Blog #2 Matheson BD

In her article “the West-Hardboiled: Adaptations of Film Noir Elements, Existentialism, and Ethics in John Wayne’s Westerns,” Sue Matheson makes it very clear that there are two different types: traditional westerns and Wayne’s Westerns. In Wayne’s Western, the main character is that of an alpha male. He is the one to lead, to look up to, and too handle the dangerous business himself. However, this alpha male is also what is referred to as a hardboiled character; one who is dark, disturbed, showing little outside emotion and being callous and cold. The character that Wayne plays displays this hardboiled mentality with such conviction that it has influenced men of all stature to idolize him and, in some cases, even imitate him.

Another main point brought up by Matheson is that the films in which John Wayne appears are considered to be film noir, which adds a dark element to the film as a whole, not just the character. They contain “claustrophobic rooms, labyrinthine alleyways, and dripping, dank cities act as metaphors that reflect the psychological conditions of their protagonists” (Matheson 890). These films are portrayed this way in order to make a point about the society at the time in which they were filmed. Since these films are made post-World War II and during the height of the cold war, they effectively show that society no longer has any of its innocence and that everything in it is corrupt. Man has become more savage in this time and is less concerned with domesticating nature into a more civilized manner.

As well as John Wayne’s characters, Matheson details what the other characters in the westerns are represented by. The characters in Wayne’s Westerns are not considered ethical by any means or any time. These people follow no laws and create their own justice. The characters are described as the dirtier and grimier they are, the few morals they have. But there is also another side of that being that the fancier and better dressed a character is the more corrupt and unethical the character is.

Existentialism is also a theme that is prevalent in Wayne’s westerns. The main character is trying to benefit him and make life better. However, being that these are darker westerns, the character must go about it in a more unethical fashion.