You know you're about to get into some deep, scholarly thought when the writer opens with a Cookie Monster quote. Slightly related; while I found the readings this week to be incredibly interesting, I had a lot of trouble coming up with what I actually had to say about them. I knew I couldn't just write, "This week I learned that Annie Oakley was a badass," and click "Post Entry," so I snuck into the only place I hadn't clicked on in Oakley's website; the Teacher's Guide. Out of the huge list of prompts, "Annie Oakley in the audience," jumped out instantly. How would Annie Oakley respond to how people have translated her image over time? (If I were showing the many re-imaginings to her in person, this is the point in the presentation where I would put on my bullet proof vest.)
A quick Google search will bring up dozens of Annie Oakley interpretations (dare I say, tributes?) ranging from halloween costumes, to broadway productions, to stuffed bears. (confirmed only by the badge donning Sitting Bull's nickname for Oakley, "Little Sure Shot") I chose to condense and focus heavily on a couple of examples, rather than briefly catalogue a plethora of search results. The two examples I selected are depicted above.
On the far left we have Mrs. Oakley herself, strong-willed, highly skilled, self-respecting sharpshooter extraordinaire. Instead of dolling out the same handful of facts commonly associated with her name, here is my favorite fact about her, taken from the PBS website's timeline; "...upon meeting famed inventor Thomas Edison, she has a request of her own: she wants to know if he can design an electric gun. Edison says he will consider it." How cool is that? Not only that she would think to suggest it, but that Edison would actually consider it?
Beside her are two characters from the video game series, "Wild ARMs;" a series of adventures based in a heavily romanticized version of the wild west. There are many familiar elements depicted in the games, such as vast stretches of desert, horses, saloons, and of course, Annie Oakley homages. The middle character, Virginia Westwood, is the main character from the third Wild ARMs entry in the series. The game's narrative places her as a young traveling girl, displaying a masterful control over firearms. Often throughout the game, Virginia is forced to prove that her skill can live up to the reputation that precedes her, often drawing in crowds during the display. Even more interesting is that halfway through the story, another young gunslinging girl is introduced
in the character of Maya Schrodinger, who inspires a fierce competitive spark between herself and Virginia -- this closely relates to the rivalry between Annie Oakley and Lillian Smith, the 15-year old sensation who took Oakley's place in Buffalo Bill's show for almost three years.
The far right character up above is named Rebecca Streisand; the pivotal Annie Oakley homage in the fifth Wild ARMs release of the series; this hit the shelves five years after the game Virginia Westwood lead, and as you can see, a lot has changed since then. In the story, Rebecca is credited as a gunslinging prodigy, though her character is significantly weaker-willed than the no-nonsense Virginia. At this point, Rebecca's similarities to Oakley can be disregarded as a weakly maintained tradition of the series. Though the contrast between these two characters does bring to light yet another important similarity between the actual Oakley and Virginia; in that they are both fully clothed. Again referring to the PBS timeline, it states; "...in contrast to the behavior of the more risqué female players, Oakley dresses conservatively and lets her rifle do the talking," a trait that is certainly crucial to the strong image of Oakley. The only kind of powder she might have had on her face was GUN POWDER, am I right? High-five.
Needless to say, Annie Oakley is a larger-than-life character who will certainly continue to be reinvented as time goes on; whether these future reincarnations will continue to be incredibly similar or, you know, wear pink short shorts is a mystery for future generations to solve.
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