Tag Archives: representation

M4 P5: Molly of Denali

From Pocahontas to Peter Pan, cartoons have misrepresented Indigenous Peoples by making them look “different” and part of the “Other” by following the stereotypes given to Indigenous Peoples. In 2019, PBS introduced their new show called Molly of Denali which follows Molly, an Alaskan Native living in the fictional village of Qyah. The show gives a more modern and accurate representation of Indigenous Peoples in Alaska and has helped Indigenous children feel “seen” as there is someone on television and YouTube that looks like them and that they can relate to. The show addresses stereotypes and culture educates children on those issues through engaging content.

The episode below called “Culture Clash” is a prime example of how the show accomplishes this. This show would be a great resource to show clips of to younger students as the content and language is appropriate and the right fit for their age.

Other articles about the show:

https://www.npr.org/2019/07/21/743944680/with-alaskan-native-lead-molly-of-denali-breaks-new-ground

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2019-10-14/native-representation-molly-of-denali-pbs

https://www.wpr.org/people-are-connecting-new-pbs-kids-show-molly-denali

M4 P3: Indigenous People React to Indigenous Representation in Film and TV

React is a popular YouTube channel that looks at the reactions of various people after they view content from YouTube. The channel has over 20 million subscribers and has had high profile guests such as Lewis Capaldi and casts of various Netflix shows/movies. In this video, Indigenous Peoples are reacting to how the Indigenous were represented in film and television in various periods of time. This would be an interesting video for students to watch and join in the discussion to see why misrepresentation is so detrimental to cultures. I would hope that students would agree with what many of the guests are saying and also feel a sense of unease when watching the clips from the films and television as they would understand that there was a problem with how the media were presenting the Indigenous Peoples to their viewers.

Similarly, Buzzfeed also made a video on this topic that you can view here as well. The guests here stress for the audience to not just take everything they see in media as the truth.

M4 P2: Sovereign – Representation on Network Television

While looking up Indigenous representation in pop culture, I came across a TV drama called Sovereign. It is a family drama that is being developed at NBC, a major network television company in the USA.

“Sovereign chronicles the lives, loves, and loyalties of an Indigenous family struggling to control the future of their tribe against outside forces and themselves.” (Scott, 2021)

The show will be produced by Ava DuVernay (directed Disney’s: A Wrinkle in Time) and Bird Runningwater who is of the Cheyenne and Mescalero Apache Nations. The story will be written by Sydney Freeland, a transgender Navajo filmmaker, and Shaz Bennett.

This show will provide a more accurate and positive representation of Indigenous Peoples as it is produced and written by people coming from an Indigenous background. The fact that it is a family drama will also mean that the issues the show deals with will be more serious and impactful to the audience. Also, being on NBC means that presumably there will be a wider audience as NBC is part of broadcast television where most consumers with cable packages will have access to the channel. There is no release date for the show yet but they are working on a pilot episode and if it is deemed successful, it will become greenlit with more episodes.

Native American TV drama – ‘Sovereign’ – to air on NBC

Native American Family Drama ‘Sovereign’ From Ava DuVernay & Bird Runningwater Set At NBC As Put Pilot

Reference

Scott, D. (2020, December 4). Native American TV Drama – ‘Sovereign’ – To Air On NBC. The Seminole Tribune. https://seminoletribune.org/

M4 P1: Reservation Dogs

Reservation Dogs is a comedy series coming to FX in August that is created by Taika Waititi and Sterling Harjo. The name Taika Waititi may ring a bell as he was the director of Marvel’s Thor: Ragnarok. Both of the creators are Indigenous with Taika Waititi being Maori and Sterling Harjo being Seminole Muscogee. The show follows four Indigenous teenagers living in rural Oklahoma who are trying to find any way possible (including stealing and robbing) to make their way to California.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoHewFAkrWU

Clips from this show may be good for analysis by older grades (language is too mature for a younger audience) but I think it provides an interesting lens of how life is for Indigenous youth today. Obviously, there will be some dramatization for entertainment value but within it, I’m sure there will still be some valuable lessons. What I found interesting is that it combines both the stereotypes and the realities that these Indigenous youth are going through. This format of combining stereotypes with real experiences seems to work well as seen by ABC’s Fresh Off The Boat which follows the childhood of Eddie Huang and his family who immigrated to the USA from Taiwan in the 1990s or CBC’s Kim’s Convenience which follows the Kim Family and their life working as convenience store owners in Toronto.

M4, P3: Authentic First Nations Films

Representation matters when it comes to the texts we read and view in our classroom; this is especially important to me as an English Language Arts teacher who never saw myself represented in any of the stories we read in school. As we have discussed through the readings about digital media and self-representation, I think showing texts that are told from Indigenous people are vital for representation and authenticity. The website First Nations Film offers videos “for, by, and about First Nations” and can be used educationally. There are previews available for the films and they can be purchased for streaming, as well as DVD, on the website.

First Nations Educational Videos (2021). First Nations Films. First Nations Films. http://www.firstnationsfilms.com/catalogue.html

M2:P3 Molly of Denali – Indigenous Representation in Animation

I have a three year old who is obsessed with PBS kids. She is also a big fan of “Molly of Denali”. The cartoon is produced by both Canadian and American production companies and tells the story of Molly, a young Indigenous girl. Molly and her family manage a trading post in Denali, Alaska and she uses social media platforms to share her experiences. The animated show links technology and representation and has recently won Canada’s Youth Media Alliance’s 2021 Awards of Excellence and represents

A young Canadian Indigenous student from Emily Carr, Lia Fabre-Dimsdale, has secured an internship with the animated TV show. Fabre-Dimsdale is a member of the Liidlii Kue First Nation and landed an internship with Mitacs, a “not-for-profit organization that fosters growth and innovation in Canada and offers a number of internships to Indigenous students”(Ryan , 2021).Fabre-Dimsdale is enrolled at Emily Carr and finishing her Bachelor of Media Arts. Her main focus is working on storyboarding and design.

Fabre-Dimsdale is excited to be working on the project, she believes, “A lot of times, Indigenous characters are presented simply for the fact they are Indigenous. Having Molly who is adventurous and enthusiastic in her own right, while also connecting with her culture and community is a great balance” (Ryan, 2021). Molly of Denali also reflects what we have been covering so far, the link between representation in media and indigeneity. I also visited the PBS site and under the Molly of Denali link, there are games, activities, games and a podcasts. This provides extension for children to experience life in Alaska alongside Molly and her family. Even though the show  is geared toward younger children in primary grades, I think practicing visual and media literacy skills on an episode would be a great way to analyze representation.

Ryan, D. (2021, May). Animation internship offers opportunity to broaden Indigenous representation on screen. https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/animation-internship-offers-opportunity-to-broaden-indigenous-representation-on-screen