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Essay / Pop Culture in the Context of Native American Literature
American popular culture permeates not only America itself, but many other cultures as well, and it says a lot about people and society as a whole that she tries to define. American Indians are a group that is not generally connected to the web of popular culture as many other American ethnic groups are, but Native American authors of various affiliations attempt to bridge this distinction and show how they do it all as much a part of the global world. society like everyone else. In works such as Thomas King's Truth and Bright Water and Leslie Marmon Silko's Storyteller, specific scenes reveal how pop culture is very important in defining indigenous cultures. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay In King's Truth and Bright Water, many references are made to the strangeness of an outsider infiltrating Indian Country. Tecumseh comments on the appearance of Monroe's hair when they first meet; as if it looked too quintessentially Indian to be normal. Tecumseh also seems to constantly have in mind the idea of cars and driving, a conception that is not typically or traditionally "Native American" as many who mentally (and wrongly) age Indian culture might consider that the main mode of transport is bareback. on horses rather than attached to a Mustang. Additionally, Tecumseh constantly references the films, musicals, and music of white American culture. The most striking pop culture image woven into this novel, however, is Lucy Rabbit's insistence that Marilyn Monroe is Indian: "Lucy likes to hold [Marilyn Monroe's] picture close to her face" and compare yourself to the famous icon. (19). The woman wants to look exactly like the star, but it's unclear why she does it; maybe she's trying to eliminate her own Indianness: "Well, you'd want to keep something like that a secret, now." , right,” says Lucy about Marilyn who is Native American (19 years old). The rest of his community also seems to view being Indian as inferior to being white, because "at first orange was a little weird, but because no one was. Otherwise, in Truth or Bright Water, the hair was closer to that particular shade, it kind of made Lucy a celebrity” (10). Although references to someone outside of the Native community are somewhat awkward and distancing, Lucy's references to the fact that Marilyn Monroe is Native ". Cree or Ojibwa” (19) actually unite. His love for this icon shows an acceptance and embrace of a culture like his own and challenges the whitewashed society of American popular culture by creating a new Indian icon. “Grandpa Graduated” by Leslie Marmon Silko. of the Sherman Institute” treats popular culture differently. In this very short story, Silko highlights the desire to fit into pop culture, at least in his grandfather's time. His grandfather, who attended a traditional Indian school, aspired to become an automobile designer, but was told "that Indians don't become automobile designers." He had to get professional training because, in popular culture and white society, Indians had no place in these fields. Because his grandfather was never able to pursue his passion and “there was a certain sadness that he never identified.” His grandfather, however, found other ways to satisfy his desire to integrate..