Revisionism is a very present element in Unforgiven. It’s a film that is able to show elements from the perspective of others such as minorities and women that didn’t exist in the traditional classic western. The film mainly lacks the type of alpha male cowboy that would exist in the traditional western that often shows skewed representation. Clint Eastwood’s character Will Munny would be considered the alpha male character but completely unlike that of John Wayne’s cowboy roles. Munny has become a reformed cowboy who has settled into life and left behind the rough ways of the past. His skills are greatly diminished and he doesn’t appear to be the strongest man in the pack. He leads with his knowledge but needs the help of others such as Ned Logan (Morgan Freeman) and The Schofield Kid. His actions are more humble than those of classical alpha cowboys. He doesn’t drink, doesn’t marginalize women, and shows to be deeply hurt by the loss of his wife. Although she is dead, he often refers back to her whenever he is offer something from the past like alcohol or women. He is a cowboy that feels strong emotion and is not afraid to let it be known. He appears more like a realistic human who has to deal with the struggles of life. And we are able to see how a cowboy dealing with the physiological affects of living an earlier life of vice. He thinks about the past and it weighs heavily upon his conscious.
Morgan Freeman’s role of Ned Logan also offers revisionist outlook in the film. His role as the alpha cowboy’s sidekick is a different look toward minorities. His role isn’t like that of the role of Pompey in The Man who Shot Liberty Valance because he doesn’t act as an errant boy for the cowboy. Logan is rather and extension of Munny. Logan was the sidekick in the old days for Munny and as Munny tells The Kid, he doesn’t go unless Logan comes too. There is a shared level of power and respect that the two have together that make them the alpha cowboy. Munny would not be able to be the leader without his expert sidekick who as Munny sees is an equal. And when Munny finds out that Logan had been caught, tortured, and killed by Little Bill, it was the only thing that was able to get Munny to turn into the beast that his wife had cured him of. Not the beating that Little Bill gave him earlier or even the job he undertook could turn Munny into his former self. But it was rather the treatment that his best friend and partner Logan received that flicked the switch in him. Logan was not seen as black to Munny but rather another equal human who shared the same qualities as Munny. And for his death to be what instantly caused him to pick up a bottle and march into the saloon and take out Little Bill is very different. He was a white man reformed of his past ways who was able to almost instantly snap to seek revenge for his friend even if he was black. It is an occurrence that classic westerns didn’t have. A black man having the relationship he had with Munny indeed shows a changed perspective on minorities in the west.
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Revisionism is a very present element in Unforgiven. It’s a film that is able to show elements from the perspective of others such as minorities and women that didn’t exist in the traditional classic western. The film mainly lacks the type of alpha male cowboy that would exist in the traditional western that often shows skewed representation. Clint Eastwood’s character Will Munny would be considered the alpha male character but in a completely different style than that of John Wayne in his cowboy roles. Munny has become a reformed cowboy who has settled into life and left behind the rough ways of the past. His skills are greatly diminished and he doesn’t appear to be the strongest man in the pack. He leads with his knowledge but needs the help of others such as Ned Logan (Morgan Freeman) and The Schofield Kid. His actions are more humble than those of classical alpha cowboys. He doesn’t drink, doesn’t marginalize women, and shows to be deeply hurt by the loss of his wife. Although she is dead, he often refers back to her whenever he is offer something from the past like alcohol or women. He is a cowboy that feels strong emotion and is not afraid to let it be known. He appears more like a realistic human who has to deal with the struggles of life. And we are able to see a cowboy dealing with the physiological effects of living an earlier life of vice. He thinks about the past and it weighs heavily upon his conscious.
ReplyDeleteMorgan Freeman’s role of Ned Logan also offers revisionist outlook in the film. His role as the alpha cowboy’s sidekick is a different look toward minorities. His role isn’t like that of the role of Pompey in The Man who Shot Liberty Valance because he doesn’t act as an errant boy for the cowboy. Logan is rather and extension of Munny. Logan was the sidekick in the old days for Munny. As Munny tells The Kid, he won’t go unless Logan comes too. There is a shared level of power and respect that the two have together that make them the alpha cowboys. Munny would not be able to be the leader without his expert sidekick who as Munny sees is an equal. And when Munny finds out that Logan had been caught, tortured, and killed by Little Bill, it was the only thing that was able to get Munny to turn into the beast that his wife had cured him of. He couldn’t be turned into his former self by the beating that Little Bill gave him earlier or the job he undertook. It was rather the treatment that his best friend and partner Logan received that flicked the switch in him. Logan was not seen as black to Munny but rather another equal human who shared the same qualities as Munny. And for his death to be what instantly caused him to pick up a bottle and march into the saloon and take out Little Bill is very different. He was a white man reformed of his past ways who was able to almost instantly snap to seek revenge for his friend even if he was black. It is an occurrence that classic westerns didn’t have. A black man having the relationship he had with Munny indeed shows a changed perspective on minorities.