Lecture 5 – Movies 2 Flashcards
The Searchers, dir. John Ford (1956) — Basics
–based on the eponymous novel byAlan Le May (1954)
–in 1989, described as “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”, the film was elected for preservation in theNational Film Registry of the United States Library of Congress
–In 2008, the film was named the“greatest American Western”by theAmerican Film Institute
–the film is predicated on strict divisions between inside and outside which can be extrapolated also to group inclusion and exclusion, insider and outsider and, in effect, to notions of racism
–this is articulated most clearly in the film’s treatment of the captivity narrative
The Searchers, dir. John Ford (1956) — Plot
–from the beginning of his quest, Ethan is manifestly less interested in rescuing Debbie than in wreaking vengeance on the Comanche for the murder of his brother’s family
– Ethan has, in fact, frequently been compared to Captain Ahab in Herman Melville’s Moby Dick (1851) for his monomaniacal pursuit of vengeance
–the Comanche are not depicted sympathetically but emerge from the film once again as savages
–nevertheless, Scar’s motivation is revenge for the death of his two sons
–in this way, it is apparent that the same force is driving the Comanche chief and the white avenger
–this realization has critical potential
The Searchers, dir. John Ford (1956)— Native Americans and Racism
–moreover, Ethan’s hatred of Native Americans and his racism are implicitly criticized:
* he is disdainful of Martin’s Cherokee heritage (he is one eighth Cherokee), but the young man proves himself worthy and, in fact, in many ways the better man (in the sense of a moral human being)
* perhaps more controversially, as a former Confederate soldier who cannot accept defeat, racist attitudes of a wider scope are implicitly attributed to Ethan and juxtaposed to the prevailing norms of equality
– that it is not only the bitter former soldier who harbors such thoughts is exemplified by Laurie, the daughter of the Jorgenson’s who nevertheless is in love with Martin. She asserts towards him: “Ethan will put a bullet in her [Debbie’s] brain. I tell you Martha would want him to.”
–suggestions of Ethan’s (and Laurie’s) racism, like the notion of racial defilement and miscegenation which runs through the film, are eventually tempered with the re-admittance of Debbie into the family and, ultimately, into white society and civilization
The Wild Bunch, dir. Sam Peckinpah (1969)—Basics
–starring William Holden and Ernest Borgnine (and others)
–the original screenplay was written by Walon Green and Roy Sicker
–the film focuses on two main themes:
* the end of the outlaw gunfighter era
* betrayal and loyalty
– The Wild Bunch was nominated for Academy Awards for: Best Original Screenplay / Best Original Score
–in 1999, The Wild Bunch was elected for preservation in the United StatesNational Film Registry in theLibrary of Congressbecause it was considered “culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant”
The Wild Bunch, dir. Sam Peckinpah (1969) — Violence
– film’s graphic portrayal of violence and of the fight for survival by any means was highly controversial at the time of its release
–Peckinpah insisted that he meant the violence in The Wild Bunch to be allegoric of the war in Vietnam
–his aim was to create an awareness of the fact that the violence of the Vietnam War (1955–75) was daily televised but resulted in an increasing insensitivity to the reality of violence and served as an abdication from responsibility
–Peckinpah’s objective was, moreover, to show the violence that was commonplace to the historic period of the frontier
–the director sought to revise the sanitized representation of the American West and the glamorizing of gunfights and murder in mainstream Western cinema and television productions
The Wild Bunch, dir. Sam Peckinpah (1969) — Plot
– Peckinpah’s film is set in 1913, and the liminality of the period between the old Wild West and its demise informs the film throughout
– it narrates the story of a band of outlaws who, disguised as US soldiers hold up the office of the railroad company in the town of Starbuck, Texas
– it turns out that this was a trap and bounty hunters hired by the railroad company open fire on the bandits as they prepare to make their escape
–the ensuing gunfight right in the middle of a aparade of the local temperance association occasions a bloodbath
–some of the bandits are killed, but most manage to escape and make it across the border to Mexico
–in Mexico, they meet General Mapache, one of a number of lawless generals fighting among themselves during the counter-revolution and civil war of 1913–15
–Mapache hires them to rob a weapons and munitions train across the border
–as they do so, they are pursued by a posse of the railroad company’s bounty hunters, led by Deke Thornton, a former associate of the outlaws’ leader, Pike Bishop
–having been captured and promised a deal, Thornton is coerced into this role because, having been a close associate of Pike’s, he is the only one able to anticipate the wiles of the old “fox”
–in Mexico, they also visit the village of Angel, one of the gang, but find that it was attacked by General Mapache’s troops and that among the dead are also members of Angel’s family
–with connections to Mexican insurgents, Angel bargains with Bishop to deliver one of the crates with weapons to the rebels
–Bishop’s gang is eventually drawn into a firefight with the general’s troops at his base of Agua Verde and, in the ensuing massacre, all are killed
–like vultures, an image graphically suggested by the presence of the black birds in the scene, the bounty hunters descend on the cadavers to rob them and to take the bodies of the bandits to the head office for payment
–it is here, that Thornton separates from them. He remains sitting in disgust next to the town gate in the dirt
–the bounty hunters are intercepted and killed by the insurgents and as the rebels arrive at Agua Verde with old Sykes, the sole survivor of the Wild Bunch, Thornton joins them
The Wild Bunch, dir. Sam Peckinpah (1969) — Reception
–Peckinpah’s film, frequently called his masterwork, is remarkable not only for its many technical innovations and the hyperreal character of its representation of violence, which it achieves arguably in emulation of the Spaghetti Western and especially the work of Sergio Leone
– it is, with respect to the thematic focus of this lecture also particularly noteworthy for its critical construction of the American West in a liminal period
– the film’s liminality emerges not only from its chronological setting but also from its geographical setting in the borderlands, which is a topic that we will revisit also in relation to other forms of cultural engagement with the American West, particularly in the discussion of Cormac McCarthy’s novel Blood Meridian or the Evening Redness in the West of 1985
– overall, the ubiquitous presence of children in the film – and also during its atrocities – is notable
–it confirms, as indicated by the scorpion parable, the perpetuation of the cruelty and violence of the West in the children even in the face of the alleged technical and civilizatory progress
–humanity, it is suggested, does not change
–this is exemplified, for instance, by the machine gun, the motorcar of the General which is used as a torture instrument or in the discussion of air planes, whose military use is emphasized
–all of these technical achievements clash with the viewer’s expectation of a Western
–the film explicitly conveys the sense of an ending of an era: Pike acknowledges that “these times will soon be over”
–Though there seems some respite in the final words of Sykes
The Wild Bunch, dir. Sam Peckinpah (1969) — Criticism
–the film moreover conveys strong criticism of contemporary developments, which are implicitly paralleled to the occurrences in the vanishing West:
–such as the critique of big business and capitalism which sacrifices the welfare of the citizens for the pursuance of its commercial interests (with the shoot-out in Starbuck)
–the disdain of the law, but its invocation of law when it offers an advantage
–this is contrasted with a strong sense of a code of honor to which the Wild Bunch adhere
–it is illustrated by their equal distribution of the spoils and the equality of individuals in the gang
–it is further emphasized in direct comparison with others, like the General and his troops or the bounty hunters, all of whom are portrayed as mercenary and immoral
– it is hardly possible to separate these concerns, no less than the proliferation of violence, from the production context of the film in the late 1960s with the war in Vietnam having gained momentum and provoked civic protest
– in this context, the ineptitude of recruits who are being sacrificed in the pursuit of the Wild Bunch and led by an incapable officer who – literally – sees it coming, but simply closes his eyes: when during the train robbery the empty train is sent back by the Wild Bunch and crashes into the car carrying the horses and the recruits
– the train robbery itself is a clear nod to The Great Train Robbery with the manner of the train hold-up and the uncoupling of the locomotive, though it then expands upon its model, including the reversal and ensuing crash
– the train robbery is only one example of the film’s amalgamation of traditional thematic concerns and tropes of the Western which it critically reconfigures
The Wild Bunch, dir. Sam Peckinpah (1969) — Additional features
– outlaw narrative
– chase
– revenge
– attacks on villages
–Indian wars of liberation (Indios)
The Wild Bunch, dir. Sam Peckinpah (1969)
— Conclusion
– in the end Thornton, who acted under duress exerted by big business, joins a worthy cause
– the struggle for liberty – but this has been relocated outside America
– this is a strong articulation of social and political criticism
– like in Stagecoach, Mexico appears as a land of possibilities
– but now it needs to be earned, and is no longer an idyllic place of retreat outside the US (like it was for the Ringo Kid and Dallas)
– liberty seems already to be lost in the US, as exemplified with Thornton, but it may yet be won, or at least be fought for, in Mexico
– though, historically speaking, this hope was of course to be disappointed with the Mexican Revolution and further political development
– this is arguably another implicit reference to Vietnam, where another fight is going on as the film was screened
Dances with Wolves, dir. Kevin Costner (1990) — Nominations
– Costner’s film, in which the actor starred and which he directed and produced, was highly successful, both commercially on a global scale and in terms of awards
–nominated for twelve Academy Awards, it won seven:
* Best Picture
* Best Director
* Best Adapted Screenplay
* Best Film Editing
* Best Cinematography
* Best Original Score
* Best Sound Mixing
Dances with Wolves, dir. Kevin Costner (1990) — Plot
–Dances with Wolves is based on Michael Blake’s eponymous 1988 novel
–the film offers a complex narrative which sees Lieutenant John Dunbar of the US Army befriend a group of Lakota Sioux and adopt their ways
–after having been wounded in battle and decorated during the Civil War, Dunbar is transferred by his own wish to the frontier, which he wants to see before it disappears
–in his new posting, he finds himself alone in the abandoned Fort Sedgwick and, after a first surprise encounter with a Lakota, seeks to establish a relationship with the Native Americans in spite of communication problems
–Dunbar slowly wins the Lakota’s trust, especially of the “holy man” Kicking Bird
–he participates in a buffalo hunt and saves the young Lakota Smiles A Lot from the attack of a wounded buffalo
–observed by the Lakota as he plays with a wolf whom he has semi-domesticated and given the name Two Socks, they name him Dances with Wolves
– getting to know the Native Americans allows Dunbar to overcome the prejudice against the so-called savages, he develops a deep understanding of, and sympathy with, the Lakota
– however, the film also features a band of Pawnee who are represented as savage marauders who in the past abducted a little girl, now a grown woman called Stands with a Fist and in the care of Kicking Bird
– the Pawnee brutally kill and scalp the provisioner Timmons
– Dunbar marries Stands with a Fist and helps the Lakota when they are attacked by the Pawnees, also supplying them with firearms from the cache at Fort Sedgwick
– eventually relief arrives at the abandoned fort and Dunbar, returning from the Indian village and dressed in Native American fashion, is taken prisoner and treated as a deserterand traitor
– during his transfer to the East, Two Socks is shot by the soldiers, but Dunbar is freed by the Lakota
– he and Stands with a Fist eventually leave the Lakota, who have moved to their winter camp in the mountains, so as not to endanger them further from the US Army
– the epilogue explains: “Thirteen years later, their homes destroyed, their buffalo gone, the last band of free Sioux submitted to white authority at Fort Robinson, Nebraska. The great horse culture of the plains was gone and the American frontier was soon to pass into history.”
Dances with Wolves, dir. Kevin Costner (1990) — Landscapes
–as in previous Westerns, the landscape of the American West is portrayed in its majestic grandeur
– it emerges as a place in which human endeavor and civilization are dwarfed by the big country (the title also of another, earlier, Western)
–it is a landscape which can only fully experienced in harmony with it
Dances with Wolves, dir. Kevin Costner (1990) — The revisionist narrative of Dances with Wolves
– the film, narrated from the perspective of Dunbar, whose journal entries feature as voice-overs, challenges the traditional narrative of the Native Americans as primitive savages
– it is highly critical of the concept of Manifest Destiny and denounces the reasons for white westward expansion
– with the exception of the Civil War narrative, which was a hot potato not touched by William Cody, Costner’s film responds to many of the stereotypes and prejudices transmitted by Buffalo Bill’s Wild West, such as:
* buffalo hunt
* Indian camp, including costumes, customs, and practices
* ambivalent representations of Native Americans as either fiendish or noble savages
* the educability of Native Americans
Dances with Wolves, dir. Kevin Costner (1990) — Native American prejudices and stereotypes
–But, quite significantly, it does not challenge all of these prejudices and stereotypes
– this is particularly obvious in the ambivalent representation of Native Americans
– like Cody, Costner used “real Indians” for his film
– authenticity is suggested through much historical detail in costume, hairstyle, customs and practices, and – particularly – the untranslated use of Lakota, the Sioux language (though subtitles are included)
– however, there is still a very clear distinction between “good” Indians and “bad” Indians which reflects the ambiguity also of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West
