^ No, the only thing I've said is that it would be better for a Native character to be played by a Native actor. I haven't seen the trailer, don't know what the portrayal of said character is like, therefore haven't commented on it.
hi ho Silver, The Lone Ranger rides on....
- Thread starter Temis the Vorta
- Start date
Mister Fandango
Fleet Captain
Well, that's not an option at all. Johnny Depp is playing Tonto. I'm just trying to be optimistic about why he's playing Tonto. If he's just a guy posing as a Native American, be it intentionally or because of some trauma (like being caught in an explosion) that screwed up his head, that'll be a lot easier to accept than actually being a Native American.
I think it's unlikely that he'll be a guy pretending to be a Native American. I hope, for your sake, that there will be enough room for you to pretend that he is, though 
The way Tonto talks is pretty much a staple of his character. You might as well not do a Lone Ranger adaptation if you think the portrayal is offensive.
The way Tonto talks is pretty much a staple of his character. You might as well not do a Lone Ranger adaptation if you think the portrayal is offensive.
Indeed, Depp's dialogue first struck me more as a homage to Jay Silverheels than anything else.
The other person I was reminded of was Klinton Spilsbury, not a good sign. As someone who grew up never missing a Lone Ranger rerun if I could, the trailer does not grab me. And since when does the Ranger wear a badge? Also, Monument Valley looks great as always but how the hell would someone -- without a helicopter, anyway -- construct a tall scaffold on a high pinnacle like that?
Justin
Mister Fandango
Fleet Captain
Anyway, I think I'm just not making my point clear. I'm personally fine with Depp playing the character. I just think the aforementioned idea is a great way of explaining the homage. In fact, there's absolutely no evidence that he actually is Native American aside from the way he's dressed and acting, as opposed to showing him amongst other natives and whatnot. He's just a crazy guy in the middle of the desert pretending to talk to horses and hooking up with some white guy. Rather than, you know, actually returning to his own tribe or... whatever it was he was doing.
How many people in Jakarta or Shanghai would know that a Native American character dropping his prepositions is racist?
As movies get more global, cultural niceties like that get lost. Only the broad strokes remain. For much of the world, all they know about Native Americans is what Hollywood has told them. There's your scary thought for the day.
"Native American" is a tricky designation, however. There are in all likelihood enrolled members of various tribes at least "white" as Depp.
There's also the question that, if we're going to require only Native Americans to play Native Americans, why not do the same with other cultures. Should, for example, Jewish actors be prohibited from portraying Christians or Muslims? Or vice versa?
Judging from the preview showed before The Hobbit, Depp delivers Silver's lines, in an effort to keep the movie grounded I suppose. The preview also showed Silver wearing a hat, whereupon Tonto announced there was something wrong with that horse. Conflict amongst the heroes is an infallible sign of Serious Drama. All God' children should watch this movie.
That lets the rest of us off the hook!
That lets the rest of us off the hook!
Poor Armie. Can't even get equal space on the poster. They should be upfront and say the movie is about Tonto.
This is one of the films were the billing thing gets pretty silly. Armie Hammer is The Lone Ranger, not Johnny Depp.
Now The Lone Ranger knows how Alice feels.
They couldn't show his ARM? Ridiculous poster.
Maybe he's wearing something really really stupid on his arm. Like a crow.
This is 2013. He actually loses his arm in battle, just to show us that this is not your daddy's Lone Ranger.
Christopher Reeve didn't have top billing in Superman or Michael Keaton in Batman, IIRC, so it's not unprecedented for the lesser-known actor playing the lead character to get lower billing to a better known actor playing what is nominally a supporting character.
Yes, and it wasn't okay then and it isn't okay now.
