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Something I've seen recently is that the wendigo is a taboo subject due to Native belief and religion (sic), so I went digging down the rabbit hole seeing what I could find.
After a bit of reading, I think what happened is that people confused "wendigo" for "skinwalker"
thread/
After a bit of reading, I think what happened is that people confused "wendigo" for "skinwalker"
thread/
Wendigos are winter spirits that represent corruption and selfishness. It's been bastardized by modern audiences, for sure, and it's absolutely a serious matter for the Algonquin tribes, but nothing I've read suggests it's taboo to even talk about or acknowledge to the world.
Skinwalkers, on the other hand...Navajo tribes don't even want to THINK about them, they are that evil. They WILL NOT under any circumstances discuss skinwalkers with outsiders.
Wendigos seem more victims of greed and social immorality. Skinwalkers are just pure evil.
Wendigos seem more victims of greed and social immorality. Skinwalkers are just pure evil.
So I think what happened is someone read about skinwalkers and mistook them or attributed them to wendigo, and then spoke aloud the misinformation and the internet ran with it.
Not a discussion on cultural appropriation, but a clarification nonetheless.
Not a discussion on cultural appropriation, but a clarification nonetheless.
If we're GONNA talk cultural appropriation of the wendigo, however:
What we view as the modern day wendigo (antlers, deer heads, etc)...that ain't it. That's the result of years of misinterpretation and what I can only call a game of Telephone being played among horror writers.
What we view as the modern day wendigo (antlers, deer heads, etc)...that ain't it. That's the result of years of misinterpretation and what I can only call a game of Telephone being played among horror writers.
While the cannibalism/aspects of greed have been retained, they've been given that Hollywood feel of being stripped down to the bare essentials that a lot of adaptations suffer from. And that's where the appropriation tends to come in.
The good news is, there's a work-around.
The good news is, there's a work-around.
The modern depiction of wendigo DOES fit the description of other Native spirits/folklore, AND the overall aesthetic of the modern wendigo can be attributed to European mythology.
So with a bit of switch-and-pivot, the artist can still make that design work.
So with a bit of switch-and-pivot, the artist can still make that design work.
Which looks as though she was about to do, before fan outcry and backlash got to the point that she was removed from the contest.
Hei's involvement probably didn't help, what with the stigma he's built around himself over the last couple of years. This is why reputation matters.
Hei's involvement probably didn't help, what with the stigma he's built around himself over the last couple of years. This is why reputation matters.
Which ultimately boils down to what I was gonna talk about last night in my semi-coherent stage:
I agree that folklore and mythology should be handled with respect when used for storytelling. I don't agree that they should not be handled at all.
I agree that folklore and mythology should be handled with respect when used for storytelling. I don't agree that they should not be handled at all.
Folklore and mythology are the backbone of all classic storytelling, and among the oldest. Those stories evolve over time, twist and turn, but the heart of them have endured millennia of culture shifts and economic revolutions. They cause more inspiration than they deter.
I think anything and everything can be written about. Where I maybe come off on a different platform from most is that I don't think anything and everything can be written about WELL, depending on the storyteller.
Where the problems come in tend to be the approach.
Where the problems come in tend to be the approach.
Ultimately what I think this boils down to is the difference between "can" and "should."
You CAN use these topics, but if you're not going to respect them then you probably SHOULDN'T. Otherwise you get what the modern day wendigo is now.
You CAN use these topics, but if you're not going to respect them then you probably SHOULDN'T. Otherwise you get what the modern day wendigo is now.
People say intention doesn't matter; I believe it should at least be taken into consideration and judged off that, depending always on what's being dealt with.
In regards to the Grimm contest, I see a person who had an idea and ran with it, the sign of any good creative soul.
In regards to the Grimm contest, I see a person who had an idea and ran with it, the sign of any good creative soul.
There was no malice involved, no disrespect meant. She was more than willing to alter her work to try and be more respectful. I feel that alone is commendable, and was not worth expelling her.
The influx of votes for her cause may be seen as a problem. And that was avoidable.
The influx of votes for her cause may be seen as a problem. And that was avoidable.
From the word go, Rooster Teeth handled this contest unbelievably poorly. What should have been a show of good faith has now left a bitter taste in the mouths of many a fan and have sullied any attempts to do this in the future, and that is a shame on them.
So what do you get from this thread?
From my standing, you've got bad feelings towards a contest and an entry removed in bad faith, revolving around a mythological creature whose origin-can has been kicked many miles down the road before this person ever touched it.
From my standing, you've got bad feelings towards a contest and an entry removed in bad faith, revolving around a mythological creature whose origin-can has been kicked many miles down the road before this person ever touched it.
Obviously this is the ramblings of a white cis male, so I suppose there are many who say my word doesn't matter, and there may be some validity in that.
But I believe just because people have done myths poorly doesn't give them the right to be shut off entirely.
But I believe just because people have done myths poorly doesn't give them the right to be shut off entirely.
As the storytellers, we need to do better. As the audience, we need to teach where we need, admonish only those who refuse to adapt and learn, and help those who want to do better to do so.
But gatekeeping of topics and cancelling those who approach them helps exactly no one.
But gatekeeping of topics and cancelling those who approach them helps exactly no one.
(this thread is in application to art and storytelling, if any one of you try to twist any of my words to apply to Mignogna or Bumbleby or any other RT scandal I promise you I will find you and murder you in your sleep)
Lastly, if anyone's interested, here's some reading material I looked over for this thread in regards to wendigos and skinwalkers:
https://www.backstoryradio.org/blog/the-mythology-and-misrepresentation-of-the-windigo/
https://ko-fi.com/post/The-Wendigo-Is-Not-Yours-for-the-Taking-C0C116U8P
https://www.legendsofamerica.com/navajo-skinwalkers/
Happy reading.
/end thread
https://www.backstoryradio.org/blog/the-mythology-and-misrepresentation-of-the-windigo/
https://ko-fi.com/post/The-Wendigo-Is-Not-Yours-for-the-Taking-C0C116U8P
https://www.legendsofamerica.com/navajo-skinwalkers/
Happy reading.
/end thread
