The 1992 film Unforgiven, directed by, produced by, and starring Clint Eastwood is truly a revisionist film in the ways it relates to the alpha male cowboy. Dictionary.com defines revisionist as “attempting to reevaluate and restate the past based on newly acquired standards.” By 1992, the heyday of the Western film genre had passed, and many cultural movements changed the way many Americans viewed the alpha male cowboy. This is clearly seen through the characters of Ned Logan, and Will Munny.
By 1992, the civil rights movement had come and gone, and African Americans gained many rights and freedoms. However, they were still not widely viewed as equals to men. As an African American, Ned cannot be described as a typical alpha male cowboy. The alpha male cowboy of the classic Western was always the white Anglo Saxon male. However, Ned’s race is of little to no importance throughout the film. Ned has been Will’s partner for years, and when will needs him for his last mission, he selects Ned because of their friendship, and Ned’s incredible ability to shoot with a rifle. However, Ned does not exhibit many alpha male characteristics beyond his ability with a gun and his dedication to his friend. When they have to kill a man, Ned cannot fire the kill shot because he cannot bring himself to kill again. It is interesting to note that after Ned’s conscience gets the best of him, he is the only one captured and killed by Little Bill. However, Bill makes no note of Ned’s race, so it cannot be inferred that he beats Ned to death because he is black. Ned’s death revives the alpha male spirit in Will Munny.
Will Munny does not appear to be the typical alpha male cowboy. He seems old, his skills have diminished, and he can barely mount his own horse. He has even given up killing because his late wife reformed him. The deterioration of the alpha male cowboy could be a sign of the end of an era for the Western film. After Unforgiven, there were not nearly as many Westerns produced as in the 1950s and 1960s. Munny, however, does act with a sense of duty throughout the film. It is not clearly on display until the very end, but his duty begins with a duty to his children. He needs to make some money to support them so he takes on his last killing job as a mercenary. When Ned is killed, Munny’s true colors show. Munny kills five men in a matter of seconds to complete the duty of avenging his innocent friend’s death. While this typically makes a character the alpha male, Munny is portrayed as a bad man, a “killer of women and children.” His return to his violent ways can be seen as a return to the ways of the old west; west where everything was solved by the law of the gun.
The 1992 film Unforgiven, directed by, produced by, and starring Clint Eastwood is truly a revisionist film in the ways it relates to the alpha male cowboy. Dictionary.com defines revisionist as “attempting to reevaluate and restate the past based on newly acquired standards.” By 1992, the heyday of the Western film genre had passed, and many cultural movements changed the way many Americans viewed the alpha male cowboy. This is clearly seen through the characters of Ned Logan, and Will Munny.
ReplyDeleteBy 1992, the civil rights movement had come and gone, and African Americans gained many rights and freedoms. However, they were still not widely viewed as equals to white men. As an African American, Ned cannot be described as a typical alpha male cowboy. The alpha male cowboy of the classic Western was always the white Anglo Saxon male. However, Ned’s race is of little to no importance throughout the film. Ned has been Will’s partner for years, and when Will needs him for his last mission, he selects Ned because of their friendship, and Ned’s incredible ability with a rifle. However, Ned does not exhibit many alpha male characteristics beyond his ability with a gun and his dedication to his friend. When they have to kill a man, Ned cannot fire the kill shot because he cannot bring himself to kill anymore. It is interesting to note that after Ned’s conscience gets the best of him, he is the only one captured and killed by Little Bill. However, Bill makes no note of Ned’s race, so it cannot be inferred that he beats Ned to death because he is black. Ned’s death revives the alpha male spirit in Will Munny.
Will Munny does not appear to be the typical alpha male cowboy. He seems old, his skills have diminished, and he can barely mount his own horse. He has even given up killing because his late wife reformed him. The deterioration of the alpha male cowboy could be a sign of the end of an era for the Western film. After Unforgiven, there were not nearly as many Westerns produced as in the 1950s and 1960s. Munny, however, does act with a sense of duty throughout the film. It is not clearly on display until the very end, but his duty begins with a duty to his children. He needs to make some money to support them so he takes on his last killing job as a mercenary. When Ned is killed, Munny’s true colors show. Munny kills five men in a matter of seconds to complete the duty of avenging his innocent friend’s death. While this typically makes a character the alpha male, Munny is portrayed as a bad man, a “killer of women and children.” His return to his violent ways can be seen as a return to the ways of the old west. A west where everything was solved by the law of the gun.