The Good, Blondie, is a white, blond male by no mistake. He is also involved in a bounty hunting scam. He is entirely motivated by money, as this is the only reason he keeps Tuco (the ugly) alive on their search for the gold. He is clearly a critique of American capitalism and the anglo-right connotations given to this capitalism. The Ugly, Tuco, is a mexican. He is presented as a fool and somewhat of a comic relief. As mexicans were commonly portrayed in the classic western, he was only a secondary character that Blondie uses to make money. This is the european critique of racism in America that was prevelant in the mid nineteenth century toward most non-anglo ethnicities.
Navajo Joe can be seen as a criticism of America's treatment of the Indian. As Navajo Joe is a strong, dominating male, motivated by revenge, he takes on the role of an alpha male cowboy and transcends the role most indians are doomed to in the classic American western. Never before had a Native American taken such a strong role in a western, which shows the european influence on this film. They took a type of person previously oppressed in both America and the Western genre and gave him the power and dominance of the alpha male cowboy.
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly as well as Navajo Joe are spaghetti westerns created by europeans as a critique of American ideology during the times in which the films were created. The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly presents a critique of capitalism, racism, and morality in America throughout the film.
ReplyDeleteThe Good, Blondie, is a white, blond male by no mistake. He is also involved in a bounty hunting scam. He is entirely motivated by money, as this is the only reason he keeps Tuco (the ugly) alive on their search for the gold. He is clearly a critique of American capitalism and the anglo-right connotations given to this capitalism. The Ugly, Tuco, is a mexican. He is presented as a fool and somewhat of a comic relief. As mexicans were commonly portrayed in the classic western, he was only a secondary character that Blondie uses to make money. This is the european critique of racism in America that was prevelant in the mid nineteenth century toward most non-anglo ethnicities.
Navajo Joe can be seen as a criticism of America's treatment of the Indian. As Navajo Joe is a strong, dominating male, motivated by revenge, he takes on the role of an alpha male cowboy and transcends the role most indians are doomed to in the classic American western. Never before had a Native American taken such a strong role in a western, which shows the european influence on this film. They took a type of person previously oppressed in both America and the Western genre and gave him the power and dominance of the alpha male cowboy.
The differences in these speghetti westerns models the major difference between speghetti westerns and classic westerns: The european viewpoint and lense through which America is viewed and presented and the critique that is created by that viewpoint.