The Searchers- Film Report
My first impression of this movie was that it is a very racist one. Here you meet racism in
all its forms: in character's traits, in the captivity narrative, in the stereotypical image of
Indians , and also in the white people fear of miscegenation .The film is not an objective one
because it does not present the real relations between Indians and whites, but it reflects the
cultural beliefs of its time about Indians and their social and sexual imp 22322q162w act on the white people.
The
plot is very simply put forward. Ethan Edwards, a veteran of the confederate
army returns three years after the Civil War has ended to his brother's farm in
The main theme of the movie, racism is first reflected in the traits of character of Ethan and Martin. Ethan is a fervent racist, who really hates Indians. He wants to kill Debbie only because he thinks that, living for so many years with Indians she "is not white anymore" as he precisely says. He also thinks that her mother would had wished that too. When he says to Martin what his intentions are ,Martin's response is "she's alive and she's gonna stay alive", but Ethan believes that "Living with Comanches ain't being alive". His obsession with Indians makes him a "psychologically-disturbed man who will always remain outside society and the community". But in spite of his hate for Indians we find in Ethan some attributes associated stereotypically with Indians: "he understands the nuances of Indian culture, customs and beliefs and can speak Comanche language". So in the end Ethan appears as an antihero, he is the "mirror image of Scar seen from the other side of social beliefs".
The real hero is Martin, a very mature, noble, protective of the whites, and not that obsessed with the purity of this race. He was adopted by Aaron, after his parents had been killed by Indians. Being part Indian he is more open-minded and he has a different view about miscegenation. Ethan remarks on his Indian-ness at the beginning of the film "a fella could mistake you for a half-breed". But Martin indeed has some certain "indian" traits ," displaying aspects of Indian instincts". He understands Debbie and he is very determined to take her home safe and sound.
Racism is also met in this fear of white people of miscegenation. Sexual relationships between
Indians and whites occurred almost since the first moment the two groups first
met in
Ford also presents two examples of the sexual horrors of the Indians through Ethan's eyes, these presenting a stereotypical image of Indian savage behavior. First, after the Indian raid when, calling for Martha he first finds her blue dress, covert with dirt. Although we don't really see Martha, from Ethan's sadness we presume that she has been raped prior her death and maybe even mutilated. And the other example is when he finds Lucy's body in the canyon and he is so angry with what he had seen that he doesn't even want to talk about it. "Miscegenation itself is never mentioned ,but the negative implications of it pervade the whole film".
The movie also depicts racism in the captivity narrative. This is "a basic form of American popular culture, which has been first popularized in the late 17th century, after the publication of Mary Rowlandson's account of her captivity". The captivity narrative presented the image of Indian men taking captive white women and displaying their cruelty upon them. They also presented the fear of "unrepressed sexuality" and that white women, developing intimate emotional and physical relations with their captors ,in the end, might choose to stay with them than to return to their white homes. This happens also in the film. When Martin and Ethan first find Debbie she says to Martin: "These are my people now.go, Martin, go, please.". She is now the wife of the Comanche chief, Scar and came to love Indians and understand their way of living. Now she doesn't want to go home anymore. So, the captivity of Debbie differs from the traditional captivity narrative because, "unlike other captives, she resists the attempts at rescue by the <white heroes>".
As an overview to what has been mentioned , this movie presents the stereotypical image of Indians and the racist view of the American society. They are seen as cruel, barbarous brutes bloodthirsty savages that kidnap white woman to rape and kill them. There are few images that present them otherwise. For example Look, Martin's Indian "wife", is a kind of comic character ,that in a way represents Ford's intention to smooth the main perspective. Even Ethan makes fun of them and finds it a very normal situation. In addition to this, in spite of Ethan's hatred for Indians he accepts Martin(who is part indian) and also Debbie, managing to surpass his prejudice.
All in all, I would say that the movie presents only the racist view of the American society of those times, and that we should read between the lines and find their real image, not this subjective point of view influenced by the beliefs and fears of those people. This movie should be a search for the truth, and not for revenge.
Bibliography: www.rogerebert.suntimes.com
www.qwipster.net/searchers
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