The Searchers: Old Western Types Of Film

Western began in the late eighteen hundreds when a movie was about 10 minutes long. They started getting popular in Hollywood from the early 20th century to the 1960s. John Ford landmark western adventure Stagecoach became one of the biggest hits in 1939. Many of the most acclaimed westerns were released during the 1952-1956.

There are two main factors in which the traditional endings of western genre films; first, they ride into sunset, it means they will leave and stay away from society; second, they hang up the guns, it means they will stay in the society. In the film Shane, even though the Joe Sttarret’s family asked him to stay longer after he killed Ryker’s men, but he decided to leave the village by giving peace in the village. The ending scene of Shane is not traditional ending as like western genre films, Shane from the film Shane rides into dead of night, not sunset when he stayed away from the society. In addition, Shane should have hung up the guns if he want to stay in the village, yet he hangs up the gun at start of the film when Shane and Joe Sttarret

Ford’s Stagecoach is an epic and revolutionary approach that displays the desert terrain and western inhabitant’s struggles. Stagecoach follows the lives of seven strangers in their attempt to arrive to Lordsburg, New Mexico. Each of these characters reflects the various types of people found in the western world. The film is laced with many American ideals of the time such as xenophobia, chivalry, the conventional standards of women, and much more. Stagecoach defies the conventional western film because it is no longer just men in a desert terrain with rifles.

Throughout the films I have watched this semester, American Indians have been constructed and represented in many different ways. Throughout this semester, different films in different eras have led to stereotyping American Indians and poorly portraying the construction of Native life. At the beginning of this semester, films portrayed Indians as savages who couldn't kill a cowboy, but at the end of the semester, that stereotype changed into American Indians represented as helpless people who cannot be rescued from the alcoholism and distress found on reservations. The ways the Native Americans are portrayed in these films create an image that America views Indians in today's society. In the first films viewed in class, they created the life

In Matthew Bernstein’s essay, The Classical Hollywood Western Par Excellence, he states that while Stagecoach (John Ford, 1939) “appears to glorify American history, particularly its expansion westward at the expense of Native Americans” (299) it also develops an “acute social observation” of life on the Frontier and it challenges elements of the myth constructed around this history (316). The film Stagecoach depicts not only the struggles faced by pioneers traveling through Indian territory, but the belief among people during this time period that anyone can go to the West to get a “fresh start” and live a completely new life without social prejudice. However, Stagecoach proves this myth to be false for various reasons. One example of this would be when Mr. Hatfield offers Mrs. Mallory water from the water canteen on the stagecoach. Once she accepts his offer, Mr. Hatfield pours it into a silver cup for her and does not offer anyone else in the stage coach water. Ringo then makes a comment to Mr. Hatfield that he should give the other lady in the stagecoach, Dallas, water as well. However, Dallas has a reputation of being a prostitute. So, Mr. Hatfield decides to give her some water but refuses to lend her the silver cup to drink out of, he makes her drink it out of the canteen instead. This example proves that these people were not getting a “fresh start” and only the upper class can share such luxuries as a silver cup with only other upper class people, social

The image above does well to represent a well know icon of the American west. the Western cowboy is a unique aspect of western American history and has been since the emergence of the practice. the Oxford dictionary describes a cowboy as a " A man, typically one on a horseback, who herds and tends cattle, especially in the western US." One of the most essential part of a cowboy as you can see them on the street you know they are actually one, a pair of good leather boots with heels usually sharper toe point, a pants that is easily slip on as they are normally straight as shown in the picture, how can you not see the hat generally a straw hat as it helps them during the day from the sun. Their shirts are normally one to stand out as you can

Western, a genre of short stories that are set in the American west, primarily in the late of the 19th century (“Western” 598), and still being told until today by films, televisions, radio, and other art works. The major of moving to the west was because of the Homestead Act, 1862 (“U.S. Statues at Large” 392) which would give lands to people who stayed there for five years. This lead to a huge wave of immigrants moved to the West, and they had to face to many hardships and conflicts such as Indian attacks, tornadoes, blizzards, and illnesses.

Throughout the decades entertainment has changed dramatically, but still known as one of the most famous entertainment shows was Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. The show often stared people like Sitting Bull and Annie Oakley. It was a big hit in the united states and even around the world. The show showed people, who would never get to see the “Wild West” what it’s like. The show tended to be an exaggeration of what life was really like in the west.

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.

Movies, we’ve all seen them, but during the depression these movies were so important to the daily life of those people. During the depression, movies were just getting pioneered and some classics emerged, such as The Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind. These movies along with many others meant so much to the people of the depression era because of what they really were. For the most part, people didn’t have the best living qualities during this era, hence the name “The Great Depression,” and movies were some of the best ways to escape their terrible lives. Movies have a way of taking you away from your life for the two or three hours of runtime that the movies have, and that is what movies did so well for the people during the depression.

THE TEXAN’S FAVOR, a historical romance with series potential, is complete at 57,000 words. For anyone who loves romance, this pacy novel also captures the drama of the Old West.

Film noir is defined as a style of film. It was Nino Frank who coined the term in 1946, but the term noir was not used by filmmakers. No American director during the period of classic noir knew about, it was an unconscious stylistic movement shared by many directors in 1940s and 1950s. Noir is a French word meaning “black,” and although film noir means “black film,” it refers to the mood of the film not the film being in black and white. The femme fatale is a common character archetype in film noir, the femme fatale is a female that leads the male protagonist to his destruction and he winds up getting neither the money nor the dame.

“The Searchers” (1956) directed by John Ford is a Western movie following the life of Ethan Edwards as he searches for his niece, Debby, who was captured by a Comanche tribe. In this film, there is a scene (1:13:42-1:15:50) which shows Ethan and Marty going into a US Cavalry fort to see if the Cavalry officers have Debby or not. When Ethan and Marty go into the fort, they see a white woman on the floor, screaming and rocking around, and two girls sitting dumbly. Then Ethan and Marty decide that Debby is not there and leave.

The Western film genre is typically set in a secluded village in the middle of the desert, normally in the American West. The setting includes wooden buildings, tumble weed, cacti, trains, horses and carriages. The storyline for western films is usually the same, namely, a hero travels to a remote village, usually on a horse, and brings peace to the warring villagers.

This film is developed as a critique of women’s roles and expectations in a patriarchal society. These film stills are a satire of the set of instructions placed in front of the female population. These societal expectations, no matter how ridiculous, is meant to be fulfilled by not only young women but all women. This film shows how this young woman is growing up in the South, meant represent how a southern debutante is required to juggle multiple aspects of life to please the man in her life. More or less going from being her father’s daughter, then handed off to be her husband’s wife. This film is meant to be set in the fifties, when etiquette classes were still prevalent; and grooming, propriety, and traditional values were taught by books or by courses. There was a specific path for women to be educated, but confined to the life of a housewife. Thoughtless conformity is the driving force of these southern ideals, traditional roles to be maintained.