Violence In The Movie : Cowboys And Aliens

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

We see the cowboy as rebellious, riding away from civilization, however his life is full of conformity. If he were to go against the flow and always rebel, he would never survive, much less successfully care for his cattle. “…ranch work is teamwork and even the glorified open-range cowboys of the 1880’s rode up and down the Chisholm Trail in the company or twenty or thirty men” states Ehrlich. Not only is he seen riding away from civilization he is also riding a lone. He is portrayed as being individualistic and a loner, yet Ehrlich asserts that the cowboy like every other man in America, has a family to return home to (Ehrlich, 82-83). Described as a “rugged individualist”, the cowboy is none-the-less part of a group, achieving one goal, caring for the cattle (Ehrlich,

Westerns themes have evolved overtime beginning in the silent era, the western captured movie-goers’ imaginations. Quick drawing, white hat good guys battled the mustachioed black hats. When sound came into play, men like Mix became obsolete. Westerns of the 1930s continued on in much the same vein as the decade before. It was during the 1950s that the genre found its rhythm, as hard charging, hard living cowboys

From the time we are born, we are immediately introduced to influences that will shape and develop our character for the rest of our lives. Our character can be affected in a positive or a negative way by various influences that we encounter on a daily basis. We need to be aware of how much we absorb and let those influences change our behavior. External influences, such as video games, movies, and television shows impact our everyday lives, even when we are not conscious of them.

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

This reaction paper is based on a film by the name of “Lone Star.” The Director of this film is an independent director by the name of John Sayless. Lone Star is a contemporary film that was created in 1996. This film is a Western based film that. But it is set in the present day was created on the U.S./Mexico border. It describes a sheriff that is trying to get revenge of his father’s Buddy Dee death. In doing so he sorts out to solve a crime. The crime has to do with him and his father, Buddy Dee. The film also details the sheriff's love life and his relations to his high school history teacher. The teachers mother a restaurant owner was one of many people to jump the US border. Towards the end of the movie the Sheriff finds out the love of his life is not only his true love but his sister. He finds out that his father and the teacher’s mother had an affair in which the teacher was conceived. It was ironic because the sheriff had method to the teacher while having sex with her that it felt weird later to find out that they were brother and sister.

Many recognize the classic image of the cowboy in an old western movie: the fearless, stoic hero that stays calm in moments of crisis. In Cormac McCarthy’s All the Pretty Horses, readers witness the protagonist, John Grady Cole, attempt to revive this famous archetype. Beginning as early as when the first pilgrims came to the new continent, Americans have always had a desire to “settle” Native American lands. In the time that followed, the West became a sort of proving ground for the Europeans and their decedents. During the nineteenth century, the image of land being settled by men on horses, who literally took the law into their own hands through their shotguns, became pervasive in the American mind. By

Christine Bold’s article, “The Rough Riders at Home and Abroad: Cody, Roosevelt, Remington, and the Imperialist Hero,” tracks the contributions of three important historical figures: William Cody, Theodore Roosevelt, and Frederic Remington, to the image of the Rough Riders and the “packaged version of the American West” and its influence during the Spanish-American War (Bold, 324). After offering background on the conflict, she first considers the contributions of William Cody and his Wild West Show to the Rough Riders. She details how Cody constructed a narrative

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.

By conquering the frontier, characters in western films portray how they, as well as society at this

Jordon Gutierrez 1/24/18 Life of cowboys Opening statement Now this goes without saying, who hasn’t heard of Cowboys, we’ve all seen the movies, and heard about them in history. But believe it or not there’s a lot more to cowboys than grabbing their guns and shooting the bad guy at the end then ride into the sunset. Cowboys had more interesting roles in their lives and it mostly involved cattle with their work as it was an easy market at the time. It was hard work, but it pays off!

Talk about starting off with a bang! Most Americans have grown up with the illusion of the old west from movies. Indeed, even before the invention of the television, the Lone Ranger and Tonto were popular on the radio which was later transitioned to the black and white TV screen. Furthermore, the worldwide western hero actor John Wayne brought the images of how the west was won from the savage Indians in several movie productions like “She Wore a Yellow Ribbon” and “The Searchers.” Further, ingrained into our minds are the stories of real American heroes such as the one in the poem “Evolution” where the western soldier was famous for his prowess of killing savage Indians during battles with the United States cavalry. This person was William Cody who was better known as “Buffalo Bill Cody.”

Typically referred to as ‘Indians’ in popular culture, Native Americans were traditionally seen in Westerns as the antagonists. The Western genre typically tells the story of the colonisation and discovery of America, which saw the major Hollywood studios revive the interest in the Western. Westerns draw on “historical actuality, a romantic philosophy of nature, and the concept of the […] savage” (Saunders, 2001, p. 3). Westerns often split the “depiction of the Indian, with the cruel and treacherous [Indian] balanced by the faithful [Indian]” (Saunders, 2001, p. 3) which resulted in the portrayals of Native Americans witnessed in films today.