The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence: A Re-Evaluation Of The Western Trope

On the other hand, over the course of the film, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Tom Doniphan deceives all of Shinbone for their benefit. When Ransom Stoddard confines Liberty Valance to an ultimate duel, it is Tom who hides in the lurking shadows and shoots Liberty. From the standoff, it is obvious that Ransom has no chance as he is nothing but a lawyer that represents the “feminised masculinity” of “weakness, cowardice, selfishness, or arrogance” (Trifonova) and Liberty, being the hard, brutal criminal is the clear winner. Tom is one of the only people in the town who can stand up to Liberty and therefore he shoots him. But the whole town believes that it is Ransom who did the deed as everybody sees him out in the open with Liberty dead.

Bulman explains, “I analyze these films as data, as cultural artifacts, to see what patterns and trends they reveal…I intend to gain access to certain aspects of American society through the myths that Americans tell to them in the movies (12).”Therefore, this shows how the division of social groups and economic inequality plays a role in our perception of American society. Bulman introduces his topics of different social school by separating each and dismembering them WORK ON INTR

Citizens throughout American history have often presented the “home of the free” and the “land of the brave” as the perfect nation, filled with perfect families, and more extreme examples of how impeccable the nation truly is. No time presented the United States of America in a more splendid light than the 1950’s. The 1950’s are remembered as a decade of prosperity but as with every time period, multiple historical issues marred this time. The United States encountered political, diplomatic, and social issues throughout this decade (Hewitt and Lawson, 832). Hairspray, the 1988 film by John Waters, was set in the 1950’s and reveals depths of racism and stereotypes during this period, while presenting smaller examples of the issues of sexism, religion, and inequality.

Therefore, the Vietnam War not only holds the basis of the film but also gives it its historical accuracy. (Appendix D) The comparison of the civil rights movement in the United States and the fight for indigenous Australian peoples equality help the movie flow. The use of these historical events allows the film to give itself credibility without the negative effect of

Tom Doniphon, the outlaw hero, shot Liberty Valance To protect Hallie and Ransom Stoddard because he knew that Ransom is the right future for his town and Hallie, even though Ransom views contradict with Toms views and wishes. Throughout the movie there is a clear message; wilderness V. civilization. Shine bow, Tom, Liberty, etc., portraying the wilderness and Tom Donovan and The East portraying the civilization. Tom believed in the lawless frontier and is even Compared to Liberty by Ransom saying, "you are as bad as he is (liberty)." Throughout the film, Tom realizes that Ransom is a great asset to his Town and a wonderful man to Hallie who teaches the whole town how to live a safer, happier and more civilized life. Tom does not believe in this way of life and prefers the wilderness, but he thinks about his town and what is the best for them in the long run, showing that Tom deep down strongly supports personal Integrity. Tom lets the town believe that Ransom was the one who shot liberty because Tom wanted the town to support Ransom even more. He knew after saving Ransoms live and shooting Liberty; he had lost his lawless freedom (liberty) and the women he loved. When he told Ransom that he was the one who killed Liberty Valance, he said: "Cold-blooded murder, but I can live with it. Hallie's happy. She wanted you alive. ... Hallie's your girl now. Go back in there and take that nomination. You taught her how to read and write; now give her something to read and write about!" he called his shooting of Valance "cold-blooded murder" even though it was justifiable homicide to prevent the killing of Ransom, who he knew didn't have a chance in a gunfight. I think Tom called it "murder" not from a legal standpoint but from his perspective as a gunfighter since he "cowardly" killed Liberty from a corner instead of facing him in a gunfight. However, he realized that this was necessary to boost Ransoms' position among the townspeople because Tom saw him as the best hope for the future of Shine Bow and Hallie. That's why he said, "I can live with that." He told Ransom the truth because he wanted him not to feel guilty about killing someone and that at least one person would

However, to condemn those in positions of power for their actions is to misinterpret the volatile climate of the Cold War Era in which they operated. The polarized political thought and the turbulent domestic events that shadowed everyday life had a profound impact on American thought and culture and the lives of public figures who dominate the story. To truly understand the impact of these characters and the climate of the American Cold War theatre, the complexity of the dynamics within society must be understood from the point of view and the

Looking at the socially or culturally history of the United States, many historians use Hollywood films as a primary source. I also used many films such as Easy Rider (1969) or Dance, Girl, Dance (1941) to support my historical thesis paper and to make the topic more vivid by using the images of the film. Even though, some people think that films are accurate and authentic in its depiction, it is important to mention that films are still fictional. Directors and actors are responsible to make us believe their story, but this story does not have to be necessarily true. In that way, fictional films cannot be used as historical evidence in terms of how things looked like during that specific

While this popular economic history will most appeal to readers with an interest in Wyoming, it raises the broader question of how our interpretation of the past influences current policy decisions.

The 1950s marked an incredible time in United States history. Many events that lead to the inspiration of future generations were revolutionized in economic and social expenditures of paramount proportion, most notably the manufacturing of war related materials for World War II. With an economic surge that catapulted the US even further into a position of world power, several industries flourished and suburban America took shape. Of these industries, film was one of the most substantial influences on the public and subsequently sparked a multitude of emotions. The culmination of entertainment adjoined with pressing issues allowed for designations of many political agendas. Some agendas proved to be melodramatic in nature regarding social reform while others were seen as substantial regarding national safety and protection.

Cinema has a power to depict politics not only at its face value but to explore its dark corners. It has a chance to reveal, criticize, and satirize the national politics and social attitudes of the time. Watching and discussing politics reflected in a number of American films from the 60’s and one from the early 70’s, opened up a window for me to observe tones and attitudes of these filmmakers towards the American politics. In addition, these movies give an honest inside look into the branches of the American government and political campaigning.

A lot can happen in sixty years, and America is no exception to that statement. It is arguable that one of the biggest differences regarding America in the 1950s to modern America is culture. The movie “Pleasantville” reflects much of these cultural differences from 1950s to today in a creative and thoughtful way. It also provides much useful insight into the cultural conflicts America faced throughout the 1950s. The many differences between 1950s culture and modern day culture, my own opinion which time period I would personally choose to live in and cultural conflicts of the 1950s will be discussed throughout this essay.

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,

These factors are important to note as during the time this film was made, it was during the red scare, so therefore, this film has a slight depiction of these moments and fears of that time. Moving on, this film also demonstrates the cold war and the fears that society had

Independence Day is an interesting film that is full of cohesive visual political and cultural meanings that represent the United States of America. Through its major genres of war and disaster its able to attract all categories of audience and bring out the true colours to the world that USA is composed off. This paper through these two common cinematic genres will reveal an interesting set of political ideologies that most Americans represent and pursue when approaching the people and countries that live in this world.

John Ford’s 1946 Western film My Darling Clementine played a great part in the construction of American national identity through its symbolic representation of the USA and of foreigners. Released a year after World War Two, the film acknowledges the anxieties America had faced towards foreign powers and attempts to put these anxieties at ease by portraying America as a hero-figure.