Matheson’s article as seen in the title “The West-Hardboiled: Adaptations of Film Noir Elements, Existentialism, and Ethics in John Wayne’s Westerns” focuses primarily on the different elements seen in his films. One of the initial points she makes is the impact John Wayne had on the men who grew up watching his movies. Newt Gingrich “tried to walk like John Wayne; this was his way of ‘being a man.’ (888)” She argues that the role Wayne played in so many of his westerns, being the hero who was so devoted to carrying out his duties, made him the ideal American male which made him into someone people looked up too. Even though he often times went against the law and ignored his family for long periods of time, his character always “demonstrated love of wife and children and regarded the law with a respect that is “deeper than the written word” (Flag and Family 25) (889).” John Wayne’s western character was a model of what men wanted to be because he was able to modernize the western, using the concept of film noir. This is when the landscape of the western acts as a metaphor towards the main character, who was often John Wayne. Matheson points out that a good example of this is in “The Searchers” and John Ford’s depiction of Monument Valley throughout the film. She talks about how Monument Valley is in a majority of the shots and when it does appear it takes up most of the screen which “heightens the overpowering presence and authority of the land” (890).
Another point she seems to focus on is the type of man that can withstand living in the western frontier. The landscape has always played a crucial role in western films because of the impact it has on the hero of the film. Not any person can survive this type environment she describes them as having to be “the fittest, the strongest, and the most ruthless” in order to have a chance of survival. The hero of all the films is built to be able to withstand the violence of the landscape, they are never trying to domesticate the land instead they withstand whatever is thrown at them. “One can usually determine how aberrant characters are by the layers of grim—the dirtier their faces, the darker their hearts. (892)” The land takes its toll on the men who face it day in and day out and how they appear tells a lot about the type of character they are.
Matheson also points out that Wayne’s westerns didn’t always depict the historic American West, but each film often referenced or showed a lot about attitudes and times from which the film was made. “Wayne’s own political stance may have been conservative, but in these movies, his characters challenge and defeat “City Hall,” ending the economic exploitation legitimized by the legal system and thereby appealing to their audience’s sense of natural decency. (894)” The audience liked that they were able to relate to the ideas and characters in the film, John Wayne didn’t have to agree with all the ideas but he always did a good job in presenting his character in such a way that they did. Existentialism another idea/point Matheson references in the title of the article was at one time a very popular idea in the U.S. It was “an outlook … [that] places emphasis on man’s contingency in a world where there are no transcendental values or moral absolutes, a world devoid of any meaning but the one man himself creates. (895-896)” This point that Matheson makes relates very closely to the typical western film because “the hero” John Wayne would go out in the desert and creates his own life. There was often no law except the one he creates for himself and many times he would be out seeking revenge against someone who did harm to his family. “Out here a man settles his own problems. (896)” They didn’t look to other people to solve their problems, Matheson points out that they saw it as their duty. John Wayne’s character often felt it was his responsibility to fulfill some sort of “duty.”
The end of her paper sums up a lot of what she seems to believe: “In Wayne’s Westerns, John Wayne appears to be as much in need of redemption as the sociopaths he brings to justice. The investigations of ethics in Wayne’s Westerns not only illustrate the existential problems that arise when individuals become their own moral centers, but also put forward an explanation as to why this Hollywood icon and his movies continue to be a popular phenomenon…” (906)
Matheson’s article, “The West-Hardboiled: Adaptations of Film Noir Elements, Existentialism, and Ethics in John Wayne’s Westerns” focuses primarily on the different elements seen in John Wayne’s films. One of the initial points she makes is the impact John Wayne had on the men who grew up watching his movies. Newt Gingrich “tried to walk like John Wayne; this was his way of ‘being a man.’ (888)” She argues that the role Wayne played in so many of his westerns, being the hero who was devoted to carrying out his duties, made him the ideal American male. His character turned into someone people looked up too. Even though the alpha-male character creates his own law and ignores his family for long periods at a time, his character always “demonstrates love of wife and children and regarded the law with a respect that is “deeper than the written word” (Flag and Family 25) (889).” The alpha-male was a model of what men wanted to be because he was able to modernize the western, using the concept of film noir. This concept is when the landscape of the western acts as a metaphor towards the main character, which is the alpha-male. Matheson gives an example of film noir when she describes “The Searchers” and John Ford’s depiction of Monument Valley throughout the film. Matheson describes how Monument Valley is in a majority of the shots and when it does appear it takes up most of the screen which “heightens the overpowering presence and authority of the land” (890).
ReplyDeleteAnother point Matheson focuses on is the type of man that can live in the western landscape. The landscape plays a crucial role in western films because of the impact it has on the hero of the film. Not any person can survive this type of environment; Tompkins describes the hero as having to be “the fittest, the strongest, and the most ruthless” in order to have a chance of survival. The hero of all the films is built to be able to withstand the violence of the landscape, they are never trying to domesticate the land instead they withstand whatever the land throws at them. “One can usually determine how aberrant characters are by the layers of grim—the dirtier their faces, the darker their hearts. (892)” The land takes its toll on the men who face it day in and day out and how they appear tells a lot about their character.
Matheson also points out that the westerns didn’t always depict the historic American West, but each film often referenced the attitudes and history of the periods the film was made in. The audience felt they could relate to the characters in the films and the characters portrayed the changing attitudes. Existentialism, another point Matheson references in the title of the article, was at one time a very popular idea in the U.S. It was “an outlook … [that] places emphasis on man’s contingency in a world where there are no transcendental values or moral absolutes, a world devoid of any meaning but the one man himself creates. (895-896)” This relates closely to the typical western film because the alpha-male/hero would go out in the desert and a life for himself. The alpha-male lives by the law he creates and often acts out of “duty” to his family or community. “Out here a man settles his own problems. (896)” The alpha-male didn’t look to other people to solve his problems because as Matheson points out it was the alpha-males duty to do this. He felt it was his responsibility to fulfill some sort of “duty.”