Indian Comics Irregular #146

Here's the latest TV news posted at BlueCornComics.com:

PEACE PARTY posters appeared several times on the September 24 episode of "The
War at Home." Set at a comic-book convention, the show involved a geeky son
trying to bond with his insensitive father. I'm proud that the producers chose
our comic to represent the multicultural diversity in the field.

Steven Spielberg's "Into the West" received several Emmys nominations in July
but won only one. That sounds about right to me. See
http://www.bluecorncomics.com/intowest.htm for more on the story.

An unaired episode of the canceled show "Wonderfalls" was set on a fictional
reservation in New York. Some of the cultural bits were good and some were
stereotypical. Read about it at http://www.bluecorncomics.com/wndrflls.htm and
watch it on DVD.

Last year, the forensic crime show "Numb3rs" did a takeoff on the Kennewick Man
controversy (http://www.bluecorncomics.com/kennwick.htm). A European-looking
skull supposedly threatened a tribe's land and gaming rights. The episode was
December's loser of the Stereotype of the Month contest
(http://www.bluecorncomics.com/stype05.htm).

An episode of Comedy Central's "Drawn Together" also made it into the stereotype
contest last November. In it some Indians converted their burial ground into a
casino. For more on burial grounds, a common Hollywood stereotype, go to
http://www.bluecorncomics.com/burial.htm .

Bobby Logan, who produced "Repossessed" and "Meatballs 4," is hoping to do a
movie version of the '60s spoof "F Troop." He says he intends to make the
Indians realistic rather than caricatures and have Native actors play them. In
September we talked about his plans in my Newspaper Rock blog at
http://www.bluecorncomics.com/newsrock.htm .

In September I also praised the '70s cop show "Hawaii Five-0" for its
true-to-life portrayal of Asian minorities. I wondered why we couldn't have a
TV show set in modern times with an equally good portrayal of Indians. Since
Indians make up about 1% of the US population, one of every 100 TV series should
feature them.

In October I commented on the new TV season. As usual, there was almost a
complete lack of Native characters. This was especially noticeable in the
Alaska-based show "Men in Trees," which should have had as many Natives as its
predecessor "Northern Exposure."

Movie Tidbits Too

Meanwhile, on the big screen:

In August I noted how Capote, the man and the movie, was inspired by an Indian.
Perry Smith, the key figure in Capote's "In Cold Blood," was part Cherokee.
Smith's tale made the author a literary star.

Disney's "Atlantis: The Lost Continent" presented an indigenous race with no
apparent connection to today's people. But the direct-to-video sequel made the
connection, claiming the Atlanteans taught Native people everything they know.
Head to http://www.bluecorncomics.com/atlantis.htm for the scoop on this New Age
stereotype.

I've seen most of Disney's animated flicks, but until recently I hadn't seen
"Kronk's New Groove," the sequel to "The Emperor's New Groove." It was no
better than a standard sitcom, with anachronisms such as an English-accented
Scoutmaster. Check out my critique of it at
http://www.bluecorncomics.com/kronk.htm .

You can find most of these items on BlueCornComics.com's TV page (natv.htm) or
movies page (namovies.htm). They're also in the Newspaper Rock archives for the
specified months.

Rob Schmidt
Blue Corn Comics