from the bumbling buffoonery of minstrelsy, Spike Lee would definitely approve with pride.

Spider-Man 2099: Combating Hispanic Stereotypes

The cover art for issue #1 of Spider-Man 2099 (Image Source)

Most of you probably don't know this Marvel character. Despite that, he's actually my favorite superhero of all time. Spider-Man 2099 (written by Peter David) launched in 1992 as a part of Marvel's 2099 Universe line of comics. This universe takes place in the year 2099, as you may have guessed, and included several futuristic versions of existing heroes and villains, such as Doom 2099, Punisher 2099, Hulk 2099, and one original hero (well, more of an anti-hero) named Ravage 2099.

Even though this is a future version of Spider-Man, this one isn't Peter Parker. I assume all of you know who Peter Parker is, because if you don't, I have to assume you've been living under a rock for the past 20 years. Spider-Man 2099 is actually a half Irish, half Hispanic man named Miguel O'Hara. Miguel worked as a scientist for a major corporation named Alchemax, which controls most of Nueva York (the 2099 version of New York). He's unhappy at the company and feels they are extremely corrupt. In an effort to stop him from leaving Alchemax, somebody from the company slips him a hallucinogen that bonds to your DNA. Trying to rid himself of the hallucinogen, Miguel attempts to perform a procedure that would revert his DNA back to it's original state. However, somebody tries to sabotage him, and ends up splicing his DNA with that of a spider, giving him even more spider-like powers than the original Spider-Man (he has organic webbing and talons on the end of his fingers).

2099 Unlimited #1, featuring
Spider-Man 2099 and Hulk 2099
(Image Source)

What makes Miguel so unique is that he's not only the first Latino representation of Spider-Man, but he also avoids falling to the many stereotypes associated with Hispanics in popular culture. Miguel is a well spoken, intelligent man (as I mentioned before, he's a scientist). According to the Cobbina article, Hispanics were seen as crack users during the '80s. As such, Hispanics were often seen and portrayed as criminals within popular culture. O'Hara presents us with the exact opposite: a crime fighter. Considering this series was released in 1992, it was very close to the time where these Hispanic stereotypes were at their height. Spider-Man 2099 not only exists as just a futuristic version of Spider-Man, but also to help combat this stigma against Hispanics and how they are always portrayed as some sort of criminal or drug user.

The series was cancelled after 46 issues. However, Miguel was brought back in 2014 in Daniel Slott's Superior Spider-Man, due to demand for the character to return. This lead to Spider-Man 2099 getting his own brand new ongoing series, and he is now proving to be more popular and more relevant than ever before.

racism in popular comics

When we experience Pop Culture, we are essentially learning. When we view the hyper-sexualized "blaxpoitative" movie Shaft, or when previous generations experienced the vaudevillian shows that included blackface, the consumers of these artifacts "learned" the African American stereotypes that American policies perpetuated. When we examine Pop Culture, we are taking learning to a different level. It is at this level, when we make a conscious effort to disseminate what it is we are experiencing in Pop Culture, that we can act to disrupt those discourses which support the harmful stereotypes portrayed in Pop Culture/society.

Comics and cartoons have been, and are, a very popular and inexpensive form of Pop Culture Media that are consumed by a wide range of age groups.This means a large audience has access to the messages contained within the media. Comics truly took hold in the late 1930's when Action Comics #1 (1938) by Detective Comics (DC) debuted Superman. Their popularity quite obviously continues today, as seen in the current plethora of Superhero movies based upon popular comic book characters, and so warrant a closer look for racist characters and story-lines. Rather than examine one specific  Indigenous character in popular comics, I am choosing to showcase several from the last century that we may not have previously thought of as stereotypical representations.

An early example of embedded stereotypes is found in the Bugs Bunny Merrie Melodies cartoon Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt (1941) written by Michael Maltese and drawn by Gil Turner. It is a parody of the classic American epic poem The Song of Hiawatha by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1892) that romanticised traditional Ojibwe lifestyles. Hiawatha, first published in November of 1855, was a very popular and much read, lampooned, quoted, and parodied poem of its day (Moyne, E.J. 1957, p.93). However, Longfellow naively misrepresented Ojibwe culture, and appropriated elements of Iroquois culture (these two nations are incredibly dissimilar)*. Almost a century later, Warner Brothers, re-inscribed, for their own purposes, this stereotypical American classic, and in so doing created another popular version, for an entirely new audience, that continued to perpetuate these same harmful discourses.

Both Longfellow and Warner Brothers, penned examples of Pop Culture that "othered"** all First Nations communities and peoples by applying two dimensional tropes for the purpose of propelling a story forward. Here in Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt,  Hiawatha is depicted as the "dumb Indian"; an incompetent, bumbling, stuttering fool, outwitted by Bugs Bunny (and anyone familiar with Merrie Melodies will recognize Hiawatha is a riff off the often outwitted Elmer Fudd). It is however this lasting misrepresentation, using an ethnicity other than the writer's own, or other than the intended audience, that perpetuates the harmful stereotypes that continue today.

A popular comic of the same era, that took a stab at portraying Indigenous lifestyles was The Adventures of TinTin: TinTin in America,  created by Hergé aka George Remi. As an adventurer, TinTin was featured in many different locales; and the plots Hergé wrote for his eponymous series followed similar action/adventure story-lines we still see in today's action films. However, Hergé never traveled to North America and therefore could only rely upon the stereotypical portrayals as seen in the Pop Culture of his era to inform his story. These details are obvious when we look at a page from this edition.

The Adventures of TinTin:TinTin Goes to America, page 19

In this page, we see the Indigenous characters referred to as "redskins". The individual who represents the Chief, as indicated by the ceremonial regalia--the "Headdress" which is reserved for important ceremonial occasions only--is easily duped by the white man. Additionally, the Indigenous characters all speak in a stereotypical broken English, replicating the style used by the famous Indigenous sidekick Tonto in the popular Lone Ranger series. Other images we commonly think of when the symbol "Native Americans"/"Indians"/"Native Indians" is used, are also found on this page: the wigwam/tee-pee, tomahawks, and the peace-pipe are all present. This leaves no doubt as to who TinTin will be threatened by in this adventure story. The very fact that Hergé used the stereotypical "threat" of Indians who are themselves represented in a dated*** scenario that depicts violence and deficiency as they prepare to ambush/threaten a white character, is another example of the white privileged once again trying to control or misrepresent the Indigenous identity, this time through fear.

One of the most common ways two dimensional Indigenous characters are used in comics is the subordinate and "trustworthy sidekick", the most popular being the aforementioned Tonto of the Lone Ranger. It is however important to note the comic Turok: Son of Stone. Turok first appeared in Four Color Comics (1954), published by Gold Key, in issue no. 596 (Sheyahshe, 2008, p.48), written by Gaylord Dubois and illustrated by Rex Maxon (of Tarzan of the Apes fame). In Turok we have the lead character, who is himself Indigenous, worthy of having a sidekick of his own rather than say a spirit animal as his guide.

Torok:Son of Stone, Issue 2, Page 1, shown from Turok :Son of Stone Vol 1, Dark Horse Archives, 2009

Although this 1950's comic by Dubois features American Natives as the leading characters, the story lines parallel many of the colonizing acts perpetrated on the indigenous people the Europeans found when the "New World" was discovered. Under the guise of assisting the tribes they encounter, Turok repeatedly refers to the prehistorics as "savages" and "backward". In one issue we see Turok and Andar in the role of leaders in a foreign land, relocating a tribe to a "preferable location", only to have that tribe again threatened. Throughout the entire collection Turok and Andar are gratuitously killing beasts for meat and yet purposely laying much of the kill for waste, something no warrior of the Plains would have deliberately done.

Another theme throughout was the use of their poison tipped arrows, again altering the lifestyle of the "indigenous" cavemen. Turok and Andar establish their position of power through the judicious dispersal of the weapon without divulging their secret for making the poison, much akin to the Europeans restricting the use of guns for political gain. It is at this point Dubois engages the popular "sneaky/deceitful indian" trope in the guise of the wise medicine man in an attempt to steal Turok's power. But of course our eponymous hero outsmarts the inferior medicineman.

These trends continue today. As recent as 2007, Vertigo Comics began publishing a 60 episode series entitled Scalped, written by Jason Aaron and drawn by R.M. Guera. In this very popular, well acclaimed, hyper violent series--which does feel as though it was well researched--we see the hero, Dash, as an undercover agent who is himself Lakota infiltrating the Lakota Reservation in order to nail the corrupt Chief.

(Scalped, Issue 2, June 2007, Page 7)

The storylines in this monthly serial include drug deals, alcohol problems, casinos, murder, and corruption. Without question, such problems are not altogether uncommon on Reserves/Reservations, but this series reads like a very bad homage to Tarantino's storytelling skills; it feels like the story was written to fit around a hodge-podge of tropes and cliches. Aaron chooses to sensationalize the stereotypes with two dimensional tropes rather than tell a story using three dimensional characters and as a result this example of pop culture media once again perpetuates the stereotypes.

With the popularity of comics continuing to grow as seen with the increase in popularity of cosplay, cons, and the ever growing monthly Previews World catalog, it is not reasonable to assume that these stereotypes will simply fade away. However, we can take an active role as we read these series and recognize the underlying messages that are contained. Simply being aware that these images are present, recognizing their effect on popular opinion, means that we are disrupting the discussions that are a part of this form of Pop Culture.



*Hiawatha, as the oral story-telling of the Mohawks tell us, was the spokesman for The Peacemaker who ultimately negotiated peace between the warring original five Haudenosawnee Nations: Senecas, Onondagas, Mohawks, Oneidas, and  Cayugas (Robertson, 2015). The wampum that acts as a contract for this ongoing peace is named the Hiawatha Belt.

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** Other, is a term made popular by Edward Said in his book Orientalism. This term refers to someone other than the self being different, but is applied instead to disenfranchise segments of society based upon cultural and ethnic dissimilarities that are viewed as bothersome by the privileged hegemony. 

*** The TinTin adventures were written in the 1930's and 1940's. The stories were all present to the time adventures, however in this TinTin adventure (written in 1945),  the Indigenous characters are all portrayed in a style reminiscent of the 1870's.

Works Cited: 

Moyne, E.J. (1957) Parodies of Longfellow's Song of Hiawatha, Retrieved from: http://udspace.udel.edu/bitstream/handle/19716/4663/article5.pdf?sequence=1

Sheyahshe, Michael, A. Native Americans in Comic Books: A Critical Study. USA: McFarlane

            and Company. 2008. Print.