The Great American Western: American Mythology in True Grit

The Western is a genre that I think many would consider being strongly ‘American’. The mythology of the ‘Old West’ and what goes on there is all highly glorified in our culture. We all get excited about shootouts at high noon, cowboy and Indian chases, and many other stereotypical events of the genre because the whole tome and message of these kinds of texts touches upon what many feel is a sense of American identity.

Western expansion, overcoming the rugged terrain and “vicious natives”, and fulfilling our manifest destiny was the main goal of the time periods that Westerns portray. During those times, we thought what we were doing as a nation was not only necessary, but our divine right to so. As a result, there is a glorification and a glossing over of the more grizzly details of western expansion. We see gunfights and exciting chases but gloss over how Americans, in many cases, were the bad guys who forced people off of their land, destroyed that land, and killed many of our native animals (specifically American buffalo). But great Western texts aren’t about any of that. They’re usually about revenge and violence and getting “what we deserve”.

This is where True Grit comes in. True Grit fits perfectly into the mythology of Western texts. It glorifies men with “true grit” who are rough and tumble and who don’t always follow the rules; who are good with a gun but not with manners. This character, obviously, is Rooster Cogburn. We know Rooster isn’t a ‘good guy’, he’s self-interested and a drunkard, but still we see him as the hero. He is pardoned of all the bad things he does because he is a man of “true grit” and it’s men like him that “win the west” and that will help Mattie attain her goal. Mattie’s goal fits into the whole idea of getting revenge and achieving what she thinks she deserves (the opportunity to kill the man who shot her father).

When it comes to great western characters, they all tend to be very similar. The fact that every major western hero was played by John Wayne is probably a testament to this. John Wayne is Rooster Cogburn in the 1969 film version of True Grit, and the fact that he is played by John Wayne adds to the whole infallible, mystical quality of this rough and tough western man. It’s ‘American’ to us because this is how we saw ourselves during the time of western expansion. Even though we know better now, there is still this rose-tinted way we look back on manifest destiny and western expansion and all things having to do with it.  

Western texts are truly part of the American mythos. They show how we viewed ourselves during the time of western expansion and there are still many people who subscribe to the ideals portrayed in these texts. Guns are given a lot of importance; being able to fire one is a sign of a true western man. Now we look at guns much less favorably, but there are many who defend their usage for many different reasons, but I do think in some respects some of this defense might come from the glorifying of them in this very ‘American’ genre. The right to bare arms is an ‘American right’ and westerns are all about exercising that right. Westerns and their values are incredibly problematic, or at the very least, archaic. Many recognize the dated factor to these values but still look on these texts with favor because it speaks to the ‘inner Patriot’ on some level. Westerns are undoubtedly a major part of the American mythology.

In Class Writing: Most Important Values

1.     Hard work

2.     Loyalty

3.     Honesty/Being Genuine

4.     Understanding

5.     Treating others with respect and thoughtfulness

One of my favorite movies of all time is “How to Train Your Dragon”. I love that movie to pieces and I think that there are several of my core values embedded in that film. Throughout much of the film, Hiccup is dishonest with his family and friends about what he is doing. He not being genuine about being a 'Viking' in his father's sense, but he is being true to himself when he starts training and being friends with dragons rather than fighting them. A lot of that movie is also about understanding. The old adage, ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’ succinctly wraps up how the Vikings view the dragons. Hiccup is the only one willing to learn and understand the dragons. He treats them differently than any other Vikings do, with respect and thoughtfulness, and achieves friendship with them as a result.

Influence on Wes Anderson's Grand Budapest Hotel

Wes Anderson’s film, The Grand Budapest Hotel is clearly inspired and heavily influenced by the writings of Stefan Zweig. The setting of a Grand Hotel is something already that is a clear reference or similarity between the two texts.  The time period also feels very similar in the two texts, around the in-between war eras. But beyond the obvious and superficial, there is much that is similar between The Grand Budapest Hotel and the writings of Stefan Zweig, specifically the novella Twenty-four Hours in the Life of a Woman.

Twenty-four Hours in the Life of a Woman is several stories within a story. We must follow the main story of the narrator that we are introduced to, but then the narrator shifts to Mrs. C as she tells her story. The same thing happens in The Grand Budapest Hotel. We are introduced to a narrator, which then shifts to a different narrator. When Zero tells his story about his life and his interaction with Mr. Gustave, he becomes the narrator. This is a pretty common literary technique so it may night be a direct influence. I don’t know when Wes Anderson started reading Zweig’s works and I don’t know how that whole timeline of when he made these movies plays out so it could be a situation of finding a fellow artist or author who speaks to you because of your similarities.

Mr. Gustave as a character also feels like he fits in perfectly in the world of Twenty-four Hours in the Life of a Woman. He could easily be the enchanting stranger who whisks away Henriette. He is an idealized man, something mysterious and perfect in every situation. Mr. Gustave is flawed but always exudes this mystery and sense of perfection, and perhaps this is because his personification is through the perception of Zero, who looked up to the man.

I think this idealization of characters and situations is also something that is a common thread between the two texts. Both of them have a surreal-ness to them. The language is not necessarily how people would talk. The situations and characters are exaggerated and theatrical in a way that is verging on not realistic. In fact, at least in Wes Anderson’s films, none of the places he uses are real. I mentioned that he uses a similar time period, where it’s in between wars. But in Grand Budapest Hotel, the soldiers that attack him aren’t “Nazis”. It’s nonspecific for a reason. It continues this sense of “story” that everything is falsified in a way or exaggerated.

I would have to read more of Zweig’s work, but I think that the influence on Wes Anderson stylistically is clear. They both create similar types of characters and characterize them in similar ways. They nest stories within stories and they place their texts in similar time periods and locations. Not to say that Wes Anderson isn’t original, because we are all a mix of our influences and every work is a melding of influences that came before it. 

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest: Director of Photography

I’ve heard of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and have heard it referenced many times but have never watched it or read it. If I were to direct the photography for a new adaptation of the story, I would ensure to use the camera to support the main themes of the story and to subtly suggest mental state of the characters as well as their position and personality.

Camera angles on the silent but pivotal Bromden should always be upshots to show the power that he holds and the significance of his character. Throughout the film, the audience will know that he is important and will be subconsciously waiting for him to play his major part. Then, when the end comes we can all feel a sense of satisfaction that Bromden was the one to give McMurphy relief by the end. Also all of the shots of Bromden when he is being shaven already have specific direction. His fear in this situation is emphasized by extreme close ups and the distortion of the sound of the clippers. Extreme close ups like this can be used throughout the film to emphasize a character’s fear or anxiety, like Billy right before he kills himself.

The general overall feel of the facility should be starkly contrasted with the few times that the company leaves the facility. The inside of the facility should be shot harshly, with bright uncomfortable lights so it feels sterile and harsh. Bars of light/grids caused by window blinds or the grating on the windows can help make the whole facility feel like a prison, which it really is. There are often significant shots of Bromden looking out the window, so these would be opportune times for this.

After McMurphy undergoes electroshock therapy, there should definitely be a change in the way the film is shot, and the way McMurphy is shot especially. After electroshock, McMurphy is thrown off his game, and so everything should feel skewed. The rest of the inmates think that everything is back to normal, but the audience will know that there is no going back to how it was before. McMurphy should be made to look smaller, less powerful, and just overall off from how he started out. Maybe even shooting it to be more muted in color can show the loss of some of his self that has gone on and exacerbate his determination to push back against Nurse Ratched and his situation.

The party should feel like a fever dream. Once it gets going and all the inmates are involved in it, shots should be more and more rapid from one part of the party to the next. Tilting angles and perhaps even a moving or handheld camera could be used to make the viewers feel part of all the crazy action that’s happening. It will be stark in contrast to how the facility is normally shot, where it is stale and stiff and orderly. All order is now gone in one dramatic push from McMurphy against this system. But it gets out of his control, whether he knows it or not, and the audience will feel that through the camera angles and unbalanced nature of how the whole thing is shot.

I definitely want to see this movie and see how the camera angles and cinematography play in to the themes and key changes in the story.