[Imagine a low booming voice from an announcer] “Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the Billy Jacking exhibition, presented by Gallery 2, created and brought to you by artist, Jordan Bennett from the Mi’kmaq Nation, Wabinki Confederacy in Newfoundland, Canada. This exhibition is situated within the traditional un-ceded territory of the Sinixt Peoples. For the featured bout, we are going to witness a most anticipated match in history, the fighters are in the ring and they are ready, we have Billy Jack in the left, and his opponent, Stephen Harper in the right… for people in attendance, are you ready?!...Then, let’s get readddddddddddddy to rummmmmmmmmbllllle…" This exhibition, Billy Jacking presents an imagined bout of epic popular cultural …show more content…
Upon initial encounter, the apology is recognized but once the viewer becomes aware, Bennett has cleverly reconfigured and remixed the apology to reveal a prideful testimony of colonial intent, objective and execution. The remixed ‘un-apology’ makes it irresistible bait for an “ass whopping”, only Billy Jack could deliver which many intergenerational survivors would appreciate. The remix essentially exposes the colonialist project, which was “designed to colonize Indian minds as a means of gaining access to Indigenous resources.” In general, Bennett masterfully depicts colonial residues, the trans-generational violence of exploitation of land, resources and colonial subjugation. The medium of film and media work as an effective tool to create a dialogue between these characters of different decades, time and narrative is conflated and transcended the historical wrong doings that are felt today, the past influences the present and future, or in another’s words, “history is amendable, but knows no past, present and future; it knows no long or short time, no ‘long ago’ or ‘recently’ – as absolutely unique and nonconvertible moments”