Some sanctimonious hypocrites always intend to stand arrogantly on the moral high ground, and after just reading the introduction of this film or simply clicking on a small clip, they will use the most despicable and irresponsible language to describe this Western film. One of the best films of all time insults into what they call a "junk movie" and even "insults their IQ", casually twisting the film into something that seems to be all about racist bigotry. Admittedly, they can of course rate a film one star, which is their freedom, but to insult this great landmark film with insulting language, and incidentally insult the audience who said it was good, then It has to be said that these people are no different from the racists they criticize: the same personal idealism, narrow-minded and selfish. I have a sympathetic attitude towards this kind of person, because no matter how you "depreciate their IQ", it doesn't seem to go anywhere, because their IQ is just that.
It's hard to understand why these hypocrites cling to "racist prejudice" while ignoring "the vast desert landscape of the Western, the adventurous spirit, and a profound depiction of what the interracial conflict looked like at the time" (excerpted from "Chicago Sun"), of course, selective understanding is the ill of these people, and psychology has a very clear definition of this phenomenon, "selective memory."
A few details:
1. This film is not a complete confrontation between Indians and whites. As long as you watch it carefully, you will remember that when Ethan and Martin walked through the Indian camp that was swept up by the army, when Martin saw the killed "Look", he said "she is not wrong, why kill her", And Ethan also rarely covered her eyes with "Look" blankets to show respect for the deceased, which was not uncommon for Ethan, a Confederate officer with apparently complex racism. At the same time, it is also a foreshadowing for the final restoration of the human nature of the family. In the back, Ethan and Martin walked into the tent of the white women captured by the army, the girl with a nervous breakdown and giggling, and the screaming middle-aged woman who tried Debbie's doll as her daughter, arguably the worst in the long-term white-Indian conflict. Vivid and cruel feedback: the collapsed people, constantly being captured and tortured, have no stable life. Could it be that those hypocrites can't even understand this fragment? There is never a winner in a conflict, it's just white and Indian slaughtering each other, and only the people suffer.
2. Some people at station B said that John Wayne played the role of "slick surface", but never thought that this was the success of the character created by John Ford. The historical background cannot be ignored: 3 years after the end of the Civil War, Ethan, who was adrift, returned to his brother's home. The Civil War had a severe impact on American values and most economic industries at the time, and the Confederacy, which was defended and loved by the "Northern Wolf" "arrogant and powerful northern government" (from "Leviathan - American Whaling") Description of a Confederate officer in History)) defeated and occupied the land of the South, the confusion and pain of the Confederate soldiers cannot be ignored, they cannot believe that they have been defeated, and they love this Confederation, which later generations denounced as racist Not because I hate black people (most don't), but simply because I don't like northerners and love this southern land. So when Ethan returned from wandering, the middle-aged John Wayne just exemplified the tiredness of the man returning from the war, showing a rare tenderness to women. He didn't say where he went or what he did in three years, it was all worthless.
In addition, this film is not intended to create a sharpshooter hero like the westerns made in Italy at the same time, but a revenge that is extremely close to Captain Ahab in "Moby Dick", withdrawn, cruel, self-willed and lost relatives Became a terrible vengeful maniac, inhumane. This would explain why many hypocrites satirize the "slick face", which is the success of the characterization, being able to impress and think about the meaning behind it.
3. The rescue of Debbie can reflect the mental journey of the two characters: Ethan finally let go of his racism complex, and the purest family affection replaced his cold heart, "Let's go home", which makes people reflect, Ethan Completed the post-war redemption; Martin's sense of justice grew, even though Chief Scar killed his parents, and even learned that the chief in the tent was showing off his mother's scalp, but even if Debbie was assimilated into one. A Comanche, his love for his sister still makes him take great risks to save despite hatred and death. It can be said that Martin has really become a man, not as boyish as he used to be, he can give up Laurie's love to follow Ethan to complete a possibly hopeless search.
4. Debbie is also a complex and contradictory character. She loves her relatives who came from afar to rescue her, but she can't bear to betray the Comanche family. "They are my family." She symbolizes the psychological pain and contradiction of the white people after being captured by the Indians. When she is brought into the home of the Jorgensons in the last scene of the film, the confusion and confusion on her face are perfectly reflected: the white people are white again. , how should the spiritual transformation be accomplished? John Ford faintly threw a question, and in the end, Ethan's back in the yellow sand of the day and disappeared with the door frame closed, there is also a kind of deep confusion: the meaning and value of all this, in the entire western river, the individual appears Very small and humble.
5. Interesting plot: When Martin fought with Charlie Macquarie, who was married, Mrs. Jorgensen also wanted to watch the fight, but was forced into the door by Ethan, "You should be a lady". Ironically, other old ladies were rushing to join in the fun from the window, greedily planning to watch the fight. Here, it alludes to the repression of women and the emancipation of feminism that will inevitably usher in the future. Women finally do not intend to be "lady", but to play a role that can participate in any affairs.
At the end of this article, I just want to remind those hypocrites that a small IQ can still be greatly improved, as long as it gets rid of the limitations of the times and absorbs its essence and removes its dross, such a characterization and art are not only in Westerns, even in film history. It is a landmark movie that has a profound impact on later directors, and it always produces some deeper thoughts. Holding on to "racism" under a Western movie, regardless of the limitations of the times, will only show its own ignorance. Besides, if you read this movie a little carefully, you will see that John Ford is not trying to "demonize Indians" Justify white people"
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