Oppositions In My Darling Clementine

In many modern "period piece" movies, the screenwriters put extra effort in world building so that the film's story can seem more real. One example of this kind of movie is 1993's Tombstone. Tombstone follows Wyatt Earp and his family in their struggle to peacefully live alongside a violent gang called the Cowboys. Between periods of tense hostility and character growth, this film gives viewers a wide and varied scope of how life was in 1881 Arizona.

The most serious Native American stereotypes are clearly visible in films of the early twentieth century in Hollywood westerns. The big screen stories about western cowboys defeating Native tribes proved to be extremely popular and lucrative. Hollywood then started producing western tales in incredible quantities . In most Westerns, white cowboys represent courageous, brave, and quick witted men while the Indians are the dimming past. Cowboys are logical. “Indians” are irrational. Together, cowboys and Indians are the ego and the heart of the Anglo-Saxon identity. Native American characters in twentieth century films have ranged from stereotypes including the bloodthirsty, raging beast to the noble savage. Still other Indian characters, whether they are heroes, bad guys, or neutral, were the characters with little to no character development or range in their personalities. These stereotypes have their origins in popular American literature dating as far back as the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Jacquelyn Kilpatrick, author of Celluloid Indians, notes that popular stories “centered on Native American savagery served as outlets for violence and pent up aggression in an early American society that prided manners and respectability.” (Kilpatrick 2) In these stories, the Native American population was seen as bad, though individual members could be represented as good. These stereotypes continued for years. One author, James Fenimore Cooper, began publishing a series of stories titled The Leatherstocking Tales in 1841. Kilpatrick emphasizes that Cooper

In 1939 John Ford masterminded a classical western film by the name of Stagecoach. This film has the integrity of a fine work of art. Being that it could be considered a work of art, the impression left on a viewing audience could differ relying on the audience's demographics. However, it is conceivable to all audiences that Ford delivers a cast of characters that are built on stereotypes and perceptions conjured from 'B' westerns that preceded this film's time. Each character is introduced to the audience in a stereotypical genre, as the film progresses, these stereotypes are broken down and the characters become more humanized. This is apparent with a handful of characters being

John Ford built a standard that many future directors would follow with his classic 1939 film “Stagecoach”. Although there were a plethora of western films made before 1939, the film “Stagecoach” revolutionized the western genre by elevating the genre from a “B” film into a more serious genre. The film challenged not only western stereotypes but also class divisions in society. Utilizing specific aspects of mise-en-scène and cinematography, John Ford displays his views of society.

The American western frontier, still arguably existent today, has presented a standard of living and characteristics which, for a time, where all its own. Several authors of various works regarding these characteristics and the obvious border set up along the western and eastern sections have discussed their opinions of the west. In addition to these literary works by renowned authors, one rather convenient cinematic reference has also been influenced by these well-known, well-discussed practices of this American frontier. “True Grit”, a film recently remade in 2010 by the Cohen Brothers, crosses the boundaries of the west allowing all movie-goers to capture one idea of the western world. The movie, along with a few scholarly sources

The separation is the first thing that a hero, like Wyatt Earp, goes through during his journey. Wyatt’s call to adventure begins when he moves to the town of Tombstone, Arizona. But like with plenty of heros Wyatt refused his call to begin his journey. Wyatt did this

The story formula for Stagecoach structures around characters in the Tonto and introducing the characters, traveling to Lordsburg, stopping at Dry Fork way station for food and unforgettable dinner table scene, traveling towards Apache Wells in the snow, Mrs. Mallory’s baby born in Apache Wells, finally getting to Lordsburg but got attacked by the Indians, and ended with Ringo Kid in a shooting conflict. Stagecoach did a great job in the characters types. There are the protagonists, prostitute, gambler, schoolmarm. These are the specific character types in Western movies. The setting of the movie is on point. It’s in the American West and takes place in the 1880s. The location of Monument Valley is a favorite location for John Ford. The presentation of Stagecoach has many great exterior shots that collocate the characters with the environment they occupy. The stars in Stagecoach does fit in a Western movie. Like John Wayne, he stars in many Western movies. What makes Stagecoach a western is the traditional western theme. Like the fight between whites and Native Americans. There is a good use of the American West’s open plains and mountains.

Straying the frontier, Earp drifted from saloons and brothels. In Arkansas, he was jailed for stealing a horse, only to escape. In 1876 he trekked to his brothers brothel in Wichita, Kansas. There in Kansas, he established himself as a part-time police officer. Working hard, Earp was eventually made city marshal of Dodge City, Kansas. While in Kansas he met his good friend Doc Holliday. Joining his brothers Virgil and Morgan in tombstone, Arizona, December 1879, they hoped for silver wealth. Hopelessly finding no silver, Earp was forced to return to law work. Seeing tombstone as a wild horse needing to be tamed, he took the challenge to bring order to the order less town.

Throughout the years, there has been an abundance of movies depicting the wild west during the nineteenth century. One of these films includes Tombstone which was released in the year 1993. Based on real events, this movie is about a man named Wyatt Earp, played by Kurt Russel, who is a retired officer that settles in a town called Tombstone with his two brothers. Later, they encounter a group of outlaws called the Cowboys which was led by Curly Bill and Johnny Ringo. Due to some conflict between the opposing sides, it causes a massive gunfight called the O.K. Corral in which the Earp brothers and long-time friend Doc Holliday, played by Val Kilmer, ultimately win the battle. As a result of the fight not ending in the Cowboys favor, they ambush the town in which leads to Virgil, played by Sam Elliot (Tombstone, 1.), becoming handicapped and Wyatt’s younger brother, Morgan played by Bill Paxton, dead. This infuriates Wyatt which then leads him to seek vengeance for his brother’s death. While Wyatt kills Curly, Doc and their posse attack the remaining Cowboys. After the ambush, Doc’s tuberculosis progressively gets worse and is left on bed rest. As Wyatt and the posse continue to meet up with Johnny and the Cowboys, Doc has already arrived and murders Johnny legally.

The question is whether No Country for Old Men and Stagecoach provide adequate examples of the decline in American moral values. From my perspective of today’s world and my interpretation of No Country for Old Men and Stagecoach, I can see how the argument could be made that they have declined or haven’t changed at all. I see a difference between the relationship of Ringo and Dallas vs other members of their traveling group compared to Sheriff Bell vs Chigurh. These relationships, in my opinion, explains a lot about the development of moral values, or lack of, in the western United States. In this paper, I will describe the moral values that are represented in each movie and I will also try to describe my understanding of why American moral values may have declined between No Country for Old Men and Stagecoach.

“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

He was the academy winning Western legend, recognized as one of the best filmmakers of all time, his name was John Ford. He started out his career in film in July 1914 as an assistant, labourman and actor for his brother Francis Ford. It was not until 1917 where he made his debut as a director with the lost film, The Tornado and ended his career in the early 1970s with his last film Chesty: A Tribute to a Legend. During his early years, he was making silent films where Westerns were very popular during the time. When the introduction of sound came and the birth of Talkies came, however, the genre started losing its popularity. Yet, that did not stop the director from working on the genre, eventually to the point where he is now credited today as the man who played a huge role in bringing the westerns back to popularity. So, in this video essay, I will be talking about John Ford’s take on Westerns and how he revolutionized the genre.

This essay is based on films of the same story, told in different ways, with emphasis, themes, meaning and interpretation shaped or shaded by the situation of the storyteller; the cinematic mise-en-scene. Based on the same story, the films reveal and reflect the film-maker’s social norms and views, emerging from their different national contexts. While exploring the two films, this essay will examine elements of film language or semiotics: color saturation (or black and white), sound, setting, type of camera angles used; repetition of visual motifs (Metz, 1985). The two films explored were made in the 1960s. Neither film is American, yet both reveal influences and reflections on American cinema and American power; the Western film, adherence or detracting from Hollywood Classical cinema tropes, i.e. close-ups, shot-reverse-shot, POV, depth of field (Bazin, 1985: 128-9). The two films are Kurasawa’s Yojimbo (1961) and Leone’s Fistful of Dollars (1964), from Japan and Italy, respectively. How are they different; how similar? Why do they use the same plot,

Lemonade Joe, a film made by director Jiri Brdecka in 1964, is a wacky, Czechoslovak musical comedy. It serves as a satire of the typical western movie - a major defining genre of the American film industry. From the 1930’s through the 1960’s, western movies were at the height of their popularity. Set in the American frontier, they represent a rugged, action-packed lifestyle, where good always triumphs over evil. To this day, although not as inherently popular, the western has been done time and time again, with different takes on the same genre. Lemonade Joe is a film which re-discovers and successfully spoofs elements of the classic western film.

Typically in the American version of the Western, the hero does usually have a jaded past, however, like characters in the Virginian and John Ford films with John Wayne, the main protagonist is humble and down to earth. Beginning in the 1960s, western films “reflected the Vietnam conflict and its increasing ambiguities, leading up to a “crisis of public myth” (Cawelti 145). Film as a whole reflected the change in the hero’s identity. In the film The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, Leone made the character of “Blondie”, played