Wounded Bird the "Crow" Indian in Rango

This past week I had the pleasure of attending an advanced screening of the new animated film Rango.

 (c) 2010 - Paramount Pictures (source)

Here's a good plot summary from Wikipedia:

"Rango is a chameleon who lives in a terrarium and constantly seeks to fit in with his surroundings. He finds himself removed from his contemporary American southwest surroundings and ends up in an Old West town in the middle of the Mojave Desert called Dirt, which is populated by various desert critters garbed like characters out of Western fiction. Thinking himself a hero, Rango establishes himself as the town's sheriff, not knowing that people who have held that title do not fare very well in Dirt."

My review for the film is available here.  I gave it 2.5 out of 4 stars:


http://www.movieretriever.com/blog/1073/movie-review-rango


As I write in the review:

"The film plays like a classic Sergio Leone Spaghetti Western crossed with a Nickelodeon kid's comedy with a little Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas thrown in as well. As a Western, the movie has everything from high noon gun battles to bitter fights over water rights to the stereotypical stoic Indian who once again seems incapable of speaking in complete sentences."

That last part refers to the character Wounded Bird.

(c) 2011 - Paramount Pictures (source)

In the film, Wounded Bird plays a bit part as the token town Indian.  He's quiet, mystical, and knows exactly how to track in the wilderness, just like the classic Hollywood Indian.

That being said, he is the source of some comic relief with his one-liners and ends up being a clearly heroic figure in the end.  Then again, the bad pun where Rango refers to Wounded Bird's "ingenuity" only to say "no pun intended" put a bad taste in my mouth.

The official film website over at http://www.rangomovie.com/ includes this description of Wounded Bird:

"A solid creature of the Crow Nation. Wounded Bird draws his inspiration from Native American Indian principles of harmony and quiet observation. His tracking skills are legendary and he's big in Finland for some reason."

I disagree.  Wounded Bird draws his inspiration directly from the scores of Indian depictions in countless Hollywood Westerns.  Rango is filled with every other Western cliche- saloon brawls, corrupt mayors, spineless townfolk, a mysterious stranger- so why not the quiet mystical stereotypical Indian!  It wouldn't be a true homage without one!

Personally, I'm a fan of subverting tired cliches and stereotypes to challenge our expectations and get those cerebral juices flowing.  Rango does just that when the Beans character (voiced by Isla Fisher) subverts the traditional female role to become a gun-slinging, posse riding hero in her own right.

So why couldn't they have done the same thing with Wounded Bird?

 

(c) 2011 - Paramount Pictures (source)

I wonder if writer/director Gore Verbinski ever stopped to think about the Wounded Bird character or simply threw him in as another element in this ode to the Spaghetti Western.  Considering Verbinski made his mark directing the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, a fine trio of films full of old cliches and stereotypes, this new character shouldn't come as any surprise.  It's just another example of modern Hollywood's love affair with the classic Hollywood Indian, even if he's an animated bird in a kids comedy.

And in case you're wondering, Wounded Bird is voiced by Gil Birmingham.  He is of Comanche ancestry and is best known for his role in the Twilight series.  I haven't heard his or anyone else's take on the character but I'm always open to other thoughts.

<>

Western Sky Financial: Take Two

Over 8 months ago I saw a TV commercial that got my attention.  It was for Western Sky Financial, one of those payday loan services that promises to lend you money almost instantly.  The catch of course is you pay upwards of 194% interest.

Here is the original post...

"Get Cash Fast" Indians

...and a brief look at the commercial:






Here's a longer version with a little bonus racist commentary:





I decided to re-visit this topic because of the attention it has received not only on this blog but across the internet.  The Native American content of the advertisement has provoked strong reactions ranging from racist to thoughtful and reasonable.

Most people concentrate on the financial aspect of the advertisement (source):

"Nothing like preying on people at there most desperate."

"Hey at least he's honest on the TV commercial (it's not cheap)"

But many others focus right in on the Indian angle (source):

"It was still nice to see a Native American business advertisement."

"I think America needs to realize that Indians, as they call us, will be an economic force that every nation and creed will be coming to us for mortgages, loans, cars, and whatever other business "Indians" stereotypically did not conquer in the past"

"it's not rocket science. You get approved, and once again your in debt. The reservation has it's own laws. They can do any thing they want."

"lol, well if there not in the US can you take the money and not pay it back?"

I was particularly disheartened at the large number of completely ignorant comments:

"Do they come by with peace pipes when a person doesn't pay them?" (source)

"Great Spirit say time to take advantage of the white man." (source)

"interest rate soar like eagle." (source)

"Gives new meaning to 'getting scalped'" (source)

"F*ckin' Indians..." (source)

Once again, America has proven it's wonderful track record of peace, tolerance, and understanding with Native Americans. Even when confronted with a tasteful advertisement of a man wearing a business suit, the mere mention of Native America provokes the worst sort of reactions among my fellow citizens.

Even when someone starts to write a reasonable comment they completely lose it in the end (source):

"Hey, it's not like we forced them to leave their lands, committed what is essentially mass genocide, broke treaties (which are contracts), killed their sources of food, spread highly infectious & deadly diseases amongst their animals and people, or did highly devious trades with them.. Anyway, I noticed that the APR is clearly printed at the bottom.. 139%.. lmao.. but for payday companies, that's fairly low. It's still rape."

There is one additional angle to this story that is definitely worth mentioning.  At least two sets of comments claim that this enterprise may not be what it seems.

Here is jneen commenting on the original blog posting (source):

"I am Native American,Seneca, these guys requested a copy of my Father's bank statement,driver's license. If he had gotten the loan at 199% interest,I would have paid it off. Thank-God he was turned down because of his age and credit. Yes,they do make a credit check. Also it is a loan company in California,that you deal with. The Sioux "outsourced". This is a scam,using Native people as a cover. I doubt very seriously if the Sioux will see one cent of any profit made from this company."

and user briankjohn over on youtube (source):

"This is BS!!! These guys are not Indian, they do this crap all over the country, and are currently being sued in West Virginia where the Attorney General has demanded that they stop doing business in WV."

briankjohn was probably referring to this news release from the West Virginia Attorney General's office (source):

"Today Attorney General Darrell McGraw continued his effort to curb illegal activities of payday lenders by filing two lawsuits against 12 Internet payday lenders and their collection agencies."

It does not list Western Sky Financial among the 12 Internet payday lenders.

I did find the Western Sky Financial listing on the Better Business Bureau website which lists their address as Timber Lake, South Dakota.  This backs up the claim that they are indeed a "Native American-owned business operating within the boundaries of the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation."

So is Western Sky Financial just a front for a California based loan company which uses Native people as cover as jneen claims above or is Western Sky Financial a legitimate Native business that simply outsources to the California company?

I'm inclined to believe the latter but there is a bigger story in this whole mess.  Regardless of the origins of this company, the comments popping up across the internet prove one thing- just how far we still have to go.

<>