General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: "Can someone tell me whether we're supposed to be offended by Johnny Depp's portrayal of Tonto?" [View all]LWolf
(46,179 posts)My initial reaction was:
1. Couldn't they find an authentic native american to play Tonto?
2. I can't believe they even tried to bring this back. How much did they have to change the original characters to make it work in 2013?
3. I'll pass.
Then, yesterday, my mother called me to ask me to go see this movie with her. She's a huge Depp fan; has been since his very first movie, whatever that was. This is important to her. I asked her if the native issue and the racist links to the original bothered her; she said no. She said "he's part native," and she read that interview with him wanting to bring something better to the character. She's not going to not love Depp, or skip one of his movies, because of any questionable connections. Kind of like some Obama voters.
So I'll be seeing it at some point with her, if it's still in theaters by the time we both have the day off.