Oldal 303 [303]
INDIGENOUS HUMOR AND TRANSCULTURAL IDENTITY SHIFTS AND MIX-UPS...
clear reference to the Chinese fortune cookies, which, in this case, is a "special
kind of bannock,” an idea that Amos has acquired in a Chinese restaurant.
These he fries with “little philosophical Indian sayings in the middle,” basically
a replica of the Chinese fortune cookies.” Therefore, the fish, the cheeseburger,
the corn soup and the fortune cookies are certainly not native originalities, but
a resourceful marketing catch that aims at linking aboriginal heritage with
non-native popular consumer food. The inventive wordplays offer a taste of
foreignness, an exotic color to otherwise boring clichés.
The particularities portrayed within these two plays offer an insight into
the transcultural changes that have thoroughly suffused and continue to
influence the English language in Canada. The differences and distinctness
of Aboriginal culture and white European culture seem to have become less,
however, the plays imply a tendency of Native culture to favor a somewhat
backward movement toward heritage and authentic traditions and rituals.
The popularity of Native theater suggests that the most appropriate forms
of Native storytelling and comedy as an inherent feature is best played out
on the stage. And Drew Hayden Taylor’s plays, as presented above, aided by
the blues theme emphasize the lighthearted nature of these works. Humor is
the cover theme that carries transcultural peculiarities that highlight socio¬
historical issues which are acutely present in the lives of Canadians and the
Aboriginal Peoples.
NATIVE EXPERIMENTS WITHIN THE GOTHIC GENRE
Drew Hayden Taylor’s plays are widely known for their comic framework;
however, he has also written works that specifically address the youth. These
carry a serious tone with additional irony and sarcasm, and raise questions
that examine the identity, heritage and cultural values of the Aboriginal
youth. In the previous section, two of Taylor’s light and carefree comedies
were examined which function efficiently within the blues genre. Obviously,
serious drama requires a different approach, one that can link the scope of
time (past, present and future), and tell a story, because “stories are memories
that must be shared with the Universe.”5°
In the following, two youth dramas will be examined, Toronto at Dreamer’s
Rock and Education is our Right. The common ground of both works is the
Gothic genre, which Taylor closely associates with Charles Dickens’ famous
short story, A Christmas Carol (1843). In terms of its historical development,
the Gothic was very popular in the mid-eighteenth century England, which
was initiated by Horace Walpole’s immensely successful Castle of Otranto
4 Ibid., 35.
50 Drew Hayden Taylor, Two One-Act Plays, Calgary, Fifth House Publishers, 1990, 6.
e 301"