American Identity Through The West Film Analysis

American Identity Through the West Two things come to mind when I think of the West; vast open spaces that seem to go on and on and also Clint Eastwood’s movie, “A Fist Full of Dollars” theme music. Whatever vision comes to mind for people, the west has been a part of American identity for decades. Westerns in film have been a huge portion of this identity. First, it began with documentation of Daniel Boone explorations, then on to the dime store novel. Western film would be the biggest influence on American identity. Visual media of the west aroused America’s fascination with unconquered lands and the promise of new beginnings. These visions additionally formed ideals of supremacy, a sense of entitlement, and subjugation. Consistent themes prevailed throughout the Western and formed an ideal of what America was and stood for. Historical events would change the formula of the Western, however, certain …show more content…
Cawelti described these characters as the “ racial other” (Cawelti 77). The “others” typically were women and Native Americans that stood beneath the white male hero. Native Americans in particular were unceasingly depicted as savages and in films where the location was in relation to Mexico, Mexicans were also characterized in a negative light. In Stagecoach, Mexicans were almost cartoonish in their characterization. The Native Americans in the film were an afterthought as the violence that was impeding the stagecoach in its journey. John Ford’s, The Searchers, the main character, played by John Wayne, was an “Indian hating, irreconcilable Confederate” (Coyne 71), remarked Coyne. Coyne saw these characters in The Searchers as, “symbolic reminders that America’s racial problems would not go away” (Coyne 71). The success of both these films indicates that prevalent ideals of white supremacy was continuing to dominant American culture and