Title: Reservation Dogs
Network: FX
Production Companies: FXP, Piki Films, Film Rites
Creator: Sterlin Harjo and Taika Waititi
Original Air Date: August 9, 2021
Age Rating: TV-MA
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Format: Television Show
Reading Level/Interest Level: N/A
Awards or Honors
AFI TV Programs of the Year (2022)
Independent Spirit Award Winner: Best Ensemble Cast in a Scripted Series (2022)
Independent Spirit Award Winner: Best New Scripted Series (2022)
Plot Summary
Native teens Bear, Cheese, Elora, and Willie Jack want nothing more but to escape their situation in rural Oklahoma. Reeling from the death of their friend Daniel a year ago, the group decides to follow his dream of traveling to California to start a new life. They work on gathering money for their trip through acts of thievery and vandalism, hoping to leave as soon as possible. When a rival teen gang comes to town to threaten their way of life, they must decide what actions to take and what this means for their future.
Creator Background
Sterlin Hanjo is the co-creator, producer, and director of Reservation Dogs. He is also the creator, writer, producer, and director of the 2015 TV series Osiyo, Voices of the Cherokee People, and writer/director of the 2019 film Barking Water (IMDB, n.d.a). Sterlin also hosts a podcast called The Cuts, where he discusses the lives of his various guests (The Cuts, n.d.).
It’s hard to decide what Taika Waititi is known best for: his writing and acting in What We Do in the Shadows, his Oscar win for Best Adapted Screenplay of Jojo Rabbit in 2019, or directing Thor: Ragnarok as well as playing the role of the lovable rock, Korg. Whichever role you know him from, he is a creative mind that excels at both comedy and drama. Waititi grew up on the East Coast of New Zealand in the Raukokore region and is the first indigenous person to win an Oscar (IMDB, n.d.b).
Critical Evaluation
I had no idea what to expect going into this show (for some reason I thought it was a true crime type thing), but once I understood that it’s more slice of life as we follow the group of teens around, I was hooked. This show had such great dry humor, and I definitely laughed out loud as I watched it. Though this show is mostly comedy, it actually had a very emotional core with a lot of sentimental and sad moments that really made me fall in love with the characters. We got such a unique look into this take on reservation life through the eyes of a group of teens, all of which are portrayed incredibly by the ensemble of actors and actresses. One of the greatest aspects of this show is that it is the first cable TV show with an entirely indigenous team, including writers, actors, directors, and crew (Murphy, 2021). There honestly wasn’t anything I didn’t like about this show. I ended up watching the whole season (8 episodes), and while it has a bit of a slow beginning, it picks up by the second episode and from there you won’t want to turn it off.
Creative Use for a Library Program
Host a cooking class for teens to learn how to make catfish and fry bread, two meal staples of the teens from the show.
Speed-Round Book Talk
Bear, Elora, Cheese, and Willie Jack are four Native teens who do what they have to do in order to get by (and yes, that includes stealing and pawning a chip truck). Mourning the death of their friend Daniel and trying to save up their cash to escape the rural Oklahoma reservation, this group of teens must rely on one another if they want to make it to California. Duo Sterlin Hanjo and Taika Waititi bring this portrayal of rez life to the screen in this hilarious but emotional series.
Potential Challenge Issues and Defense Preparation
There are no existing challenges that I am aware of, but I am sure there are patrons who would object to the theft in this series. With an MA rating, there is some violence and language that parents may also find problematic. teensThis show does also contain suicide, which could be a trigger for teens and is a matter that should be discussed by parents and their teen before watching the show. The violence isn’t too graphic and though it’s hard to argue against profanity, as a show for mature audiences I think teen viewership is up to a conversation between the parents and their children.
Reason for Inclusion
This series has standout indigenous representation from the entire cast and crew that teens of all backgrounds will be proud to see. It is also all-around an excellent series that manages to be funny and sentimental at the same time.
References
Dungo, AJ. (2021, September 20). “Reservation Dogs” is a heist comedy with occasional swerves into the surreal [Illustration]. The New Yorker. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/09/27/reservation-dogs-is-a-near-perfect-study-of-dispossession?epik=dj0yJnU9WF9nSk84UDFPZC1GZVM4SkZ4VU5KZV9WcERsSlEzUTkmcD0wJm49cDhoVFljZFhDVUhZb094WWZsU1B2ZyZ0PUFBQUFBR0pXSDUw
IMDB. (2021a). D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Paulina Alexis, Lane Factor, and Devery Jacobs in reservation dogs [Image]. Retrieved from https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13623580/?ref_=tt_mv_close
IMDB. (2021b). Reservation dogs [Image]. Retrieved from https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13623580/?ref_=tt_mv_close
IMDB. (n.d.a). Sterlin Hanjo biography. Retrieved from https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1802161/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm
IMDB. (n.d.b). Taika Waititi biography. Retrieved from https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0169806/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm
Murphy, S. (2021, August 9). Sterlin Harjo, Taikia Waititi smash stereotypes of indigenous people in “Reservation Dogs.” Shoot Online. https://www.shootonline.com/news/sterlin-harjo-taika-waititi-smash-stereotypes-indigenous-people-reservation-dogs
Rotten Tomatoes TV. (2021, July 16). Reservation dogs season 1 trailer [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWYVTyhFAOU
Shur, E. (2017). The superweirdo behind “Thor: Ragnarok” [Photograph]. The New York Times Magazine. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/19/magazine/the-superweirdo-behind-thor-ragnarok.html
The Cuts. (n.d.). About the cuts. Retrieved from https://www.thecutspodcast.com/heritage
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