Heroes in Western Film
In the genre of western films, the hero plays a key role. Humanity portrays civilization overcoming the hostile country (Miller 66). In many films the American civil war is over, and people have turned their attention to more constructive pursuits. Battling nature to progress America's future, rather than each other. In between this wild country, fraught with danger and corruption lies the role of the hero. A hero is an individual with exceptional skills and through his abilities is able to rid a stricken town of the corrupt elements within. In many cases however, the hero's skills are not enough. His relationship with the community can define how successful his help can be.
In the films Shane and Dodge City we are presented with heroes who have attempted to integrate themselves into their respective communities. This gives them someway to identify with the community, giving them incentive to defend it from the malicious elements than threaten them.
In Shane, we see an attempt by the film's hero to subtly integrate himself into the community. Instead of riding into town, Shane (Alan Ladd) is introduced to us through the eyes and imagination of a little boy. By having Shane first meet Joey Starret (Brandon de Wilde) he is introduced in a very personal manner that sets the tone for the whole film. Shane's motives are personal; he wishes to escape his life as a gunman by becoming a settler. The lifestyle of the Starret family and the other settlers amplifies the notions of a simpler life that Shane finds appealing. The town where they live is very simple and has none of the more lavish comforts of Dodge City. It offers a way for Shane to escape his past by working to create a simple yet honest community...
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...with being a social outcast. He may be a heroic figure, but society does not fully except him, and may even look down on him because he kills without any authority. Wade enjoys the popularity of being the people's hero, while Shane has to live in the shadows, doing the more distasteful jobs, because even though he may do the same job as Hatton, he does not have a tin star that dictates the approval of society.
Bibliography:
Bibliography:
1: "Abel",Dodge City, Variety, 12 April 1939.
2: Miller, Gabriel. 'Shane Redux: The Shootist and the Western Dilemma', The Journal of Popular Film and Television, Vol.11, No.2, Summer 1983.
3: Morse, David. 'Under Western Eyes: Variations on a Genre', Monogram, No.6, October 1975.
4: Solomon, Stanley. Beyond Formula: American Film Genres. San Diego: Hardcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1976
Characters that have different aspect are far more interesting to read about than average characters. Callum Roe, who is the main character in the story seems to base his personality and his actions off his past events, this makes him a very interesting protagonist for an Adventure novel such as The Darkest Path. For instance the relationship Callum shares with his family. Callum has a very strong bond with his brother, James. Everything Callum does reflects back to the moments with his brother and their family. Callum has a very loving personality, it's very interesting to see how he can still find love when the whole nation is at war and him and his family are split from each other. It's important that stories have characters like Callum.
In “Creating the Myth,” Linda Seger outlines the essential aspects that make up the hero myth, and why movies that follow this outline are generally successful. In her analysis, she begins with the idea that every hero myth revolves around a hero who is called upon to accomplish a feat that nobody else in the story is able to do. The hero’s journey begins with an unlikely person being called upon to serve a purpose greater than themselves. Along their journey, the hero is influenced by several archetypical characters that either help the hero, or try to deter the hero from accomplishing their task. The hero’s journey ends when they have accomplished their task, and in doing so, become a greater person than what they were in the beginning. A film that found tremendous success by following this outline was “Kung Fu Panda.”
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Shane is a movie about a group of small town farmers who are being picked on by some cowboys. Then Shane mysteriously comes into view and tries to do the right thing by helping the farmers. Jack Schaefer wrote the script and the film was produced by George Stevens. Paramount Pictures released the movie in 1952.
John Grady is shines in the aspect of withstanding any challenges that he faces. If you look at the cowboy code, his character to almost all of them. He becomes an existential hero by demonstrating ardency despite his new awareness. Ultimately, he becomes aware of the reality of power and culture. He becomes authentic.
Firstly I will analyse the western themes that are visible in Shane'. The whole narrative of Shane' is the struggle of the homesteaders against the ranchers. In the late 19th Century when Shane' is took place, homesteaders moved to the West to set up home. The homesteader's sought
Briefly (in several sentences or bullet points) define, compare and contrast the outlaw hero and the official hero as Ray defines them.
Somewhere out in the Old West wind kicks up dust off a lone road through a lawless town, a road once dominated by men with gun belts attached at the hip, boots upon their feet and spurs that clanged as they traversed the dusty road. The gunslinger hero, a man with a violent past and present, a man who eventually would succumb to the progress of the frontier, he is the embodiment of the values of freedom and the land the he defends with his gun. Inseparable is the iconography of the West in the imagination of Americans, the figure of the gunslinger is part of this iconography, his law was through the gun and his boots with spurs signaled his arrival, commanding order by way of violent intentions. The Western also had other iconic figures that populated the Old West, the lawman, in contrast to the gunslinger, had a different weapon to yield, the law. In the frontier, his belief in law and order as well as knowledge and education, brought civility to the untamed frontier. The Western was and still is the “essential American film genre, the cornerstone of American identity.” (Holtz p. 111) There is a strong link between America’s past and the Western film genre, documenting and reflecting the nations changes through conflict in the construction of an expanding nation. Taking the genres classical conventions, such as the gunslinger, and interpret them into the ideology of America. Thus The Western’s classical gunslinger, the personification of America’s violent past to protect the freedoms of a nation, the Modernist takes the familiar convention and buries him to signify that societies attitude has change towards the use of diplomacy, by way of outmoding the gunslinger in favor of the lawman, taming the frontier with civility.
ithesis of what Shane stands for. These are the ways the filmmakers succeed in manipulating the audience's perceptions of the characters, and all contribute to the idea of the contrast between good and evil in the story. "In the opening passage of the film, Shane we are presented with an image of the archetypal western hero" After exploring the techniques used to create Shane's character, I do agree with this statement. Shane was first introduced at the beginning of the film as the heroic character and managed to maintain his authoritative figure throughout. The filmmakers used devices which would give immediate impressions of certain characters.
Gunsmoke was the longest running radio show ever made. It is based on the historical city of Dodge. The series is centered around the character of Matt Dillon, who is the U.S. Marshall at Dodge. Each episode is one of his adventures, usually with his fellow helper, Chester, in keeping the peace and bringing justice in the area. Dillon's independence, sense of justice, and keen problem solving ever epitomize the stereotypical old-west hero.
What makes a hero a hero? In western movies such as The Searchers and Stage Coach, they portray the issue of masculinity and the hero in an exceptional way. In each of these movies the main character is represented with the traditional appearance of masculinity, toughness, and honor. Rarely does the hero smile or only smiles in the face of confrontation. He has courage and is daring, therefore not fearing anything. Most of the time revenge is the motivating force behind the hero’s actions. At first, Django is the helpless slave that is chained and broken, but through the teaching of Dr. King Shultz, Django takes the role of hero very quickly and transforms from a needy slave to a cultured, well-mannered, and brutal bad–ass that soon becomes the real focus of the film. Shultz...
In "The Thematic Paradigm", Robert Ray explains how there are two distinctly different heroes, the outlaw hero and the official hero. The official hero embraces common values and traditional beliefs, while the outlaw has a clear sense of right and wrong but operates above the law (Ray). Ray explains how the role of an outlaw hero has many traits. "The attractiveness of the outlaw hero's childishness and propensity to whims, tantrums, and emotional decisions derived from America's cult of childhood", states Ray. (309) Ray also says, "To the outlaw hero's inconsistence on private standards of right and wrong, the official hero offered the admonition, you cannot take the law into your own hands." (312) The values of these two traditional heroes contrasts clearly. Society favors the outlaw hero because we identify with that character more. We see ourselves more so in the outlaw hero than in the official hero. The outlaw hero has the "childlike" qualities that most of us wish we had as adults. To civilians it may seem that the outlaw hero lives more of a fantasy life that we all wish to have.
Joseph Campbell defines a hero as “someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself” (Moyers 1). The Hero’s Journey consists of three major parts: the separation, the initiation, and the return. Throughout a character’s journey, they must complete a physical or spiritual deed. A physical deed involves performing a daunting and courageous act that preserves the well-being of another person. A spiritual deed calls for action that improves another individual’s state of mind.
...ne as a young innocent child. Throughout the story he changes physically, mentally, and emotionally from a young child to an old man, which makes him a dynamic character. He became a very dynamic character because he found a need for materialistic things such as statues and homes such as Xanadu, his large home on a vast plot of secluded land. Through materialism, Kane became a self invested individual.
There is another type of hero that almost no one is aware of. In the poorest areas of the country, live mostly minorities and other ethic background. All their lives they’ve been expected to work harder and expected not succeed in life. Some individuals living in poverty with a determination to succeed work hard all of their lives to become what everybody doubted they could. Escaping the crime, drugs, and prostitution is enough to escape hell, even if they don’t go to college. Despite of their financial problems, drug and crime surroundings, or difficulties in the language skills, their desire to triumph fuels their persistence. Those who make it to success are the few living examples of the purest form of hero anyone can be. They are not only their own heroes but also the heroes of the poor children who dream of becoming like them someday.