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Say what Johnny Depp?

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Freija:
Depp does a lot of charity work, but mostly "incognito". Like helping and supporting Native American Youths. Many Native kids are very talented in the fields of art and acting but due to the costs, most of them would never have the opportunity to pursue their careers. Until now. I think Johnny Depp´s choice not to give much info about his ancestry might  be because he knows what the tabloids are like. From what he does "off screen" I think he probably knows more about it than he says.

A friend of mine works in the filmindustry in Hollywood. In her opinion (having worked with him) Depp is not only an amazing actor but a wonderful, humble guy with a heart of gold. But he is also very private and shy. He honors his ancestors the best way he can - in private and in silence. Noone´s business but his own  ;)

Aaaaaand that was the end of the Hollywood gossip for today  ;D

Defend the Sacred:
What a diverse group of NDNs had to say about it: http://www.nativeamericacalling.com/nac_past.shtml

Story starts at about 5:57

Tuesday, January 18, 2011– Win Johnny Depp!: (listen)
'Rumors are circulating that a new movie will soon be made about “The Lone Ranger and Tonto,” and that Johnny Depp is slated to play Tonto. These rumors also proclaim that in order to prepare for his role as Tonto, Depp plans to live on a yet-to-be-determined Indian reservation. But why isn't one of our great Native actors playing Tonto? On the other hand, what would some of the economic benefits be of having Depp live on your reservation for a short period of time? And if he's really serious about playing Tonto, what day-to-day experiences and cultural practices should Depp go through in order to really get the hang of being Tonto?'


My thoughts: Depp is a very talented actor, and his clout in the film industry is undeniable. But if Depp's politics are so good, rather than participate in a paintdown, he could use this influence to demand that Natives play Natives. He could direct or produce. He could produce a film and hire a Native director. He could play one of the non-Native roles in the film, or the role of person who thinks they maybe sorta might just have some Native heritage somewhere back there... uh, like, probably Cherokee, y'know. He could do a satire and play a confused seeker or a pretendian. All sorts of options that don't rely on yet another non-Native playing a Native.

Why not cast Depp as The Lone Ranger and hire a Native actor to play Tonto? Is Johnny Depp as "ethnic" as Disney is willing to go? Then maybe Depp should give Disney a polite "no" on this movie.

tecpaocelotl:
I'm assuming he got his role since he played a native in The Brave.

OneRed:
You know sometimes people just deal with their issues differently than others and maybe his ancestry is pretty painful for him to bother with it. I know there have been times in my life, where I shouldn't have went looking for things, did and it ended up causing me more pain. And he probably doesn't want the media to have a field day with it, I know I wouldn't, especially if what he says is true. And especially since there's so many crazy people out there that would be harassing him like mad, "oh give me money" .. you know how it goes and maybe the reason he's been so quiet about it up until the past few years is because he might have been type casted ... and we see a lot of that with our native actors all the time. Look at the Baker Twins  and Irene Bedard as an example, they have to take on other ethnic roles to get work sometimes, they were talking about this on Tyra Banks' show. And you think about all the other famous people that we are now learning are native or have some native blood, would they have gotten where they were if they had said they were native? My guess is probably not, since we know how much native racism exists in not only hollywood, but in every day life.

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

Johnny Depp as Cultural Appropriation Jack Sparrow...I mean Tonto.

"The Tonto costume is a mish-mash of stereotypical Indian garb, a Plains-style breastplate with a southwest-style headband (minus the effing bird), random feathers and beads--but the face paint that makes him look evil, forlorn, and angry all at once is a nice touch. Then, the fact that the publicity photo shows the "wild" and "unruly" (ok, I'll say it, "savage") Tonto behind the clean, polished, (and white) Lone Ranger is a great "honoring" to Native people too, and shows how much agency Tonto has, right? (/sarcasm)

"You guys, I'm pissed off. Like for real. I had a teensy-tiny bit of hope that this wouldn't be another othering-stereotype-filled-horror, but clearly I was so wrong. This movie has a budget of like $215 million. That big of a budget, and you couldn't have hired a Native consultant, or shoot--even asked  a Native person from the community you're purporting to represent (Tonto's Apache, right?) what the character should look like?"

Read whole post (It's an excellent one)

I'm pissed off, too. All the talented Native actors, and this is what happens. It doesn't matter if Depp's weird fantasies of "Cherokee.. or maybe Creek" ancestors way way back turns out to be true. This is offensive no matter where his blood comes from. If he had any actual connection to Native cultures he would know this was wrong and would stop it. This is inexcusable.

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