Shaking up Tonto may not be effective

     Johnny Depp is reinventing the character of Tonto for this summer's remake of "The Lone Ranger." Tonto, the faithful, Native American sidekick, has traditionally been portrayed under common media stereotypes for Native Americans. As can be seen in the video above, Depp says he's trying to shake up the traditional Native American stereotype by updating Tonto's costume. However, it doesn't appear that he's getting totally positive feedback from Native Americans.

     While I appreciate Depp's trying to shake up the traditional Native American stereotype, I don't know how effective his effort will actually be. The fact of the matter is that he's still playing the role of the Native American sidekick whose name, in Spanish, literally translates to "stupid." Depp can try all he wants to shake up the image of the character, but he can't change what role the character plays in the overall movie script. For this reason, I doubt Native Americans will be seen in a much more positive light after this film releases in Summer 2013. If anything, this might awaken stronger stereotypes and discrimination against Native Americans in the younger generation that hasn't been exposed to the idea of the "stupid" Native American yet.