Humor, History, and Stereotypes

After reading several blogs by fellow classmates, I found myself very much in agreement with what was being said. In one blog, a peer wrote of the purpose of humor in Sherman Alexie's book, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. I agreed with her blog that humor is an excellent way of reaching across cultural, and even age boundaries. Through humor, a person can become more relaxed and open about their views and struggles, allowing them to be more relate able. Through humor, the audience is less likely to be on the defensive and therefore more receptive to what the speaker has to say.
Another blog discussed the views of the colonizer upon the colonized. I totally agreed that many Westerners fell a sense of patrimony to the Native Americans. The idea that we must "take care" of the indigenous peoples due to our superior intellect. This idea is of course, completely bogus. The Native Americans culture was in no way less advanced than that of the Europeans who conquered this land. Their culture was simply misunderstood and the Europeans viewed it with a sense of arrogance. Because they could not immediately understand the inner workings of the Native Americans lifestyle and culture, they assumed it to be primitive. This view of the "primitive" Native American has filtered down to the people of today through a history that was written by the white conqueror. This is a terrible tragedy and misrepresentation of Native American cultures.
The last blog that I viewed spoke of the stereotypes shown in children's books. I agreed with my classmates argument that Peter Pan represents the "Redskins" in a favorable, and certainly unoffensive light. The context of the story, the history behind it, and the plot need to be considered in literature before it can be labeled offensive, I believe. When the story was written, the views of Native Americans were limited to the stereotypes. In the early 1900's, the idea of the "cowboy's and Indian's" and the Wild West were emerging at full force. To an Englishman, as Barrie was, the idea of the "Redskin" was probably fascinating and yet unrelatable to him. The Native American is just that, native of America, of which Barrie was not. Also, the story is a fantasy, a children's fantasy at that. Many of the element's of Peter Pan are over-the-top and fantastic, which generally brings out the stereotypes in all groups represented in the story. For instance, the character of John is presented as the proper English gentlemen with black top hat and manners. He's a stereotype as well. It's more like child's play rather than adults poking insults at other cultures.
I found this exercise to be very informative and interesting and I look forward to seeing what else my classmates think and feel about Native American Literature's and Cultures.