John Ford immediately introduces the audience to the vast landscape in The Searchers. We see deserted prairie, steep cliffs, and little no wildlife within the horizon. The scenery for any western movie is crucial because the land is just as important as the cowboy. The land captures the true meaning inside the cowboy’s ambitions freedom and the alpha male.
The desert is used many times in this movie to demonstrate how Ethan is considered the Alpha male. Tompkins states, “The desert offers itself a white sheet on which to trace a figure…When a lone horseman appears on the desert plain, he dominates it instantly, his view extends as far as the eye can see, and enemies are exposed to his gaze.”(Tompkins 74) Ford opens the movie with Ethan riding alone across the prairie to his brother’s house. Ethan looks like the quintessential cowboy in this scene. Ford also continues to zoom in on Ethan and Martin when the Indians are in the background. It truly does “expose” the enemies as Tompkins states and makes them look a little bit vulnerable.
Throughout the movie we get to see young cowboy on the rise, Martin. He exemplifies many key cowboy qualities, one of which is his difficulty with women. He turns down the offer to have a job and wife to continue on his journey through the west. He sought freedom and wasn’t about to give up on his sister Debbie. We see him slowly mature throughout the movie, and by the end he contains the characteristics of a true cowboy.
John Ford immediately introduces the audience to the vast landscape in The Searchers. We see deserted prairie, steep cliffs, and little no wildlife within the horizon. The scenery for any western movie is crucial because the land is just as important as the cowboy. The land captures the true meaning inside the cowboy’s ambitions freedom and the alpha male.
ReplyDeleteThe desert is used many times in this movie to demonstrate how Ethan is considered the Alpha male. Tompkins states, “The desert offers itself a white sheet on which to trace a figure…When a lone horseman appears on the desert plain, he dominates it instantly, his view extends as far as the eye can see, and enemies are exposed to his gaze.”(Tompkins 74) Ford opens the movie with Ethan riding alone across the prairie to his brother’s house. He emerges out of the landscape as if he was one with it. A cowboy’s relationship with the land is a unique one. The land shapes the cowboy’s character. It’s isolation and roughness molds the cowboys attributes. He becomes a loner and one with the land. He understands what he can and cannot do given the situation at hand. It hardens his emotions and creates an individual who can not only live, but survive. Ford also continues to zoom in on Ethan and Martin when the Indians are in the background. It truly does “expose” the enemies as Tompkins states and makes them look a little bit vulnerable. The Indians are an interesting aspect of this movie. Racism becomes present when we see Ethan’s beliefs on the Indian’s culture. At one point in the movie, we realize that Ethan would rather kill his niece than let her live the chief Comanche. Although he doesn’t follow through on this speculation, it still gives us an idea on how Indian’s were perceived.
Throughout the movie we get to see young cowboy on the rise, Martin. He exemplifies many key cowboy qualities, one of which is his difficulty with women. He turns down the offer to have a job and wife to continue on his journey through the west. He sought freedom and wasn’t about to give up on his sister Debbie. We see him slowly mature throughout the movie, and by the end he contains the characteristics of a true cowboy.