The Searchers, directed by John Ford in 1956, is a classic Western film that depicts the brutality of the land that Cowboys were subjected to. In a Western film, the land plays nearly as large of a roll in the film as the cowboys themselves. This landscape helps viewers understand the difficult life of the Cowboy. Millions of Americans began to associate Cowboys, and in particular John Wayne, to masculinity during the 1950’s because of the fact that they were able to brave the rough landscape.
In Jane Tompkins novel West of Everything, she discusses the landscape that we see in many Western movies, with the Searchers being no exception. She writes, “perhaps more than anything, nature gives the hero a sense of himself. For he is competent in this setting.” Here we can see that the Cowboy is at home with the rough and brutal land. Tompkins goes on to say, “the hero’s relationship to the environment is steady, knowledgeable, functional, and pleasure-giving.”(p. 81)
Simply watching any Western movie will confirm these ideas that Tompkins expresses however, The Searchers may be one of the best. As John Wayne attempts to find his only surviving niece, who was captured by Indians, we see the relationship between the rough and tough cowboy and the terrain he roams. These films would not be nearly as effective if the landscape was not portrayed as a character itself.
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