Westerns And Social Commentary Essay Research Paper — страница 3

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the creator, a lasting impact upon the American audience, and a niche in the pantheon American immortals for the hero himself (77). These ideas were especially important in respect to the war. American s had a renewed sense of patriotism and were yearning for hero s that would symbolize their loved ones who were fighting for their own freedom and the freedom and well being of the entire world. These motifs helped the Western to flourish and regain much of the popularity that they had lost in the early stages of the Depression. The end of World War II and the introduction of higher quality technology and innovation produced what many American s know as the classic Western. Most stars of the late forties and fifties appeared in Westerns as the became increasingly popular. Films

such as The Magnificent Seven (1960) and High Noon (1952) are widely regarded among the best films of all time. Additionally, Westerns were becoming more varied and less conformist to the ideals of society. Many films set precedents for the inclusion of sex and neurosis in what had heretofore been considered a family oriented genre. Soon the term adult Western was applied to the growing number of films that incorporated psychological or social themes. However varied Westerns were becoming in the postwar years, assessments of particular films were seldom divorced from what one thought of the genre itself. Thus, a very wide audience can follow a Western, appreciate its fine points and vicariously participate in its pattern of suspense and resolution. While some critics in the

forties and fifties dismissed Westerns as more of the same romantic escapism that Hollywood had always offered its nondiscriminating audiences, others calculated that Westerns evoked an attractive vision of individualism and progress that seemed regrettably out of reach in the modern world (Etulain 35). In a sense, instead of portraying and symbolizing the needs and wants of society Westerns were offering a criticism of the rigidness and ignorance of the nuclear family. Yet, Hollywood studios were subtle in their commentary, were not offensive, and their films were immensely popular. As the sixties brought monumental change to society in the human and rights arenas, so did the ideological standards of Westerns. Indians no longer symbolized the white man s abrasion to difference

but instead their tendency towards cruelty and hatred that stemmed from ignorance. Filmmakers of Westerns made pictures portraying Indians as victims of white oppression rather than ferocious, uncivilized wretches. Films such as John Ford s Sergeant Rutledge (1960), and The Great Sioux Massacre (1962) gave form and appreciation to the civil rights movements. Ford, for example, seems to be trying to make up for previous cavalry Westerns in which Indians serve only as targets (44). Thus, themes in Westerns now include one of the broadest arrays of subject matter of any genre. By the seventies, critics and scholars would argue that the Western was a flexible film structure that could accommodate any number of themes and perspectives (35). As Westerns evolved into the eighties and

nineties many critics have suggested that the genre is dying. Yet, a recent rash of Western s have been produced by Hollywood filmmakers. Many of these films are depiction s of white man versus white man confrontations in movies such as Young Guns and Tombstone. The social commentary that these films represent will make an interesting evaluation on 1990 s society. Furthermore the hope is that these films will be a new generation of Westerns that will promote the lofty expectations of genre critics and continue the fascination with the American West.