A Western Hero in Shane
The western genre plays an important part in the mythologising of
American history. The way the western genre and particularly the
western hero are put across in such films as Shane, are most likely
not how real life in the 1880s was. In Shane the hero arrived on
horseback, he was confident, handsome and managed to charm the female
character, Marion, almost immediately.
Typically, throughout the film the mysterious gunslinger was wearing a
cowboy hat and a holster around his waist. His clean-cut, masculine
looks give an initial impression that Shane was to be the protagonist
of the story. In reality, 1880s men were likely to be sexist or cruel,
however this is not how Shane came across in this film. Perhaps this
is the reason for its popularity with audiences in the 1950s. A strong
heroic character, for men, can be someone they admire or wish to be
more like, whilst for women, they may find this sort of character
attractive.
In the opening passage of the film, Shane, we see the lone figure, on
horseback, riding across the horizon. He takes an alternate route
through the family's land. As he approaches them the young boy, Joey,
notices the stranger and tells his father. On his arrival he asks
permission to pass through their land and soon after, the Reiker Gang
come into view.
The choice of camera angles is very important in communicating ideas
about the central character. The initial shot to open the film is of
Shane pausing on the hill. We can see the beautiful environment which
was the setting for the film (Jackson Hole, Wyoming), with the Grand
Tetons as its backdrop. This is an important mo...
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...ithesis of what
Shane stands for.
These are the ways the filmmakers succeed in manipulating the
audience's perceptions of the characters, and all contribute to the
idea of the contrast between good and evil in the story.
"In the opening passage of the film, Shane we are presented with an
image of the archetypal western hero"
After exploring the techniques used to create Shane's character, I do
agree with this statement. Shane was first introduced at the beginning
of the film as the heroic character and managed to maintain his
authoritative figure throughout. The filmmakers used devices which
would give immediate impressions of certain characters. Music,
appearance and even dialogue created an original persona for each of
them and in the case of Shane's character, presented him as the
classic western hero.
All of the qualities shown in these men are important in showing heroism. Heroism is having qualities that highlight someone's unique and noble abilities. Both of these men portray a massive amount of heroism in their stories.
Because of the outlaw hero’s definitive elements, society more so identifies with this myth. Ray said, “…the scarcity of mature heroes in American...
...his antagonist proves to be their own inner character which determines the trajectory of their decisions. As they all become aware, the consequences of their decisions prove to have an extensive impact on themselves and those around them.
In “The Thematic Paradigm,” Robert Ray explains how there are two vastly different heroes: the outlaw hero and the official hero. The official hero has common values and traditional beliefs. The outlaw hero has a clear view of right and wrong but unlike the official hero, works above the law. Ray explains how the role of an outlaw hero has many traits. The morals of these heroes can be compared clearly. Films that contain official heroes and outlaw heroes are effective because they promise viewer’s strength, power, intelligence, and authority whether you are above the law or below it.
In reading “All the pretty horses” by Cormac McCarthy, we are introduced to the protagonist John Grady Cole. At the beginning of the story, John Grady is attending his grandfathers funeral in the ranch that he now shares with his mother. John Grady Cole, grew up in world where being a cowboy meant freedom and a ever growing relationship with the one thing he cared about more than anything… horses. The story seems to unravel in the early 1950s when the old west began to evolve to the new ways of the west and the definition of what made a man a cowboy increasingly blurred. As the story evolves, it becomes evident that the selling of his grandfather’s ranch leaves Grady feeling adrift and incomplete. Henceforth, he deicides to set foot on his own and find a new place to call his home. We see that the loss of his grandfathers ranch and the passing of the old west he knew, serves as a reflection of how John Grady’s character attempts to maintain this cowboy lifestyle that he witnessed growing up . John Grady Cole’s character tough young, serves as a hero in his journey of becoming a man. Combined with his passion and idealistic mentality, his love for horses and the open plains of Texas/Mexico sets him off into new adventures. Realizing that each scenario encountered paves the way towards a journey of harsh reality, this story serves as one of growth and the passionate search of the old cowboy life. Grady sets out on a journey to Mexico with his comrade Rawlins riding off into the sun with hopes of finding a new home; they rode in hopes of regaining their sense of beloning.
The cowboy hero, The Virginian, as portrayed in Owen Wister’s novel was the first of his kind and today is known as the stereotypical mythic cowboy figure which our view of the western frontier are based from. The Virginian was the first full length western novel apart from the short dime novels which marked the final stage in the evolution of the cowboy hero to a national icon. The Virginian was published in 1902 and at that time was wildly popular because of the settlement of the west. The story of the cowboy who had the skill and courage to take control of the untamed frontier enthralled people. The cowboy hero had a few distinguished qualities, he was a self-appointed vigilante, he had a very strict moral code, he had exceptional perception skills and he had the ability to adapt. Owen Wister’s The Virginian was the first to portray these qualities and really created a deeper cowboy character.
In "The Thematic Paradigm", Robert Ray explains how there are two distinctly different heroes, the outlaw hero and the official hero. The official hero embraces common values and traditional beliefs, while the outlaw has a clear sense of right and wrong but operates above the law (Ray). Ray explains how the role of an outlaw hero has many traits. "The attractiveness of the outlaw hero's childishness and propensity to whims, tantrums, and emotional decisions derived from America's cult of childhood", states Ray. (309) Ray also says, "To the outlaw hero's inconsistence on private standards of right and wrong, the official hero offered the admonition, you cannot take the law into your own hands." (312) The values of these two traditional heroes contrasts clearly. Society favors the outlaw hero because we identify with that character more. We see ourselves more so in the outlaw hero than in the official hero. The outlaw hero has the "childlike" qualities that most of us wish we had as adults. To civilians it may seem that the outlaw hero lives more of a fantasy life that we all wish to have.
Crazy Horse was a warrior and took part in many wars and battles between the Native Americans and the Americans during the westward expansion. In the wars he led his warriors who decoyed Captain Fetterman and 80 soldiers out of Fort Phil Kearny to their deaths in 1866. He led the thousand warriors who fought General George Crook and his thousand soldiers to a bloody draw on Rosebud Creek in June of 1876. Anf he led the warriors in the charge up the hill that outflanked Colonel George A. Custer at the Little Bighorn just a week after the fight on the Rosebud. Custer and more than 200 of his men were killed. It was the greatest Native American victory, but it was also their greatest disaster because the Americans decided the Natives should no
The influence a hero can have on people is immense because he can inspire and guide them to attain specific goals. In A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines, Grant is Jefferson’s hero and mentor, helping him with a variety of problems in the precious time he has left. As a result of Jefferson’s false conviction and death sentence, he becomes very depressed and does not see any point in trying to become a “true man”. Being called a “hog”, by his lawyer during his trial in the courtroom, also causes him to lose the little dignity and pride he had left further depressing him. In addition, he refuses to learn from Grant and finds any way to make others feel guilty for what was happening to him. This hostility also became directed towards his
...ne as a young innocent child. Throughout the story he changes physically, mentally, and emotionally from a young child to an old man, which makes him a dynamic character. He became a very dynamic character because he found a need for materialistic things such as statues and homes such as Xanadu, his large home on a vast plot of secluded land. Through materialism, Kane became a self invested individual.
INDG 1116 Module 2 Reading 1AIM is only one voice addressing these concerns.Vine Deloria, Jr., wrote about the unique character ofNative American religious life in God is Red. In otherworks—Custer Died for Your Sins and We Talk,. YouListen—Debra expressed urgent Indian concerns andcalledfor Euro-Americans to recognize a failed pluralism, especially the nation’s economic system that hasmarginalized the tribes and devastated their remaining lands.Religiousness and Contemporary NativeAmerican PeoplesUnlike Christianity, which concentrates all power inthe hands of God who bestows it on human beings as anact of grace, Native American religious world viewsemphasize the interdependence of all beings. Even theGreat Spirit needs humans, just as they need him,because ifpeople live beyond the pale of religious orderby not honoring the other beings of the cosmos, theywill create disturbances that will cause destruction
A Hero’s Tragic Downfall In William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Brutus is portrayed as a tragic hero. He believes he can amend the Roman Empire by killing Caesar and granting Romans freedom from a potential monarchy. Cassius comes to Brutus with intentions of obviating Caesar from the throne.
In the field of learning, sociology is the study of our behavior as social beings, covering everything from the analysis of short contacts between anonymous individuals on the street to the study of global social processes . And through sociology much of what we know about societies and social behavior has emerged thanks to various sociology theories . From the application of sociological theories we can learn and analyze the situation and problems that occur in society. But can sociological theories be used to analyze problems that did not happen in directly in societies, such as for example the problems that occur inside the story of a movie. Therefore, in this paper we would like to apply the use of sociological theories as a way to analyze
The storyline is normally about a hero who comes to a town to bring peace and drive the villains out. A hero is usually seen as a vigilante as he is not told to come to help but does anyway. The hero often appears as a quiet, secretive, mysterious person who may make the audience admire him one minute and dislike him the next, he is also a very smart, cunning and adaptable which are all good values in a hero. The villain is usually fixed to one idea he thinks it is a smart cunning person but in the end is always defeated. Many scenes are set around the Saloon (bar) and there is quite often a romance involved with the hero and a local girl, the villain competing for her affections! There are two different types of villains in typical westerns Native Americans and white villains (cowboys).
Some Michigan Heroes can be people that helped you in life or helped you succeed in life. My Michigan Hero is someone that raised me, taught me everything I know in life today. This person is my idol, that gave me a hand when I needed one, or told me to keep my head up and never look down. I wouldn’t know what to do in life if this person wasn’t in it.