What I’m getting to, in a rather roundabout way, is that it comes down to power. Actors, most actors, especially NATIVE actors, well, they don’t have much. Power, that is. The studios, the moguls, the big boys—they have lots and lots of power. This is what you call a disconnect.
This disconnect makes it virtually impossible for someone like Rudy Youngblood to fall on his sword for the cause and have it matter much at all, except to Rudy, who’d be committing career suicide. Explain to me—what good would come of that other than to quell the opportunities of a promising young talent?
12 comments:
Be sure to see the comments at the end of the posting on NativeVue.org. And join in the debate.
Writerfella here --
But there is no debate, unless you wish to correct Carole that Rudy Youngblood is Comanche-Cree, not Comanche-Yaqui. The structure of the film industry always has been that writers and actors have the least say in anything that ordinarily gets committed to film as a motion picture. writerfella is a writer-actor and so he knows doubly well that this is so. Look at Native films and see that actors and writers are at just as much a disadvantage because those producers and directors also believe that the films are theirs alone to create. And never mind that, without actors or writers, Native films would be great sunsets and powwows filmed in real time. As writerfella has said, few who criticize ever have anything but their own motives and motivations in mind...
All Best
Russ Bates
'writerfella'
Writerfella here --
And now writerfella wishes to note some interesting characteristics about Newspaper Rock the website: archived posts somehow become misleading, as the topics are made to lose the number of comments each one produced, if any. Perusers and users, therefore, are lulled into passing up a given archived topic because it appears to have had no discussion at all.
Second, the webmaster employs the methodologies of a cow-college debater and a jailhouse lawyer in more than a few of his responses to posts that are couched negatively to articles that have been brought to bear. In "Apocalypto's Many Mistakes" (Dec. 11), writerfella riposted that the film only paralleled many of writerfella's thoughts from his own researches into Mayan existence and that they date back to a time when Mel Gibson was in junior high. The webmaster's response was that somehow writerfella was professing to have had his mind filled with stereotypes about the Maya, rather than actual knowledge. That might work on someone possessing less education and experience than does writerfella, except that writerfella recognized the remarks as reductio ad absurdum. That quality and another called deus ex machina, writerfella explained, are the last refuges of a coward who only says that his own 'experts' disagree but rarely if at all cites those 'experts' chapter and verse. There were no such 'stereotypes' in families, schools, churches, communities, cultures, or in the media at the time writerfella did his ideations. Unless, of course, the webmaster was saying that writerfella was originating such stereotypes, which is both preposterous and postposterous.
writerfella ended his riposte with these words -- "Riddle me this, Caped Crusader. If you and your 'experts' are so well-versed and immersed in MesoAmerican cultures, which of those peoples holds the record for having an actual written language over 3,000 years ago? writerfella knows and he has known this fact almost for as long as you have been alive. You have thirty seconds."
Fifteen will get you twenty that there was no answer and that there won't be one. The clock is ticking...
All Best
Russ Bates
'writerfella'
I double-checked, Russ, and Rudy is indeed Yaqui-Comanche. He has been "adopted" into the Cree culture, but wasn't born into it. Check out his website for more info:www.rudyyoungblood.com
Merry Christmas!
Sure there's a debate. Go back and watch Antigone if you think a person without power has to obey others. In case you haven't heard, the Nuremberg excuse--"I was just following orders"--is no longer acceptable, if it ever was. There's always an alternative to doing the wrong thing.
I'm not sure what "topics are made to lose the number of comments each one produced, if any" means. Every comment that isn't a duplicate or a mistake is still online. Click on the link for an archive, find an item with comments, and click on the word "Comments." The comments will appear.
If you have any actual knowledge of the Maya, you're keeping it to yourself. For the most part, you've been parroting Mel Gibson's version of the Maya, which--as I've shown--is false. If you have any evidence from years or minutes ago, please provide it. Your opinion that you know more than such experts as Julia Guernsey, Zachary X. Hruby, and Marcello A. Canuto isn't worth the screen it's written on.
The NY Times and other sources recently reported on a 3,000-year-old slab of unknown Olmec writing. Is that what you're referring to? Since I had read the NYT article, I was able to look it up in 15 seconds--no sweat.
Since this is a new find, it's not something you or anyone has known since Mel Gibson was in junior high. Here's a link so people can read about it for themselves:
http://anthropology.net/tags/writing
You see, I provide sources for my claims. You might want to try it sometime. It's one way to look as if you know what you're talking about.
I'd say the last refuge of a coward is to claim something without justifying it. I've quoted several experts on the Maya to support my arguments--which is several more than you've quoted, since you've quoted zero. That's why I'm winning the debates while you're pontificating about my debating style. Your postings are beginning to look like a case of "Those who can't so something, teach."
Writerfella here --
Stand not corrected, Carole. Then, quite obviously, the fault lies with the actor himself and the press releases that he has approved. Comanche is a known tribal name, as is Cree. But Yaqui certainly has the lesser recognition quality as would, say, Havasupai, Minneconjou, Hualapai, or Arikara. writerfella's tribal lineages are Kiowa-Wichita, but the latter rarely finds usage. The problem, therefore, is not that the actor believes his own press, but rather is one where the public believes the actor's own press.
Hopi Hooligans &
A Harpy Yew Near
All Best
Russ Bates
'writerfella'
Writerfella here --
Ennhh, ennhh! Oh, my, there's Beulah the Buzzer, and your time is up. writerfella must tell you that your answer is wrong, as the Olmec Cascajal Block was found only recently and misses by a few hundred years being the oldest such example.
But of course, writerfella's own information about the Maya and the Anasazi and the San Blas and the Red Paint People, etc., empowers his work and he spent decades traveling widely, sweating nails, sparing no expense, and leaving no sterns untoned to garner it all. Thus, no one gets any of that for free and they'll have to pay to read the stories to learn such for themselves. If that's too high a price, then writerfella says, 'Tough tacos, ya'll."
All Best
Russ Bates
'writerfella',
Boys, boys! It's CHRISTMAS. Good cheer. Peace on earth...
Okay. Enough. Back to my cookies:)
Writerfella here --
That kind of palliative might have found value, save for the fact that writerfella is not a Christian. He instead is a Plains spiritualist and also is the last medicine man of the Kiowan Spider Clan. The past week's solstice held more meaning for a spiritualist than could any recently-imported philosophical poesy. Interesting that computer research on human calendars places the birth of the Christ figure in mid-May, verifying that its date was moved for the sake of potential proselytes to coincide with their heathen solstice festivals. A lie told by philosophers still is a lie...
All Best
Russ Bates
'writerfella'
So to summarize, we have no evidence that Apocalypto is anything but a complete fabrication and no evidence that my citation on the oldest Mesoamerican writing was wrong. So noted.
As for "Thus, no one gets any of that for free and they'll have to pay to read the stories to learn such for themselves," I wonder what you call that debate technique. Does "running away" or "giving up" sound about right?
I'd say you're already writing great fiction in this blog, Russ. That the Maya were bloodthirsty killers and the "Anasazi" weren't the Ancestral Puebloans are excellent fantasies.
Actors risk their live making movies for all of us and if somebody take the time to realise that making a movie is not that easy than seat in front of a coputer and make comments about the movie or the actors that make the movie is easy for those who does't have nothing better to do than say bad thing about somebody that is trying to do something better for his future. Rudy Youngblood I think make a wonderfull job in this movie, he was making a job Mel Gibson find him he wasn't looking to harm any body.This gentleman call red eagle or whatever his name,he is trying to get something out of this. He is the only person who have said things about this actor (Rudy Youngblood)I don't know why but maybe beacuse he dont have nothing to give in his name. He said that he is so proclaimed to be a Comanche I dont know why because when you look at him the only thing that you see is a white dude with a couple of feathers. He said that his ancestor is a Comanche that in the History of the United States saids that this person was responsable for betrayed his own people and because of that a lot of Indian Americans died that days because a bad decision that he make.If I am wrong saying this I am going to stop reading books and I am sorry if this information is not truth but everything that I read said that what im saying is truth but if this man want to said something and explain something my web site is www.alma534@yahoo.com you can write me what ever you want. Buy the way this person have to stop looking at the tv and then seating in a chair in front of a computer and start to write thing about the miss world event saying that the participants are not good enought for the contest, yesterday I was trying to get more information about Rudy Youngblood and I went to this web site of this guy that I was writing about before and he was saying this stuped things about the Miss World I have no idea why he take time to talk about this things because this is not a mayor problem that right know is affecting us, but he find the time to write something bad about this, he needs to spend more time out of the computer and trying to do something better for him and his family. He got some issues that he have to deal with if somebody knows him this is the white dude that said he is Comanche please let him know that I write this for him please. I think that Rudy Youngblood looks more indian than he does. The Native Americans are people that are so powerful,they are like gods in earth thats what I think about them.Life it so short and people waist their time saying bad things about others that is crazy please if you have the tool for other to see be constructive be carefull of what you said because in one way or another it come back right at you. And the last thing,anybody who born in the Americas are Indians decendents in one way or another. Who knows for sure theres a long way since this happend maybe theres more Indian Americans that we think....
You're referring to David Yeagley, aka "Bad Eagle." You can read all about him at Yeagley the Indian Apple.
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