Indian Comics Irregular #36

From the LA Times, 7/7/00:

In an angry letter to the Hollywood Reporter on Thursday,
filmmaker Spike Lee denounced "The Patriot" as "blatant American
Hollywood propaganda" and a "complete whitewashing of history."
Upset that the film excludes slavery in its tale of the
Revolutionary War, Lee attacked the movie's screenwriter: "Where
are the slaves? Who's picking the cotton? Did [Richard] Rodat, a
1981 history graduate of Colgate University, get his dates mixed
up? Where were the Native Americans? Did the two Johns--Ford and
Wayne--wipe them out already? Why have the film critics
completely ignored this in their reviews?" Claiming he and his
wife left the theater "fuming," Lee continued: "When talking
about the history of this great country, one can never forget that
America was built upon the genocide of Native Americans and the
enslavement of African people. To say otherwise is criminal."
Sony Studios had no comment Thursday regarding the letter.

A common response to Lee's letter was, "'The Patriot' wasn't ABOUT
slavery." The obvious rejoinder is that a movie doesn't have to be
about slavery to SHOW slavery. If slavery was a part of the social
fabric, then show it. Don't ignore it.

A related article pointed out other flaws in "The Patriot," such as
how it stereotyped the British as villains. The article added, "A
more sophisticated script would have gotten better publicity for what
could have been a great movie." At the box office, "The Patriot"
hasn't done as well as expected, joining such relative failures as
"Shanghai Noon" and "The Road to El Dorado."

Once again, Hollywood pap fails to sway an audience. How about
trying honest history instead?

Notes from San Diego

At the annual San Diego Comic-Con, the outlook for minority comics
was grim. I saw a couple of black urban comics, a couple of Asian
ninja comics...and that was about it. No obvious Latino or Native
American products...no comics with a "world beat"...nothing but
Japanese manga and American guts 'n' glory. (For the umpteenth year
in a row, big-breasted women with weapons were a popular theme.)

My talk on "Comics and Culture Need Multicultural Perspective" caused
few ripples in the space-time continuum. But other speakers echoed
my points. Namely, that publishers need to bring in new voices,
diversify the product, raise the quality, and thus broaden the market.

If they do, they may attract the adults who are spending millions on
Stephen King novels and Harry Potter books. If they don't, they may
go the way of the dodo bird. As I've argued before, it's just that
simple.

For more thoughts on this year's Comic-Con, head to
http://members.xoom.com/peaceparty/con2000.htm. To read my original
essay on "Culture and Comics," go to
http://members.xoom.com/peaceparty/cultcom0.htm. For a copy of my
Con talk (in MS Word format), e-mail me.

Hot Summer Developments

This month's new PEACE PARTY feature is Indian political cartoons.
Find out what Billy and Drew have to say about the upcoming elections
on our new 'Toons page
(http://members.xoom.com/peaceparty/toons00.htm). A
glance should tell you whom *I* think will support Native America
best.

Ruben Chavez, a young Hispanic/Native artist, has joined our creative
team. He'll help with online illustrations and other graphic
matters. Meet Ruben--and his historical hero El Ojo--on our
Biography page (http://members.xoom.com/peaceparty/biograph.htm).

The Democrats Forum (www.democratsforum.com), a leading political
site, is featuring more of my editorial cartoons on its home page.
It also has a prominent link to PEACE PARTY among the other links to
"parties." Check it out.

Rob Schmidt
Blue Corn Comics