JM "The Searchers"

As most westerns typically begin, John Ford began The Searchers with a gorgeous panning shot of a desolate and barren desert baking under the hot afternoon sun. Slowly we see a mysterious figure approach a single house settled among the hills and mountains. As he approaches middle aged woman struggles to get a good look of the face of the approaching figure. This opening scene seems indicative of a typical western movie introducing the hero emerging from the harsh terrain and personifying the idea of the tough and rugged male image. As the story unfolds and the hero, Edwards, begins his journey to seek revenge on the Comanche Indians who slaughtered his family, we see the landscape change. The use of darker colors in the scenery and wide open spaces as opposed to mountainous terrain seem to call the cowboy back to a life of danger and chance. As Jane Tompkins describes in West of Everything, “Not only is the landscape almost never blank, but it is constantly changing, continually inviting the senses, stimulating feeling, perception, and thought. At any particular moment, the landscape wears an individual face with the distinguishing features, which Western writers never tire of describing” (p.78).

In addition to the way the scenery is projected, we also see the effects that the harshness of the land can have on a person. We see the other main character Martin turn from a green ranch hand and stable boy, to a hardened man who asserts authority and is able to keep up with Edwards in their five year journey to rescue their last living blood relative. In addition to his hardened exterior he also comes into his own towards the end of the film and shows wisdom and level headedness. Tompkins writes, “The appeal of the desert lies partly in its promise of pain, an invitation to the irresistible, as Charles Sheldon suggested, because it awakens a desire for spiritual prowess, some unearthly glory earned through long-continued discipline, self-sacrifice, submission to a supernal power” (p.72).

Throughout the course of the movie the rank level between men and women was noticeably apparent. In many scenes the women were talked down to or ordered around as if they were subordinates. Prime examples were during what Martin thought was a simple exchange of goods, wound up trading for a female Indian squaw by mistake, showing the way that women were treated during the time period. Another prime example was during the brawl at the wedding, Edwards shoves the mother of the bride back into the house because he doesn’t feel it would be appropriate for her to view. These references to male superiority are strung throughout the movie and create a sense of ranking.

All in all The Searchers presents a number of points that Jane Tompkins describes in West of Everything.