Blog 2 Matheson DG

In The West-Hardboiled: Adaptations of Film Noir Elements, Sue Matheson explores the character of the "alpha cowboy" played by John Wayne in many films. Matheson first makes the point that men of America look up to a character like John Wayne and try to model their lives in the rugged, duty full, and manly way John Wayne represents as he plays the "alpha cowboy" in his movies. For example, Newt Gingrich a future speaker for the House tried to walk like John Wayne showing his way of "being a man" (Matheson 888).

Another interesting point Matheson makes is that although John Wayne is the classic example of a "hero" he is not the idealized hero. His moral ambiguities show that even the him, the alpha cowboy himself, is not perfect. Wayne is "a dark night, a damaged and isolated paternal figure" (Matheson 889).

The Film Noir seen in movies such as The Searchers, is meant to show the connection between the characters inner emotions with exaggerated or distorted scene shots making this exterior representation mask the inner part. In the Searchers John Wayne is often captured at an angle where he is as tall as the mighty buttes of Monument Valley while the other riders appear to be much smaller. Matheson also picks out the effect of the red sand and rocks seen throughout the film and says it "reinforces the bloody nature of vengeance, the force that motivates John Wayne" (890).

The postwar disillusionment calls for a hero which can be found in the character of one such as John Wayne. After the war it was said that America "lost the last vestige of its innocence" (891). Wayne's character quenches the need for that person to look up to and idolize, and shows a close relation because although his past may be questionable, his moral compass points to the just.

John Wayne's movies evoke thoughts of cynicism and disillusionment but in the end the character John Wayne is considered a "man" because his behavior is "fundamentally ethical" (899). Also, Matheson uses the teachings of Pluto that are based on the idea that every individual pursues "the Good". Wayne's characters achieve this "good" even though getting to this end may not have been completely pleasurable. This is where Matheson ties in the hardboiled, existential lifestyle of John Wayne, a rugged and hard fought lifestyle yet one that is admired and desired by many.