Cinema of the Great Depression

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Essay Review - Cinema of the Great Depression, WWII Era In Frederick J. Turner's essay "The Significance of Frontier," he argues that the expansion of the American frontier happened only because American settlers or farmers were in search of good soils and fertile lands. What he failed to mention is the fact that Americans migrated further west not only because they were in search of productive land, but also many migrated because of religious persecution. The 1940 film "Brigham Young" depicts just that. Furthermore, Turner's thesis represents Native Americans as "uncivilized" and hostile people; however this film depicts them in a different way. The film depicts them as understanding, fair and peaceful people. Thus, these different perspectives of the American frontier show that Turner's thesis is biased in the way that it illustrates the American frontier. In his essay, Turner mentions that "the exploitation of the beasts took hunter and trader to the west, the exploitation of the grasses took the rancher west, and the exploitation of the virgin soil of the river valleys and prairies attracted the farmer. Good soils have been the most continuous attraction to the farmer's frontier. The land hunger of the Virginians drew them down the rivers into Carolina, in early colonial days; the search for soils took the Massachusetts men to Pennsylvania and to New York. As the eastern lands were taken up, migration flowed across them to the west." This is simply saying that people not only migrated to the west to find good soil in order to farm and make a living, but this migration also took place because the lands from the east were taken up. However, the film "Brigham Young," is a good illustration of the fact that this was not always the case on the American frontier. In this film, the Mormons were forced out of Illinois because they were being persecuted. They had to move west in order to find a place where they would no longer be victimized by non-Mormon groups. They were not just looking for fruitful land to make a living. They needed a refuge; a place to live peacefully and call home. Furthermore, Turner's essay is also biased in the way it portrays the Native Americans living on the American frontier. In his essay, Turner's describes the American frontier as "the meeting point between savagery and civilization." He portrays the Native Americans as "savages" and the Whites as "civilized" people.

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