NH Navajo Joe/The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

The spaghetti westerns are extremely different than any other western film that we have seen thus far. We are used to seeing the alpha male cowboy played by John Wayne dominate the screen as he rules the land with only his gun. In Navajo Joe and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, the films do not contain the same characteristics that the American made westerns do. The spaghetti westerns are European made western films through which we are able to see the view that Europe has of the American people. In The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Clint Eastwood plays the character of "The Good." This is ironic because the character that he plays is in fact not all that good as he abandons his spanish comrad. It is also ironic because we are able to see the view of the American male the the eyes of the European people. Clint Eastwood is referred to as "The Good" when he is actually pretty juch the opposite. Leading us to believe that the European people have quite a negative view of the American male.

The spaghetti westerns are lacking the alpha male cowboy characteristics of the western that are typically found in the American Western. In the American western films there is always an alpha male cowboy. He is a dominant white male and he rules the land. In Navajo Joe, a Navajo Indian is the main character. Although he contains the traits of an alpha male cowboy he would not be considered one in the American western because of his ethnicity. This usage of a navajo indian as the alpha male cowboy exploits the prejudice of the American people through the eyes of Europe. An Indian man would never be seen as the leading role in an American Western during John Wayne's acting career.