At the time of The
Searchers release racism was a hot issue. The Brown v. Board of education
decision was only two years old and to a generation who criticized Rock ‘n Roll
music by calling it “too black”, treating Native Americans as equals was
virtually unheard of. It was in this setting that John Ford released The Searchers, starring John Wayne as
the wildly and unapologetically racist Ethan Edwards. Although a large number
of western plots revolved around the conflict between western settlers and
Native Americans, at that time few dealt with the issue the way Ford did in The Searchers.
Ethan’s
harsh attitude towards Native Americans was evident from the very start of the
film. His dismay at Martin Pawley’s being 1/8 Cherokee was clear and even went
to the extent of him refusing to let Martin call him “Uncle”. His ruthlessness
is clear in one scene when we witness several clearly traumatized ex-Comanche
prisoners. One man remarks “It’s hard to believe they’re white.” to which Ethan
responds, “They’re not white anymore, they’re Comanche.” This racism even goes
so far as to motivate him to attempt to kill Debbie after it is clear she has “gone
Indian”. Furthermore he takes evident pleasure in the killing of Comanche, even
shooting the coins off of a dead Indians eyes so that he forced to wander the
spirit land.
To this
point, Ethan is clearly well-versed in Comanche culture, even knowing their
language. This becomes extremely telling in his encounter with Scar. After years
of tracking they come face to face and show evident displeasure at each of them
knowing the others language. More surprising is the revelation that in addition
to language, Scar and Ethan also share a similar motivation for killing. Scar
reveals that his impetus for killing white men comes from the fact that they
took three of his son’s lives.
Seldom in
the film industry of the time were Native Americans even humanized enough to
speak a commonly understood language. It was surprising that Ford drew such
attention to the plight of the Indians when so many films treated them as
heartless savages. He even took the care to include their children in the film
when most other films choose to glaze over this detail.
Through
Ethan’s growth from hardened racist to someone who accepts Debbie after she
allegedly was converted to Comanche after living with some long and finally to
walking off into the sunset we question whether he is the real protagonist or
if the Comanche are really the bad guys.
Although The Searchers is a long way off from Dances With Wolves, it did send a strong
message concerning racism in a time where this message was much needed. In this
way it was revolutionary in addition to being entertaining and using pioneering
panoramic camerawork that exposed the rugged beauty of America’s Midwest.
Marshall Fegenbush
I think it’s relevant to mention the tension and the racism that is found in The Searchers, considering it is one the main themes in the film. I like how you go into the detail on the scene where Ethan is at the village talking with the man and he says that the women there “not white anymore, they’re Comanche.” One could interpret it in many ways including the way that you did, but another way to construe this line, is maybe Ethan was dehumanizing the women? The topic of women is also a major theme in The Searchers that I think you could have also tied in with racism. Both racism and the dehumanizing of women are very similar in the film. They (the Indians and women) both struggle for their voice during this time era, and Hollywood does not help them find it. Going back to the scene with Ethan and the insane women, the insane women represent the entire white community during this time. Hollywood used film to manipulate audience's that men had all of the power, while women were weak and mirrored the same issues between whites and blacks during this time era.
ReplyDeleteI agree that racism was a controversial issue at the time The Searchers was released, but I would argue that this film does portray the Comanche Indians as the bad guys. For example, when Aaron and Martha are can tell the Indians are coming to their house they try to make their house look empty by boarding up the windows and blowing out all of the candles. When Lucy realizes what’s happening, she lets out a terrified shriek. Without even seeing the Indians yet, the audience already thinks of them as the enemy. The buildup of fear from this scene only intensifies when Scar is first seen. The audience sees his shadow first, creeping up on Debbie. Then the camera jumps to Scar who is presumably looking at Debbie. The camera shot is from below, making Scar look even more menacing. Racism shapes the plot of this film, and drives the characters actions. Ethan thinks of the Indians as enemies, and since he is the main character the audience would seem to lean toward this belief as well. The search for Debbie throughout the movie is driven by racism and preventing her from becoming a Comanche. This is Ethan’s motivation to get her back; even after they she sends them away once they find her. Although Ethan tries to kill her the first time they find her, and probably would have killed her the second time, she gives in and lets Ethan take her home. I assume the reason he didn’t harm her is because he knew she hadn’t become a full Comanche and there was still hope for her to integrate back into her old life. Throughout the movie, there are many racial slurs and actions against the Comanche Indians; therefore I believe this film demonstrates the racism of that time period by depicting the Indians as the enemy.
ReplyDeleteMary Walker (Group 9)
I agree, racism was definitely an underlying topic in this film, The Searchers. You say that there is an important message about racism in this film, but you do not state the exact words of this message, and by reading your blog I think I understand what these words might be. I agree that not only was it filmed at a time of great change (concerning racial boundaries) within American society, but the film's main character, Ethan Edwards, was also portrayed to have struggled with deep-seated resentment towards another race in the film, the Camanche. I surmise that by mentioning Ethan’s resentment, you wanted the reader to identify his character with “racism issues” of the time. However, in your first paragraph, you also mention that the Brown vs. Board education decision (one that provided African Americans with more freedom) was made only two years prior to the release of The Searchers, and later you mention the mysterious last scene in the film, which shows Ethan helping a Camanche. Perhaps by including this information as relevant, you wanted the reader to not only identify Ethan with racism, but also take note of his change in character throughout the film and relate this change to the change in racial segregation policy overtime. In short, your message could be this: Ethan’s character, representing prevalent racial issues at the time of filming, eventually softens and he disappears at the end of the film, just as in history, racial issues eventually lessen and dissipate.
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