Thursday, January 9, 2014

"Western Playset": Cowboys and Indians

I wonder what it is that goes through the head of the boy who asks for or receives this "play" set?  What narratives will he play out? Researchers/academics in the documentary "Mickey Mouse Monopoly" assert that children play out the dominant cultural media narratives related to those toys, those characters, especially when they relate directly to the characters in the movie or tv show.  So what narratives will they play out?  Will the cowboys always "win"?  Will the Indians always die horrific deaths at the hands and bullets of the settlers (cowboys)? Will colonial, manifest destiny narratives be reinforced by their play?  Will any Indians be heroes?  Will the cowboys be characterized as violent terrorists?  Will they gain any insight into settler-colonial dynamics and the nature of imperialism? Will the boy be any closer to becoming a settler-ally to indigenous peoples?