Coyotes in popular culture
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The coyote is a popular figure in folklore and popular culture. References may invoke either the animal coyote (a wild canine native to North America), or the mythological figure Coyote, common to many myths of the indigenous peoples of the Americas. Traits commonly described include inventiveness, mischievousness, and evasiveness.
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[edit] In folklore
Coyote is a mythological figure common to many Native American cultures, based on the coyote animal. This character is usually male and is generally anthropomorphic. The myths and legends which include Coyote vary widely from culture to culture. He can play the role of trickster or culture hero (or both), and also often appears in creation myths and just-so stories.
[edit] In literature
Coyote appears as a mythological trickster character in Buffalo Gals by Ursula Le Guin, Coyote Blue by Christopher Moore, and Green Grass, Running Water by Thomas King, among others. In Summerland by Michael Chabon, Coyote is the primary antagonist, who tries to destroy the world so that he can change his status from "Changer" (trickster) to "Maker", and create a universe all of his own.
Coyote appears as an animal in The Book of Sorrows by Walter Wangerin, Jr., where scrawny Ferric accidentally sets in motion a chain of events that bring Heaven and Hell crashing down upon the land.
The character appears in stranger guises in The Nagasaki Vector by L. Neil Smith, as a cyborg who specializes in scent tracking, and in Sky Coyote by Kage Baker, where the role of "Sky Coyote" is taken on by the cyborg Joseph in order to convince a Chumash community in California to evacuate in advance of European exploration. In a series of novels by Michael Bergey, including New Coyote and Coyote Season, Coyote reincarnates as a genetically engineered coyote to learn how to use science as well as magic.
[edit] In comics, manga, and cartoons
Wile E. Coyote is a Warner Brothers cartoon coyote who is endlessly trying to catch and eat an extremely fast Road Runner with his tricks, many of which involve technology or Rube Goldberg machines. His efforts are always futile, and he usually harms himself in the effort. It is likely that the stereotype of Coyote-as-trickster helped form the basis of this protagonist. The cartoon character Wile E. Coyote has a comically exaggerated nose, tail and ears, inspired by the appearance of the real animal. (Many of the other Warner Brothers cartoon characters also share some qualities with the trickster Coyote, especially Daffy Duck and Bugs Bunny.)
Other cartoon appearances include Calamity Coyote in Tiny Toon Adventures, Bent-Tail and Bent-Tail Jr., who appear in some animated Disney shorts.[1], and Coyote, the name of a series of robots in the Gargoyles series. (The mythical Coyote the trickster also makes an appearance in the Gargoyles episode "Cloud Fathers".)
The Coyote comic series features a lead hero/trickster character similar to both mythical versions of the Coyote, as well as a modern interpretation of a half-man/half-coyote hero. Another trickster coyote appears in the webcomic Gunnerkrigg Court. The Sonic the Hedgehog (comic series) features Antoine D'Coolette, a cowardly coyote with good intentions, and Patch, known for being cunning, deceptive, and cruel.
[edit] In motion pictures and television
The Simpsons has an episode ("El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer") where a coyote voiced by music legend Johnny Cash plays the role of Homer Simpson's Spirit Guide. Homer refers to his Spirit Guide as the "Space Coyote." When Space Coyote instinctively starts gnawing on Homer's leg he quickly stops and apologizes by saying, "Sorry. I am a coyote."
In the movie Coyote Ugly, Lil, the bar owner, explains that she named her bar after the slang term "coyote ugly", which refers to the feeling of waking up after a one night stand and discovering that you are beside someone who is so physically repulsive that you would gladly gnaw off any of your limbs that he or she is sleeping on just so you can get away without being discovered. Many wild animals, including coyotes, will gnaw off limbs in order to escape traps.
Computer-animated movies and tv shows have featured Tommy the Coyote (Father of the Pride) and Dag (Barnyard: The Original Party Animals).
[edit] In slang
In the Southwest United States, a "coyote" is a person paid to smuggle illegal immigrants across the border between Mexico and the United States. See also Human smuggling.
When used as an adjective 'coyote' may be synonymous with 'thief' or 'liar'.
[edit] In sports and games
The Phoenix NHL ice hockey team is the Phoenix Coyotes.
The San Antonio Spurs NBA basketball team has used a coyote as its mascot since 1983. The character was created by Tim Derk. The Coyote is also the mascot of several college and university athletic teams, including those of the University of South Dakota, California State University, San Bernardino, and The College of Idaho.
In White Wolf, Inc.'s roleplaying game Werewolf: The Apocalypse, Coyote is a Totem for the Garou (werewolves) and even more so for the Nuwisha (were-coyotes).
