User:Abriverside/Evaluate an Article

Which article are you evaluating?
Reservation Dogs

Why you have chosen this article to evaluate?
(Briefly explain why you chose it, why it matters, and what your preliminary impression of it was.)

I chose this article because I recently went to a talk by Timothy Petete concerning the misrepresentation of underrepresented Indigenous North American people, and the relations of the Muscogee Nation of Oklahoma, serving as the core theme of the production. This matters because it helps to address and resolve DEI issues, which are important principles in and outside of this class. Initially I thought the article was very informative and an interesting read at times, but it should include more about the producer's intent to create an authentic depiction of the Native American community and culture of Oklahoma, and why they chose to do so.

Evaluate the article
(Compose a detailed evaluation of the article here, considering each of the key aspects listed above. Consider the guiding questions, and check out the examples of what a useful Wikipedia article evaluation looks like.)

Lead Section: The lead concisely explains the topic of the article by introducing the film and it's components to the reader. It doesn't summarize the article's major sections, however it is succinct.

Content: Although the article is relevant to the topic, overall it is a summary of the show, and much more could be added about the information regarding the characters and elements of the series behind the scenes. The content is up to date, but it is very singular. This article could cover equity gaps and do more to indicate the underrepresented misrepresentation of the Native American Oklahoma Nations, but completely neglects to do so because it doesn't include more content involving the issues surrounding the marginalization of the group and the course of action undertaken via the production of Reservation Dogs to address them.

Tone and Balance: The article isn't neutral or bias because it isn't analytical at all, and the value of the show and the purpose behind decisions such as casting calls, etc (e.g. having an entirely indigenous cast is mentioned, but never why) goes completely unrecognized. This article needs to make a point that matters, and right now it doesn't.

Sources and References: Some of the facts are backed by current secondary sources that are relevant but not quite thorough enough, and others have no relevancy at all. The sources utilized are mostly from gossip columns or critical reviews. I think better references about the individual actors, producer and writers; peer reviewed articles about the history of the Muscogee Nation of Oklahoma and other tribes, and the history of the misrepresentation of North American Indigenous people in the past in comparison to the present production of Reservation Dogs could add value to the content of this article and provide much more informative and meaningful sources.

Organization and writing quality: Concise with little to no grammatical or spelling errors, and compartmentalized into well organized sections.

Images and Media: No images are included to enhance this article.

Talk page discussion: I don't see any productive collaborative talk about how to properly represent the key elements that are pivotal from the production of Reservation Dogs and the role it now plays in society, or the need for people to see the way that Indigenous Natives are represented in this show compared to others in the past, and to understand why that is so important. People need to know that they matter. They need to make connections with other people and be exposed to other cultures for optimal development. People need to be represented equally in the media. To do otherwise would mean to convey a message to the public that would suggest that people represented in the media the most, matter most and visa versa. A message we have given our world in the past that doesn't serve our society. There should be discussion about that and there is not, but there are some productive things. The talk page starts off with quite a bit of edit warring; over whether the show is "American" or not of all things, but there are also some helpful edits others made that are beneficial to the article. This wiki has a C-class rating and is part of a Wikiproject.

Overall impressions: The overall status of the article is in progress, and that progression is also part of it's strength because it is a Wikiproject and that means there are people willing to work with others in an effort to improve it. That leaves the floor open to suggestion, however judging by the Talk page, you have to be careful how you word things. Or just get ready for people to be on the defense. Other than that the article also has a solid synopsis and concise description of the storyline. The article can be improved in many ways, I personally want to include a segment directly engaging with the idea of marginalized Indigenous North Americans and the Reservation Dogs address that issue among others. Essentially I would say this is an under-developed and incomplete work in progress.