JE #1B

The ideological message behind the lone ranger is that he is the ideal and legitimate hero in society. He represented the top class of US society, White Male saving and protecting the poor little savages. The Lone Ranger is a manifestation of the “white mans burden.” The white mans burden; the duty of white people to save all those who are non-white because they are not capable to do it on their own.

Tonto represents the ideal non-white subject; he is the model minority, which is submissive, and always looking to be in favor to the white master. He is perpetually dependent on the white man.

The narratives switch between the story of The Lone Ranger and Speedy Gonzales. The focus in The Lone Ranger is white vs. non-white on the other hand, Speedy Gonzales, the focus is Speedy Gonzales vs. his community. Speedy Gonzales and Tonto are both dehumanized but with Speedy he was not dependent on anyone else to save him. He was a character that had a level of agency in contrast to his friends and family and he fought to save his own kind.  The tactic in Speedy Gonzales was to divide amongst the race. Tonto, on the other hand, needs to be saved; he could not do it on his own and so the tactic there is to show the supremacy of whites over non-whites.