Oddly enough, I could find NOTHING on the Internet as far as criticism of 1602 with regards to the Rojhaz/Steve Rogers/Captain America dude. Am I alone in finding this odd? Since I can find no other criticism I will have to go out on a limb and suggest that Rojhaz's character is indicative of the Grey Owl Syndrome. I first came upon this theory after reading Margaret Atwood's lecture Strange Things: The Malevolent North in Canadian Literature (I loooove me some Margaret Atwood) and don't worry, I'll explain what it is.
The Grey
Owl Syndrome is a Canadian literary tradition which has factual roots. Grey Owl Syndrome is named for a Canadian emigre from Great Britain who so deeply immersed himself into the native culture that his imitation was only discovered upon his death. This syndrome extends to those who only adopt singular affectations of Native culture to those who wish to immerse themselves so deeply into the culture as to expel their previous cultural identity. In my opinion, the latter fits Steve Rogers to a tee. Rogers wants to keep his identity a secret when he is transported back in time. So when the Native Americans mistake Rogers for a member of another tribe he took that identity as his own by changing his name to Rojhaz ("Rogers" said a different way) and taking on their culture (Part 8, Pgs. 1-3). Hellooo Grey Owl.
Okay, now I have been googling like a madwoman while writing this and I finally found something meaty for criticism on this book. I had to google Rojhaz, not 1602 to find it, duhr. Anyway, the story begins with a comment made by Neil Gaiman in reference to his book, The Graveyard Book (which is a very nice book and I know because I eat up what Gaiman writes like candy). Instead of rehashing the whole story, I will post a link for it...here. In that link there is discussion of Rojhaz and 1602. If you want to see where the argument began, go...here. I am sure all Neil Gaimanites will be interested in that but in reference to this post, it has nothing to do with Rojhaz.
Instead, the first link offers this for criticism: "There is no other native voice offerin
g a dissenting opinion, or any opinion at all-there is only Rojhaz, a white totem to colonization acting as your mouthpiece." (Chris Kientz) At this point I would agree that it is very weird to have a white guy posing as a Native American. Add to that the fact that he is there just waiting to keep Democracy on the straight and narrow. That's right, he's not there to help the Natives keep their land, he's there to keep the "New World" from spiraling into "the dark times." That does not bode well for the Natives that fed, clothed, and protected him when he first arrived. I am not sure what this means at this point.
I guess I am going to think about for a while and do some more research. I think the Grey Owl syndrome theory holds pretty true, but I would like to hear some feedback about that as well. For the next post I will be talking about a really beautiful piece by Kiriko Nananan called Blue. For those who would say that Japanese manga is hypersexualized and sexist, this book is anything but.
The Grey
Owl Syndrome is a Canadian literary tradition which has factual roots. Grey Owl Syndrome is named for a Canadian emigre from Great Britain who so deeply immersed himself into the native culture that his imitation was only discovered upon his death. This syndrome extends to those who only adopt singular affectations of Native culture to those who wish to immerse themselves so deeply into the culture as to expel their previous cultural identity. In my opinion, the latter fits Steve Rogers to a tee. Rogers wants to keep his identity a secret when he is transported back in time. So when the Native Americans mistake Rogers for a member of another tribe he took that identity as his own by changing his name to Rojhaz ("Rogers" said a different way) and taking on their culture (Part 8, Pgs. 1-3). Hellooo Grey Owl.Okay, now I have been googling like a madwoman while writing this and I finally found something meaty for criticism on this book. I had to google Rojhaz, not 1602 to find it, duhr. Anyway, the story begins with a comment made by Neil Gaiman in reference to his book, The Graveyard Book (which is a very nice book and I know because I eat up what Gaiman writes like candy). Instead of rehashing the whole story, I will post a link for it...here. In that link there is discussion of Rojhaz and 1602. If you want to see where the argument began, go...here. I am sure all Neil Gaimanites will be interested in that but in reference to this post, it has nothing to do with Rojhaz.
Instead, the first link offers this for criticism: "There is no other native voice offerin
g a dissenting opinion, or any opinion at all-there is only Rojhaz, a white totem to colonization acting as your mouthpiece." (Chris Kientz) At this point I would agree that it is very weird to have a white guy posing as a Native American. Add to that the fact that he is there just waiting to keep Democracy on the straight and narrow. That's right, he's not there to help the Natives keep their land, he's there to keep the "New World" from spiraling into "the dark times." That does not bode well for the Natives that fed, clothed, and protected him when he first arrived. I am not sure what this means at this point.I guess I am going to think about for a while and do some more research. I think the Grey Owl syndrome theory holds pretty true, but I would like to hear some feedback about that as well. For the next post I will be talking about a really beautiful piece by Kiriko Nananan called Blue. For those who would say that Japanese manga is hypersexualized and sexist, this book is anything but.
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