In Matheson’s article she starts off by making the point that the hero’s clear independence is shown by his neglect towards his family and the law. She then goes to say that Wayne’s characters are “hard-boiled.” Matheson states that in “hard-boiled tradition” that characters and their environment are directly connected using the environment to help express their inside feelings. In connection to “hard-boiled tradition”, film noir works physical settings as a symbol representing the main characters state of mind. Matheson goes further to say that Wayne’s Westerns are home to characters that have questionable morals. They are more concerned with their savageness. You can tell the darkness of a characters heart simply by looking at the dirt on their faces; the more dirt, the darker the heart. In the Western’s that Matheson refers to gives the viewer an inside scoop on the ‘time and attitudes” of when the film was made, not any historical information about the American West. Later on she talks about the manner each character conducts himself. She hints at the fact that just because someone appears civilized doesn’t truly mean that they are. She also says the world is corrupt and it causes ordinary citizens to turn into criminals. Matheson then specifically zeros in no Wayne in The Searchers and emphasizes that at the end of the movie when he chooses to return to the desert, the desert is symbolizing his “emotional and moral wilderness.” Another main point that she makes is that some characteristics normal people would consider vices may turn out to virtues of the frontier; an example would be lying. She then brings about the point of ethics in Westerns. There are two main types of ethics; virtue-ethics and duty-based ethics. She says that men live by virtue-ethics and women by duty-based ethics. Then the article discusses the standard relationships in Western. You have your male hero, his sidekick, and of course all male group. Furthermore, it is noted that a woman can become “masculine” as well. On the topic of ethics, even if you “behave in good faith” it can still initiate a disaster. Matheson says that to you must be assessing and using a group of contradictions that are necessary to live as an adult and be one’s “moral center.” Finally she says that Wayne’s characters causes us as Americans to rethink what our idea of an savior or rescuer truly is.
In Matheson’s article she starts off by making the point that the hero’s clear independence is shown by his neglect towards his family and the law. She then goes to say that Wayne’s characters are “hard-boiled.” Matheson states that in “hard-boiled tradition” that characters and their environment are directly connected using the environment to help express their inside feelings. In connection to “hard-boiled tradition”, film noir works physical settings as a symbol representing the main characters state of mind. Matheson goes further to say that Wayne’s Westerns are home to characters that have questionable morals. They are more concerned with their savageness. You can tell the darkness of a character’s heart simply by looking at the dirt on their faces; the more dirt, the darker the heart. In the Western’s that Matheson refers to give the viewer an inside scoop on the ‘time and attitudes” of when the film was made, not any historical information about the American West. Later on she talks about the manner in which each character conducts himself. She hints at the fact that just because someone appears civilized doesn’t truly mean that they are. She also says the world is corrupt and it causes ordinary citizens to turn into criminals. Matheson then specifically zeros in on Wayne in The Searchers and emphasizes that at the end of the movie when he chooses to return to the desert, the desert is symbolizing his “emotional and moral wilderness.” Another main point that she makes is that some characteristics normal people would consider vices may turn out to virtues of the frontier; an example would be lying. She then brings about the point of ethics in Westerns. There are two main types of ethics; virtue-ethics and duty-based ethics. She says that men live by virtue-ethics and women by duty-based ethics. Then the article discusses the standard relationships in Western. You have your male hero, his sidekick, and of course all male group. Furthermore, it is noted that a woman can become “masculine” as well. On the topic of ethics, even if you “behave in good faith” it can still initiate a disaster. Matheson says that to you must be assessing and using a group of contradictions that are necessary to live as an adult and be one’s “moral center.” Finally she says that Wayne’s characters cause us as Americans to rethink what our idea of an savior or rescuer truly is.
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