Navajo Joe/The Good The Bad CS

In classic Western films, the alpha male cowboy is portrayed as a heroic white man who lives a life of duty and is a symbol of masculinity in America. Ethan Edwards from The Searchers and Tom Doniphon from The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance are examples of this typical western cowboy. Spaghetti Westerns such as Navajo Joe and The Good the Bad and the Ugly show the American man through the eyes of Europeans and the characters in these films are not the typical heroes seen in American Westerns. In Navajo Joe the main character, who is ultimately the hero of the film, is not a white alpha male but a vengeful Navajo Indian. Blondie, the only white male character in The Good the Bad and the Ugly, is also not the typical hero. He is just as much of a bandit and villain as the Hispanic men labeled “ugly” and “bad”, but since he is the white man, he is labeled as “good”. Blondie also uses his Mexican partner, Tuco, to receive reward money by repeatedly capturing him, turning him in, and then saving him from being hanged. This exploitation of Tuco does not portray the white male in a positive light, especially since he also turns his back on him and leaves him to die in the desert.

Navajo Joe also shines light on the discrimination of minorities in America. Joe knows he is the only person capable and strong enough to stop Duncan, but the townspeople do not believe him because he is Native American. Joe also proves his worth when he explains that he deserves to wear the sheriff’s badge because every generation of his family is from America, and the sheriff’s own father was born in Germany, and therefore should not be looked down upon. The Civil Rights Movement was going strong during the late 1960s which affected the issues in these films. Immigrants and minorities were treated as second class citizens and were fighting to become equal to whites.

Both of these films also revolve around white men on a mission to gain money, and ultimately power. The Europeans behind these films clearly see Americans as only caring about becoming rich and powerful and not caring about who they have to step on to get there. This is a result of the multiple wars fought with Europe in the 21^st century and America emerging as a superpower.