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Mekko

Name: Mekko
Director: Sterlin Harjo
Released: 2015
Duration: 87 min

Representation Score

8.8/10

Excellent

2015

Director

Sterlin Harjo

Runtime

87 minutes

Average Rating

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New Showbiz Analysis

Mekko is a powerful exercise in intentional storytelling that centers Indigenous ability to act. By utilizing an all-Indigenous cast and crew, the film avoids including someone from a minority group without giving them real depth, offering a profound reclamation of narrative space. The film's strength lies in its refusal to rely on Western institutional frameworks, instead grounding the plot in ancestral teachings and subjective spiritual morality. This approach creates a complex, morally relativistic view of community survival. While the film excels in racial and cultural authenticity, it remains more neutral regarding explicit LGBTQ+ representation and specific physical disability narratives. However, it successfully explores the psychological dimensions of trauma and subverts traditional masculine clichés.

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Category Breakdown

Does Mekko have LGBTQ+ representation?

Fair

The film focuses on the protagonist's redemption and communal interactions. It doesn't include explicit queer romantic arcs or non-cisgender identities, maintaining a neutral stance.

How does Mekko portray gender?

Fair

The narrative challenges traditional masculine stereotypes by emphasizing male vulnerability. It delves into emotional fragility and the psychological impact of trauma rather than stoic leadership.

How racially and ethnically diverse is Mekko?

Excellent

This production achieves exceptional authenticity by using an all-Indigenous cast and crew. It centers Native American lived experiences and traditional teachings to reclaim narrative space.

How does Mekko represent religion and culture?

Excellent

The story prioritizes ancestral wisdom and spiritual morality over Western frameworks. It depicts a complex Indigenous community facing socioeconomic instability without relying on idealized clichés.

Does Mekko include disability representation?

Good

The film explores invisible disabilities through the lens of intergenerational trauma. The protagonist's struggle with reintegration highlights profound psychological distress and mental health challenges.

Present on Screen

Exceptional racial authenticity through an all-Indigenous cast and crew.
Sophisticated use of ancestral wisdom as a primary narrative driver.
Nuanced subversion of traditional masculine archetypes and stoicism.
Deep exploration of the psychological impacts of systemic trauma.

Limited or Absent

Lack of explicit LGBTQ+ character's ability to drive the story or identity-specific narratives.
Limited focus on physical or sensory disability representation.

Official Synopsis

Mekko gets out of prison after 19 years. He has no home or family so he makes his way to Tulsa. He tries to connect with a cousin but she turns him away. With nowhere to go Mekko ends up sleeping on the streets. He is taken in by the homeless native community. At times jovial, there is a dark undercurrent to the community. He begins having issues with a man named Bill. Bill is pure evil. Convinced that this man is a witch, Mekko turns to the old teachings of his grandmother in order to rid the community of this 'witch'. It's a story of redemption, and hope. Mekko is in search of his home and the strength to forgive himself of his past.

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