Module # 2 Weblog # 4

Rabbit Fall: Do You Believe?

http://communities.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/print.aspx?postid=255076

ResXtra

http://communities.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/blogs/rezxtra/default.aspx

Rabbit Falls is a new TV show created by Jennifer Podemski, who also produced the drama show Moccasin Flats. This article is a review of the show from the online magazine ResXtra. The review, although found in a CanWest newspaper offers some interesting insight about some of the issues with producing television shows that involve First Nations legends.

“When critics first came out against Moccasin Flats, saying the show didn’t properly portray Regina’s inner city and perpetuated the stereotype that it was, “Canada’s worst neighborhood” – the same could be said for Rabbit Fall.   Visit any First Nation community in Saskatchewan and you’re highly unlikely to find a community like Rabbit Fall.   Furthermore, in First Nation culture, the telling of First Nation oral stories are supposed to be kept sacred or else used only for education and not meant to be told through the mainstream.  So with that said, is Rabbit Fall stepping over the line?”

I found this critique to be interesting because of its criticism of the show using  First Nations stories in a commercial way. The writer even goes as far as to compare it to a science fiction show and then retorts with  “But on APTN, where it’s about “sharing our stories”, does Rabbit Fall really share our stories?” The article questions whether or not this show is culturally sensitive and pays respect to First Nations culture, or if it is simply entertainment, and should be taken as such.