JM "The Good the bad and the Ugly/Navajo Joe"

The western film genre experienced a number of different periods including a period during which Italian filmmakers began to make a series of their own “Western” genre films. The mid 1960’s saw the increasing production of these Italian western films which later became referred to as Spaghetti Westerns. The Spaghetti Westerns were low budget films that were aimed at portraying Europe’s perception of the violence and ethics that were present in American films. These films portray the Italian perception of America.
One Spaghetti western produced by Sergio Leone The Good the Bad and the Ugly shows the evident negative perception of the American society. The three main characters in the film are portrayed as cutthroat and overly violent figures that care for nothing except to fulfill their goal of finding the hidden collection of valuable coins. In their quests to outdo one another and seek revenge they will do anything and hurt anyone in their way to accomplish their goals. The extent of violence in the movie extends to references of domestic abuse. The film contains a scene where a woman is beaten for withholding information on the location of Bill, possibly eluding to the Italian perception of America’s increasing rate of domestic abuse. Throughout the movie the presence of violence is an ever occurring theme that consumes the actions of all the characters, and seems more extensive then in normal western films. The main difference in the style of spaghetti westerns from normal western appears to be the meaning behind the violence. In The Good the Bad and the Ugly the violence appears meaningless and purely to show the ruthlessness of the characters, where in many domestic western films violence is a trait used by the Alpha Males to protect other characters or to carry out their moral obligations.
Navajo Joe is another Sergio Leone produced spaghetti western film containing senseless violence and a lack of morally based judgment. The films’ opening scene begins with the main character Duncan shooting and then scalping a Native American women. This gruesome display of violence is a clear depiction of the European perception of America. In the conclusion of the movie the main character Joe, who in many senses would normally be considered an other, is able to reclaim the pendent of his murdered wife from Duncan. This scene is very symbolic because Duncan can be seen as a morally lacking individual who thrives on violence and discrimination, and is eventually defeated by the very people he tries to suppress. This depiction seems loosely based on the Italian view of events taking place in America during the 1960’s including the Civil Rights Movement. This negative depiction seems to suggest that the European opinion of the US during this time was that American society was trying to suppress the Civil Rights Movement and all that it stood for.
In conclusion although these movies touched many of the same issues as American westerns, they did so in an overly violent and discriminatory way. In analyzing this it is clear that the classic Alpha Male hero who became revered in American culture was seen as an overly primitive and masculine figure outside of the US.