One might wonder what a 1960 Western American movie would have to do with a 1820s transcendentalist essay. Western movies are often filled with violence and death far from the teachings of Ralph Waldo Emerson's "Self Reliance". Surprisingly, the movie "The Magnificent Seven" has borrowed some ideas from the essay. The premise of the movie lies in a small town terrorized by a bandit named Calvera. The people are forced into giving up their food and goods. The movie emphasizes on the gunslingers that are hired to protect their town, but the innocent farmers are most profound in their discovery of their own strength. Many concepts in this American classic have hints of Emerson's essay. Just beyond the tall and gray mountains lay a small village. The sound of hooves pounding against a dirt path becomes louder and louder. The horses of Calvera and his cavalry kick up a small red tornado of dust as they gallop into the small Mexican village. Unmounting and running towards homes, they yank open doors. Feeble cries of protest fill the air. Grabbing anything from clothes to food, the men steal …show more content…
Come back and you die. In the dark of the night, they stealthily ride back into the town. When the shootings start again, the farmers realize the gunmen have come back for them. They take one look at each other before running out with axes and shovels. The take up any tool they can use to beat the men. They fight despite knowing they will lose some men. They may fear for their lives, but taking action when one is afraid is true bravery and this will lead to eternal victory. Isn't this what Emerson tried to say? "Honor is venerable to us because it is no ephemera. (Emerson)" These men have regained their honor when they decided to fight for their village against Calvera. Their legacy will never fade. Now the village is free and the families can live in peace. The men who tend the land would be forever
In “The Thematic Paradigm,” University of Florida professor of film studies, Robert Ray, defines two types of heroes pervading American films, the outlaw hero and the official hero. Often the two types are merged in a reconciliatory pattern, he argues. In fact, this
Ten years have passed but nothing here has changed on the ranch. The scenery is different; the grass is dull and dead, starting to turn brown and shrivelling over, starved from water. The weather is miserable just like my mood I suppose; the clouds are black and full of rain, ready to rupture just like a car tyre. I hear the rumble in the atmosphere like a lion roaring, the wind was howling, it is as if a zoo is being created by the dreadful weather, with the howling and roaring. The wind howling so much it is manipulating the leaves of the brush to make soundless movements. The people may be different here on the ranch but the way in which they treat each other is much the same. As I walk onto the premises’ of the ranch I can smell burnt wood. I notice that the immigrant workers are still doing the worst jobs such as being stable bucks. The only consolation, I suppose, is that the pay is equal no matter what job you do.
“Everyman, I will go with thee and by thy guide, in thy most need to go by thy side,” said Randolf Hayes while talking about Ralph Waldo Emerson. One of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s pieces of literature is The American Scholar. This connects to Jon Krakuaer’s novel, Into the Wild. All of these pieces connect because they all show transcendentalism.
Transcendentalism is an idealistic philosophical and social movement that developed in New England around 1836 in reaction to rationalism and romanticism. This philosophy taught that all people have knowledge about themselves and the world around them that "transcends" or goes beyond what they can see, hear, taste, touch or feel. To achieve this one must transcend and go beyond everyday human experiences in the physical world. Transcendentalism dwells on the importance of emotion, individualism, and nature, and these beliefs are still used today in pop culture. In the Disney Pixar movie Finding Nemo, aspects of transcendentalism are depicted.
Into The Wild by John Krauker is based around the story of Chris McCandless, a bright young man who believed that a life in the Alaskan wilderness would help him to live a more deliberate life. He followed many transcendentalist keys without openly admitting to it or stating it upright. Some of these include having few belongings when he passed away, not continuing the path that was in store for him, and braving the Alaskan wilderness with few belongings to his name.
According to transcendentalism, the obligations of an individual to society are to defy unjust laws with civil disobedience. This thought of defying laws with civil disobedience became popular in the 50’s and 60’s but was theorized back in the early 19th century. The first transcendentalist to discuss this concept was Henry David Thoreau. He created the concept of fighting with peace instead of arms.
In the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson, “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” The father of transcendentalism, Emerson believed that people who resist change to be what is most natural, themselves, are the true heroes of the world. Ken Kesey, another popular writer, wrote One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest in a similar spirit. His novel takes place on the ward of a controlling army nurse at an Oregon mental institution in the late 1950s. The storyline mainly follows the interactions between Nurse Ratched, a manipulating representation of society, and Randle Patrick McMurphy, a patient, gambler, and renegade. Kesey echoes the transcendentalists and romantics in his work by
Pearl from The Scarlet Letter written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, exhibits many classifying traits of a transcendentalist. Her curiosity strengthened by an isolated childhood, her individualism and intellect, and her strong connection to nature are all leading themes in transcendentalist writings.
Few Hollywood film makers have captured America’s Wild West history as depicted in the movies, Rio Bravo and El Dorado. Most Western movies had fairly simple but very similar plots, including personal conflicts, land rights, crimes and of course, failed romances that typically led to drinking more alcoholic beverages than could respectfully be consumed by any one person, as they attempted to drown their sorrows away. The 1958 Rio Bravo and 1967 El Dorado Western movies directed by Howard Hawks, and starring John Wayne have a similar theme and plot. They tell the story of a sheriff and three of his deputies, as they stand alone against adversity in the name of the law. Western movies like these two have forever left a memorable and lasting impressions in the memory of every viewer, with its gunfighters, action filled saloons and sardonic showdowns all in the name of masculinity, revenge and unlawful aggressive behavior. Featuring some of the most famous backdrops in the world ranging from the rustic Red Rock Mountains of Monument Valley in Utah, to the jagged snow capped Mountain tops of the Teton Range in Wyoming, gun-slinging cowboys out in search of mischief and most often at their own misfortune traveled far and wide, seeking one dangerous encounter after another, and unfortunately, ending in their own demise.
The movement of transcendentalism was a powerful movement that began to emerge in American in the nineteenth century. These powerful movements made readers question, challenge, and examine what they were accustomed too. Transcendentalism was the belief that what the person can see, touch, feel, taste, or comprehend goes beyond those senses. People were to knowledge their thoughts through instinct and imagination not through logic or the senses; they were to trust themselves to be their own authority on what is right. When people were able to receive these ideas not as a religious beliefs, but as a way of understanding life then they were consider a transcendentalist. Transcendentalism was one of the many literary writing styles used during
way we think, act, dress and speak? Thoreau and Emerson both tried to incorporate this
Transcendentalism is a religious, philosophical, literary, and social movement of the nineteenth century. Essentially, this movement was based upon the ideals of the “sixth sense,” nature, and non-conformity, as well as individualism, intuition, idealism, imagination, and inspiration. A few of the works and writings featured in the transcendental unit include Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, The Beatification of Chris McCandless: From Thieving Poacher into Saint by Craig Medred, and Nature by Ralph Waldo Emerson. The primary focus of this essay is to provide an opinion on a strikingly debatable topic; Whether or not Christopher McCandless, hero of Krakauer’s Into the Wild, was a true transcendentalist. Despite the bold actions of Chris McCandless on his daring Alaskan odyssey, he turned out to be far from a true transcendentalist, failing to meet the definition of transcendentalism, being solely concerned with himself, and acting out of revenge rather than seeking self discovery - nothing more than a childish suicidal rebel.
In the article “The Thematic Paradigm” exerted from his book, A Certain Tendency of the Hollywood Cinema, Robert Ray provides a description of the two types of heroes depicted in American film: the outlaw hero and the official hero. Although the outlaw hero is more risky and lonely, he cherishes liberty and sovereignty. The official hero on the other hand, generally poses the role of an average ordinary person, claiming an image of a “civilized person.” While the outlaw hero creates an image of a rough-cut person likely to commit a crime, the official hero has a legend perception. In this essay, I will reflect on Ray’s work, along with demonstrating where I observe ideologies and themes.
“The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost is the best representation of transcendentalism because it shows self-reliance, conformity versus nonconformity, and the importance of nature. In the poem, the speaker makes a choice to continue their walk through the forest on the path that is barely disturbed. The speaker’s choice showed the reader that the speaker had free will and trust in their decision, which plays into the theme of self-reliance in transcendentalism. The poem also touches on the definitions of conformity and nonconformity when the speaker described the path of nonconformity as if, “no step had trodden black.” The author did not describe the path of conformity in the poem in detail, but the lack of description perfectly tied into the
A magnanimous amount of motivation for the tenant farmers was generally found in the self, in an individualistic manner. As "gentle (winds) followed the rain clouds," furthering the magnitude of the dust storms, the survival of the farmers and their families soon became doubtful. The men would sit in "the doorways of their houses; their hands were busy with sticks and little rocks... (as they) sat still--thinking--figuring." The adversity represented by the weather was hindered by the idea that man could triumph over nature--over the machine--and retain a sense of self-identity.