American Masculinity In The Searchers

“Film is more than the instrument of a representation; it is also the object of representation. It is not a reflection or a refraction of the ‘real’; instead, it is like a photograph of the mirrored reflection of a painted image.” (Kilpatrick) Although films have found a place in society for about a century, the labels they possess, such as stereotypes which Natives American are recognized for, have their roots from many centuries ago (Kilpatrick). The Searchers, a movie directed by John Ford and starred by John Wayne, tells the story of a veteran of the American Civil War and how after his return home he would go after the maligned Indians who killed his family and kidnapped his younger niece. After struggling for five years to recover

They represent the world's innermost hopes and dreams, and the villain it’s secret fears and nightmares. Hero’s are not selfish they are confident, self-assured, and positive, they're different from the others not, because of what they're good at, but, because of what they achieved along their journey. Most of the time they will end in the triumph of right over

Heroes can be defined in many forms. The classical heroes are strong and care about the other feelings. Their strength help them to fight with monsters and other mythological creatures. Because they have compassion for the others, they usually risk their own life to save people, just like Perseus did to save Andromeda. On the other hand, the modern-day heroes face

In the world-renowned year of 1939, John Ford released Stagecoach, a Western picture based on Ernest Haycox’s novel, Stage to Lordsburg. The film, which takes place in Monument Valley, depicts an action-packed adventure starring a handful of questionable characters fighting war-crazed Apaches. More than 50 years after the film’s release, it was added to the National Film Registry for its cultural, aesthetic, and historical significance. Needless to say, Stagecoach sparked a new expectation for Western films, one that demanded deeper complexity than ever before. Westerns are sold on their hyper-masculinity and violence, yet John Ford is able to capture those traits and much more.

Heroes are selfless and put others before themselves in dangerous situations. Such as on 9/11, when a call was given out for boats to come rescue people off the island of Manhattan, where the terror attacks happened, as pictured in “Boatlift” Vincent Ardillo after hearing the news told his wife, “I gotta do something.” This represents heroism because Ardillo is not thinking of how he will be impacted, but rather of the people who need help, as many other people with access to a boat did as well. Also, Ardillo could have stayed home and been safe, but chose to sacrifice his well being and comfort for others. Another hero would be Clara Barton, the founder of the Red Cross, as Barton declared in a Civil War speech “I may be compelled to face danger, but never fear it, and while our soldiers can stand and fight, I can stand and feed and nurse them.” Barton distinguishes she could be hurt while helping the soldiers, however she does not dwell on the fact, deciding instead to carry on and make a difference despite the threat to health. This is heroic because Barton is putting others who cannot care for themselves and acknowledges she could be hurt, but does not let that get in the way of her reaching her goals. To sum up, heroes are everyday people who go out of their way to help others in need without the thought of payment.

Another feature that makes them a hero is selflessness. When it comes to disobeying authority, they can put themselves in danger and despite that, they are still willing to take the risk and rebel. This is because to them, they would rather fight for change and die fighting as opposed to just standing there and letting things continue the way they

Today when American society and others societies around the world thinks about a Native American man, the images that comes up ranges from the figure of the Crazy Horse indian warrior man-a strong and aggressive man that when everything seems to be lost rides his horse over the hill and saves the day(Shook)-to the image of the Sitting Bull chief-a hero, a soldier and one of the best leaders of all time in Native American history, who lived his life fighting for the rights of his people and died defending them(Native American Indian Chiefs). These traditional perspective of the Native American man remains valued elements of the Native American masculinity, and remarks the complexity of Native American masculinity(Kimmel, 2004). According to American masculinities: A historical encyclopedia by Bret E. Carroll, in las four hundred years, Native American men have played a host of other roles that have shaped American history in concrete ways and that offer important insights into the

They are idols, people you admire, but they do not do anything very important. Heroes on the other hand, have done something amazing. Inventors and scientist can be heroes, for finding life saving technology and cures for diseases. Qualities heroes need to possess are courage, steadfastness and tenacity. Courage is needed for when times are dark, true heroes will keep going and not be afraid of the bad.

Over the course of his life, John Wayne developed a powerful and one of a kind star persona. John Wayne's persona is highly tied to masculinity, which we see through many of his character roles in his Western films. John Wayne made many movies throughout his long, illustrious career but he is most well-known for his appearances in Stagecoach (1939), The Searchers (1956), Rio Bravo (1959), True Grit (1969) and many more. Throughout John Wayne's career, his persona shows us the nature of the world where men are forced to choose to be part of a family or to remain independent and keep their masculinity. Ultimately, his persona sends the message that men can be family

Regardless of my lack of adequate educational opportunities during my childhood, as I progressed throughout my higher academic courses over the past years, I have learned that I have always been treated differently due to my sexual orientation. In other words, as a heterosexual Christiane male in the American community; I have always being treated with honor simply because I supposedly fit the acceptable identity of a male standard within the Liberian and American community. For example, as a straight man in the American and Liberian community, I have the freedom to use any restroom and I have the opportunity to walk around my community without fearing for my safety as compared to a LGBT person. Unfortunately, members of LGBT label do not get

The short film American Male shows how the male protagonist was being influenced by the society’s definition of a man. The film starts with the voice over, “Order beer. Not wine. And beef, not chicken. Never light beer, though.

In the United States alone, 92% of the children (ages 10 - 17) say that their heroes include their parents. As well as 73% saying that their heroes include professional athletes, and 72% saying that their heroes include teachers. (National) What are some of the traits that might be influencing this generation to look up to a certain sect of people? Power, intelligence, drive, empathy, all of the above? What does it mean to be a hero in today's society, and would the ancient Greek heroes Hercules, Theseus, and Perseus still be considered heroes to modern day societal rules. Theseus and Perseus would still be considered heroes in modern day society. However, Hercules has bad qualities that overrule the ones that might be considered heroic.

In Didion’s essay “John Wayne: A Love Song” she argues that John Wayne influenced her dreams and shaped her by playing the character of an ideal man. In this essay Didion brings two different personalities of John Wayne: John Wayne the Character and John Wayne the the human. Starting from the beginning of her essay, Didion talks about his good character and how that influenced the dreams of America. Didion writes “… when John Wayne rode through my childhood, and perhaps through yours, he determined forever the shape of certain of our dreams”(Didion 30). Here, Didion is reinforces the existence of this admirable character and has already defined him as an ideal man.

When people think of heroes, they often think of muscle bound men in spandex with unrealistic powers of flight, strength, or x-ray vision. But in real life, heroes are often determined based on the smallest of situations and their outcomes. In both of the stories I have chosen (A&P and Harrison Bergeron), the main characters are classified as heroes because of their willingness to defy the authoritive forces around them, whether it be the store manager Lengel in A&P or the Handicapper General in Harrison Bergeron, as well as their willingness to strike out on their own instead of adhering to social norms. In Harrison Bergeron, the main character Harrison

The heroes are like other human beings but have either done something which makes them excel over others or have a gift that others do not possess.