Contradicting Ideologies In The Searchers
Contradicting Ideologies in The Searchers
While The Searchers can be viewed from a critical standpoint as a ‘revisionist’ Western in terms of its portrayal of Native Americans, certain aspects of the film contradict this overall message. One such aspect is the character Look, who serves a role both as comic relief and as commentary on racist depictions of Native Americans. The Searchers does a superb job of highlighting the contorted representation of Indians in the Western genre, but Director John Ford’s comic portrayal of Look unwittingly reflects the prejudices and stereotypes entrenched in American culture in the 1950s.
Look, or “Wild Goose Flying Across the Night Sky,” appears in a brief flashback sequence delivered from Marty’s point of view in a letter to Laurie. The scene portrays Marty’s quest with Ethan to find the Comanche Chief Scar who had kidnapped his adoptive sister Debbie years earlier. While attempting to purchase a blanket from a Comanche tribe with connections to Scar, Marty …show more content…
This, however, conflicts directly with how Ford uses Look’s character as a comic figure in previous scenes. When Look’s body is discovered in the final flashback her death even awakens a moment of sympathy from the profoundly racist Ethan, who covers her body with a blanket. This scene highlights incongruities in the value of white and Indian lives. Historically, the audiences of Westerns were encouraged to grieve for the loss of white characters and applaud the death of Indian characters. This trend is continued in The Searchers. Although Look’s death is treated with sorrow and compassion, her death is comprehensible and viewable to the audience because her portrayal rarely rises above that of a comic stereotype. By contrast, Ford’s camera does not reveal Martha and Lucy’s bodies to the audience out of deference and reverence to their
While The Searchers can be viewed from a critical standpoint as a ‘revisionist’ Western in terms of its portrayal of Native Americans, certain aspects of the film contradict this overall message. One such aspect is the character Look, who serves a role both as comic relief and as commentary on racist depictions of Native Americans. The Searchers does a superb job of highlighting the contorted representation of Indians in the Western genre, but Director John Ford’s comic portrayal of Look unwittingly reflects the prejudices and stereotypes entrenched in American culture in the 1950s.
Look, or “Wild Goose Flying Across the Night Sky,” appears in a brief flashback sequence delivered from Marty’s point of view in a letter to Laurie. The scene portrays Marty’s quest with Ethan to find the Comanche Chief Scar who had kidnapped his adoptive sister Debbie years earlier. While attempting to purchase a blanket from a Comanche tribe with connections to Scar, Marty …show more content…
This, however, conflicts directly with how Ford uses Look’s character as a comic figure in previous scenes. When Look’s body is discovered in the final flashback her death even awakens a moment of sympathy from the profoundly racist Ethan, who covers her body with a blanket. This scene highlights incongruities in the value of white and Indian lives. Historically, the audiences of Westerns were encouraged to grieve for the loss of white characters and applaud the death of Indian characters. This trend is continued in The Searchers. Although Look’s death is treated with sorrow and compassion, her death is comprehensible and viewable to the audience because her portrayal rarely rises above that of a comic stereotype. By contrast, Ford’s camera does not reveal Martha and Lucy’s bodies to the audience out of deference and reverence to their