Larger than life characters played by actors such as Clint Eastwood, Gary Cooper and Henry Fonda in Westerns exemplify male self-determination and independence on many levels.
The appeal and success of the American Western in film provide opportunity for introspective analyzing of the American people, and, particularly, the American male. As a member of this group, images are explored from a personal and perhaps, less than dispassionate perspective. In many respects, the Western film form celebrates and defines images of a male dominated world that the American man enjoys identifying with. Warshow provides vocabulary and reasoning that enlightens as he aptly describes the modus operandi of these films.
The American gangster movie represents a more modern and antisocial cultural form of violence that represents times in America United States
A specific set of images help define the Western movie form as a complete dramatic entity that effectively maintained the interest of the American viewer for many decades.
It is logical to project the drudgery and cynicism of a typical American factory worker’s whose life style is defined by a set of basic, inhibiting and “traditional” values. The movie viewer yearns for images that depict hero worship, freedom, space, power (guns), and available women who provide guiltless comfort. A vivid chimerical depiction of dominant male and lesser female roles is provided.
The male audience’s attraction to the image of the Western film woman is powerful. Western women are usually portrayed as bar room entertainers or prostitutes who “understand” the cowboy and the irrelevance of love. By contrast, the eastern American woman’s spirit embodies images that exemplify civilization. Her values are portrayed disparagingly as feminine and consist of manners, virtues, refinement and even Christianity. Western movie women provide affection without guilt and do not require emotional attachment or other constraints associated with the typical marriage arrangement. The images characterized by the Western woman may also appeal to some American women viewers by projecting strength and independence in, albeit a “man’s world.”
From time to time, every individual dreams of freedom from his work and responsibilities. Land and horses generously represent the Westerner’s physical freedom so admired by the American audience. The Western man is a man of leisure and the West is “where men are men.” While the Westerner is generally unemployed, he always has money and is adept at functioning in his society. He expertly rides horses, plays poker, and is most often seen in a bar with “fallen” women who cavort with him. He generally wears the same clothes that are comfortable and utilitarian.
Guns constitute the visible moral center of the movie, suggesting continually the possibility of violence. Moral issues are brought to a basic level. A certain image of a man is portrayed with a gun on his thigh —- he looks like a hero and shirks the constant possibility of violence in a self-controlled, relaxed fashion. At the same time, guns represent a source of power over life and death. Appealing to the viewer’s sense of good and evil, the hero only uses his gun for righteous purposes.
The gun, carried freely in the open, helps to embody the heroic individual whose moral code is that of honor. The hero defends his honor in his quest and represents a code, that at best, exhibits a moral ambiguity that conceals his image and saves him from inanity. The conflict of good and evil is more a personal matter that is settled between two men and less than that of a social consequence or civilization; the Westerner does what he “has to do.” Warshow notes that we still hold real and important the image of personal nobility as exemplified in the Western and its late 19th century setting.
Fighting for justice provides opportunity —- the Western man defends his honor which is comprised of harmonious appearances as much as with desirable consequences. The Westerner’s moral code at best exhibits a moral ambiguity that darkens his image and saves him from absurdity. He presents an image of personal nobility that is real for us, the American.
As the Western film evolved and the American viewer became more sophisticated, the form changed a bit. Warshow describes this change as a violation of the classical form. In the film “High Noon,” social drama is utilized; the hero leaves town as a pathetic rather than a tragic figure. His leaving signifies that the “social drama” has no place for him. The theme song from "High Noon", "Do Not Forsake Me, My Darling" provides one with a sense Gary Cooper's hero mystique. Yielding to the cinematic temptations of the landscape violates the Western form as well. A superficial reconstruction of history, as in “My Darling Clementine,” exemplifies this device. In the “Virginian,” Warshow cites the theme as the limitations of frontier life, not freedom and expansiveness.
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Gary Cooper in High Noon |
These changes in the Western reflect a changing American society and viewer. More and more, images of the big city and the industrial society gain importance. Political events shape the society. The gangster movie sets forth the attractions of violence with respect to our higher social attitudes.
Western movies have captured our imaginations for decades. This is due, in part, to the way the problem of violence is given serious orientation in a uniquely American setting. However, I believe that the major cause of success of these films is that they capitalize on a traditional American desire for self-determination.
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