Reservation Dogs, Rutherford Falls, and Ted Lasso discourse
De-centering and re-centering whiteness, plus the show that launched a thousand arguments
Hello!
On this week’s episode of Criticism Is Dead, we discuss Reservation Dogs and Rutherford Falls, two recent shows that present very different contemporary Native stories.
Click here to listen to the full episode on the web
Or listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Pocket Casts, Google Podcasts, or other podcast apps.
04:07 Reservation Dogs, streaming on FX on Hulu, is about a ragtag group of Native teens striving to escape their rural Oklahoma hometown.
This is a MEATY CONVERSATION! Pelin and I have fundamentally different opinions on Reservation Dogs, so I’ll lay out some pluses and minuses here for you to form your own assessment:
Pros: Rare glimpse into lives of Native youth, de-centers whiteness by omission, funny and off-kilter, some promising characters, interesting world.
Cons: Very gradual drip of information, we want to learn more about these characters, can feel a little aimless (but disclaimer: I like that about this show), a bit slow so far in building out the larger narrative arc and emotional stakes.
But our disagreement did lead to, in my opinion, a valuable discussion about what we’re looking for from these shows that get held up as beacons of “representation.” How do you walk this line between wanting applaud and give these shows time to settle into themselves (because white shows do, because why are we saddling these creators with so much burden of pressure), versus still wanting to demand excellence even from underrepresented creators because what we’re after most of all is just quality art? There’s no easy answer, but let us strive for more all the time.
28:26 Rutherford Falls, streaming on Peacock, is about a white man and a Native woman whose friendship is tested by a conflict going back centuries.
Our opinion of this show aligned a bit more in that we’re kinda mixed on it. To be frank, Rutherford Falls is a bit of a chore to get through sometimes. It suffers from both slow pacing and being overpacked with plot contrivances, not to mention a grating main character that we’ve seen Ed Helms play over and over again.
The more interesting stuff comes from the Native characters, particularly Reagan and Terry, and the more complicated question of how do you square capitalist ambition for both personal gain but also the benefit of a community that has been fucked over by that game time and time again? There are some larger, thorny ideas that this show is trying to tackle, and it doesn’t always succeed in the details of it, but the effort is there.
40:46 Plus, culture notes about what it is about Ted Lasso season 2 that has struck a nerve in broader culture.
Read this piece by Alison Herman of the Ringer:
(If you recall, Alison was a guest on our Made for Love episode and is generally very smart and spot-on with her assessments.)
Bonus links
Some Succession reading: this behind-the-scenes feature by Hunter Harris and this Jesse Armstrong profile by Rebecca Mead.
Remember: OCTOBER
This is really cool:
Finally, a reminder for anyone who is in the WGAE and eligible to vote: go for Solidarity Slate! Here’s some helpful context:
That’s it for now! We are ON VACATION next week. See you the week after that!
— Jenny
Follow us on Twitter and Instagram!
Please rate/review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Pocket Casts, Google Podcasts, WHEREVER, and maybe tell a friend about us!
Inquiries, complaints, and recs for what to watch can go to criticismisdead@gmail.com.
Some credits:
Music: REEKAH
Artwork and design: Sara Macias and Andrew Liu