Pig Girl: An Indigenous Woman’s Perspective Through “Scriptive Things”

• Main Author: Lyn Trudeau
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Brock University 2018-12-01
• Series: Brock Education: a Journal of Educational Research and Practice
• Online Access: https://journals.library.brocku.ca/brocked/index.php/home/article/view/781

Indigenous representation in various genres has always been questionable in regards to who has a voice, and content that is culturally sensitive and appropriate. This paper critically examines the controversial theatrical play Pig Girl (Murphy, 2013) through the lens of Robin Bernstein’s (2011) “scriptive things” theory. Although Pig Girl sought to give voice to Canada’s missing and murdered Indigenous women, it instead was sharply criticized by Indigenous community members. This paper explores historical ideologies corresponding to the dehumanization of and violence perpetrated against Indigenous women based on the imagery provided by those who created and promoted the Pig Girl stage play. The paper discusses how such imagery can re-inscribe prior beliefs and be interpreted with “things” depicted within the playʼs narrative. The paper also addresses the function of interpellation and imagery, aesthetic intervention, and resulting associations