In a Classic Western, there are very rarely any African American characters in the cast, nevermind as a main character. But in the revisionist film Unforgiven, Ned Logan, played by Morgan Freeman, plays a former alpha male cowboy who has retired to a life of farming, along side of William Munny, played by Clint Eastwood. Logan is treated as an equal to Munny, seen when Munny refuses to hunt down the cowboys without him and insists he receive equal reward for it. But, Logan is seen as a weaker character than Munny because after he shots the horse of the prostitute’s attacker he cannot bring himself to shoot him, handing the gun over to Munny. After refusing to shoot, Logan decides he can’t continue on the violent journey and turns back to go home. As a result, Logan is captured and becomes the only one out of the three men to be tortured and killed. During the 1990s, the time period in which this film was made, African Americans were viewed as equals to whites, but still were victims of discrimination. This relates to the way in which Logan is treated equally by Munny, but killed by Little Bill.
The cowboy played by Clint Eastwood is not the typical alpha male seen in Westerns. In the beginning of the film, he is seen as a farmer and single father who no longer drinks or indulges in women and can’t even mount a horse. He also has lost his marksmanship skills from the days in which he was an infamously vicious killer and hasn’t murdered anyone in eleven years. He also shows weakness when he becomes ill and is taken care of by the prostitutes. But, over the course of the film, he regains his alpha male qualities and is once again a force to be reckoned with. In the end, William Munny returns to his old violent self when he shoots Little Bill and threatens to kill the wife and family of anyone who tries to shoot back at him. His actions reveal a more realistic view of violence and death rather than the classic western which views death as more transcendent and romanticized.
In a Classic Western, there are very rarely any African American characters in the cast, nevermind as a main character. But in the revisionist film Unforgiven, Ned Logan, played by Morgan Freeman, plays a former alpha male cowboy who has retired from gunslinging and moved onto to a life of farming, along side of William Munny, played by Clint Eastwood. Logan is treated as an equal to Munny, seen when Munny refuses to hunt down the cowboys without him and insists he receive equal reward for it. But, Logan is a weaker character compared to Munny because after he shots the horse of the prostitute’s attacker; he cannot bring himself to shoot him, handing the gun over to Munny. After refusing to shoot, Logan decides he can’t continue on the violent journey and turns back to go home. As a result, Logan is captured and becomes the only one out of the three men to be tortured and killed. After he is killed, he is put on display in town for all to see. During the 1990s, the time period in which this film was made, African Americans were viewed as equals to whites, but still were victims of discrimination. This relates to the way in which Logan is treated equally by Munny, but killed by Little Bill.
ReplyDeleteThe cowboy played by Clint Eastwood is not the typical alpha male in classic Westerns. In the beginning of the film, he is a farmer and single father who no longer drinks or indulges in women and can’t even mount a horse. He also has lost his marksmanship skills from the days in which he was an infamously vicious killer and hasn’t murdered anyone in eleven years. He also shows weakness when he becomes ill and is taken care of by the prostitutes. But, over the course of the film, he regains his alpha male qualities and is once again a force to be reckoned with. In the end, William Munny returns to his old violent self when he shoots Little Bill and threatens to kill the wife and family of anyone who tries to shoot back at him. His actions reveal a more savage view of violence and death rather than the classic western which views death as more transcendent and romanticized. The cowboy that Munny becomes is much darker than the alpha male in earlier films. This is a direct result of the culture of modern America. Audiences are more comfortable with violence and expect it in movies.