Throughout history, scenery has played an important role in media and society. The Western genre is no exception. Its landscape and element of mise-en-scene not only sets up the film/novel, but creates the hero and helps engage the reader allowing them the capability of an out of body experience. This is directly seen in The Searchers, starring John Wayne as Ethan Edwards.
As any Western progresses, like The Searchers, we notice the significant relationship between the landscape and the hero, where the landscape itself becomes a main character. Although most Western stories depict the protagonist as on his own with the land, in The Searchers, Ethan is constantly interacting with other parts of the diegesis, specifically his nephew Martin. They are seen drifting through untouched land to find the Indians who have killed their family and captured his Ethan’s niece. Ethan takes no mercy on the Indians for he blames them all for one tribe’s misdoings. Jane Tomkins writes in the West of Everything, “he was as merciless as the frontier that bred him” (73). This is a perfect example that explains how Ethan could turn on his niece Debbie. After several years of searching for her, she wishes to remain with the Indian tribe, which has raised her. This causes Ethan to become enraged and almost shooting her due to her association and devotion to the Native Americans.
Tompkins also notes that “to be a man in the Western is to seem to grow out of the environment, which means to be hard, to be tough, and to be unforgiving” (73). This unforgiving attitude within Ethan arises when he scalps Chief Scar and kills several other Indians after invading their camp. This specific scene was a clear example of cinematography how director, John Ford, used tracking to capture the American’s stampeding into the Indian campground. Although contrary to previous characteristics Ethan shows compassion towards his niece Debbie when finding her in a cave. This goes to show that “man can go, in any direction” and progress (75).
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Examine The Searchers in light of Tompkins' chapter on the landscape. What ideas does the film suggest about the relationship of the cowboy to the land? Quote from the chapter. Give examples as you analyze.
ReplyDeleteIn the classic Western film genre, the alpha male cowboy is like no other character. He lives in solitude, straying from any and all relationships and responsibilities. However, as time progresses, the viewer can notice one significant relationship that is always present; the relationship between the land and the alpha male. This is no different in the film, The Searchers starring John Wayne as Ethan Edwards.
Ethan Edwards, although not the typical alpha male cowboy as we see him interact throughout the whole film with his nephew Martin, exhibits little to no emotion; he just does. The two drift along the open plains for years and years in search of his missing niece, Debbie. When they finally encounter the tribe that took her captive and killed her family, Ethan takes no mercy on the Indians. This is the one example where we see Ethan succumb to his emotions, which contradicts Jane Tompkins’ notion that the alpha male shows no emotions. Ethan goes on a rampage, and kills all the Indians who even remotely stand in his way of saving his niece. This rage fulfils Tompkins assessment in “The West of Everything,” that the alpha male cowboy “was as merciless as the frontier that bred him” (73).
In “The West of Everything” Tompkins notes that “to be a man in the Western is to seem to grow out of the environment, which means to be hard, to be tough, and to be unforgiving” (73). This ruthless attitude within Ethan arises when he scalps Chief Scar and kills several other Indians after invading their camp. Although contrary to previous characteristics, Ethan shows compassion towards his niece Debbie when finding her in a cave. This simple act of kindness is a quality gained by the land around Ethan. Although the land typically toughens the cowboy with its challenges “it is constantly changing, continually inviting the senses, stimulating feeling, perception and thought,” proving that “man can go, in any direction” and progress (78,75).