JE#1B

It is very disconcerting to think about how the ideological messages encoded into the Lone Ranger and Tonto episode are not much different from what I was taught in middle school “Social Studies” as recently as twelve years ago. The episode portrays the Native American characters as helpless, uncivilized creatures who rely on a white-skinned savior to prevent them from being exploited by other white men. Tonto, whose name was not likely chosen at random (Nericcio offers a very interesting analysis of the origins of Speedy’s name), is portrayed as unwaveringly trusting that the Lone Ranger has the Native American characters’ interests in mind. Unlike the sneaky “trickster” Speedy, who constantly challenges his nemesis, Tonto is docile and child-like -- he does not act without the Lone Ranger’s approval. Even when confronted with the threat of death, the Native American characters stand by and wait for the Lone Ranger to rescue them. The broad message encoded here, and the message conveyed in my middle school Social Studies books, seems to be that the continual persecution of and discrimination against Native Americans by whites in the United States was a necessary evil “for the good of the country.” In many ways, these ideological messages persist in the dominant, popular imaginary of the U.S.