BE The Good,The Bad,The Ugly/Navajo Joe

The 1960s brought a different genre of Western films. These new Westerns, more commonly referred to as Spaghetti Westerns, were produced and directed by Europeans. They often starred European actors and actresses who symbolized the directors’ opinions and biases. Spaghetti Westerns are different from typical Western films because they tend to be expressions and portrayals of how Europeans view America.
In the film, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, European view of Americans is evident through the characters. This film is centered on greed, selfishness and power. As the three men search for the buried money, they show their true personalities. Clint Eastwood’s character, Blondie, portrays how Europeans view Americans during the hard times of the 1960s culture in America. Blondie is not only stubborn and self-centered but he is extremely violent and has no regard for other humans. Europeans perceive Americans to only care about money, wealth and success and this is evident through Blondie’s actions. He kills for money and has no regret in hanging Tuco to be left for dead after brutally beating him and forcing him to do the physical labor of digging up the buried money. Blondie lets money and the opportunity to possess power cloud his judgment about what is right and wrong, and good human nature behavior. Throughout the film, Americans, characterized as Blondie, ignore others which isolates themselves. This is an attempt of Europeans to show they perceive us as not properly dealing with the culture issue of segregation that is going on in America in the 1960s. Not being able to work with others to achieve a common goal is expressed through three men fighting until the death over the material power of money.
Spaghetti Westerns continued to view Americans as violent, savages through the film Navajo Joe. The opening scene is a clear indication of how Europeans view Americans. The scene reveals Duncan killing and scalping an innocent Native American woman. This act symbolizes the struggle for equality among men and women in American during the 1960s but also, the struggle all minority groups were experiencing during the radical times of the 1960s. It also represents the perception that Americans’ desire for power leads to uncontrollable and malicious acts. The film revolves more around Joe; a Native American who is seeking revenge after his tribe was murdered. This is atypical of traditional Westerns because Native Americans are usual considered “other” characters but Europeans making a Native American the main character signifies their perspective on how equality should be in America. Joe is seeking revenge because his tribe was murdered and this symbolizes European’s view of how minorities are and will continue to fight back against unfair treatment. Although, acting of revenge, murdering people and at times greedy, Joe represents racial and social movements towards equality.