In the movie, the appearance of characters plays an important role. Matheson states that “the dirtier their faces, the darker their hearts” (892) and this is proven in the movie. When first introduced in the movie, Liberty Valance and his sidekicks are dirty and grimy, covering their faces with handkerchiefs as an attempt to protect their identities. From their appearances, viewers instantly realize that they are the “bad guys”. In this scene, they rob and beat Ransom Stoddard and leave him in the desert. Valance’s clothes also never change, showing that he is a static character, unaffected and unchanged by the events that occur. On the other hand, Tom Doniphon, is not dirty and grimy, but is also not overly clean. His clothes end up stained from dirt and sweat and his clothes are changed every day, showing that he changes throughout the course of the movie. Another character whose clothes and personality change throughout the course of the movie is Ransom Stoddard. His clothes are too civilized for the west since he is from a more civilized area. This helps illustrate that although he may change to help survive better in Shinbone, he will never truly fit in or become a cowboy.
Aside from his clothes, Stoddard has other traits that will prevent him from fitting in and becoming a cowboy. Unlike a cowboy, Stoddard is in touch with his feelings, marrying Hallie and going to live in a city. He also does not follow the laws of the west but instead tries to enforce the laws he knows as an attorney in the west. This is seen when Stoddard talks about how he wants to put Valance in jail and says that he does not want to kill him; the idea of killing a man bothers Stoddard.
As an alpha male cowboy, Doniphon must live alone outside of Shinbone. Although he loves her, he cannot marry Hallie and sets things up so that Stoddard and Hallie get married. Since Doniphon is a cowboy, he deals with his emotional turmoil by burning down his cabin, which he was putting an addition on for when he and Hallie married. The cabin burning is an example of use of film noir since it is, as Matheson states, a “[metaphor] that reflect[s] the physchological conditions of [the] [protagonist]” (890). Doniphon is also an alpha male cowboy because he realizes that he is the law. Matheson says that “[i]n Shinbone, the individual does not enforce the law; he is the law” (896). Doniphon proves this is true since he is able to do what it takes to make Shinbone a safer place – even if that means killing a man, such as Valance.
As the bad alpha male cowboy, Valance recognizes that there is no written law, and he is not afraid of using his gun to enforce his law. Valance is a callous savage, unaffected by the fact that he has beaten and murdered innocent individuals. He is not afraid of killing anyone who stands in the way of what he wants and is willing to do anything to get what he wants, no matter how cruel or unethical it may be. For example, he is unhappy about what Dutton Peabody prints about him in the newspaper, so Valance kills him. He is unaffected by the murder he commits, asking the doctor if another person has had an accident.
In the movie, the appearance of characters plays an important role. Matheson states that “the dirtier their faces, the darker their hearts” (892) and this is proven in the movie. When first introduced in the movie, Liberty Valance and his sidekicks are dirty and grimy, covering their faces with handkerchiefs as an attempt to protect their identities. From their appearances, viewers instantly realize that they are the “bad guys”. In this scene, they rob and beat Ransom Stoddard and leave him in the desert. Valance’s clothes also never change, showing that he is a static character, unaffected and unchanged by the events that occur. On the other hand, Tom Doniphon, is not dirty and grimy, but is also not overly clean. His clothes end up stained from dirt and sweat and his clothes are changed every day, showing that he changes throughout the course of the movie. Another character whose clothes and personality change throughout the course of the movie is Ransom Stoddard. His clothes are too civilized for the west since he is from the civilized east. This helps illustrate that although he may change to help survive better in Shinbone, he will never truly fit in or become a cowboy.
ReplyDeleteAside from his clothes, Stoddard has other traits that will prevent him from fitting in and becoming a cowboy. Unlike a cowboy, Stoddard is in touch with his feelings, marrying Hallie and going to live in a city. He also does not follow the laws of the west but instead tries to enforce the laws he knows as an attorney. This is seen when Stoddard talks about how he wants to put Valance in jail, not kill him; the thought of killing a man bothers Stoddard.
As an alpha male cowboy, Doniphon lives alone outside of Shinbone. Although he loves Hallie, he cannot marry her, and, instead, sets up Stoddard and Hallie, who get married. Since Doniphon is a cowboy, he deals with his emotional turmoil by burning down his cabin, on which he was putting an addition on for when he and Hallie married. The cabin burning is an example of use of film noir since it is, as Matheson states, a “[metaphor] that reflect[s] the physchological conditions of [the] [protagonist]” (890). He is also the “film noir antiher[o]…caught in an existentialist double bind” (897). He could have taken credit for killing Valance or even let Valance kill Stoddard, but instead he saves Stoddard by killing Valance and gives Stoddard the credit for it. He also makes sure that Stoddard and Hallie end up together and that Stoddard does well as a politician; as the alpha male cowboy, he “destroy his personal happiness by acting in good faith” (897). Doniphon is also an alpha male cowboy because he realizes that he is the law. Matheson says that “[i]n Shinbone, the individual does not enforce the law; he is the law” (896). Doniphon proves this is true since he is able to do what it takes to make Shinbone a safer place – even if that means killing a man, such as Valance.
Valence, on the other hand, is not an alpha male cowboy at all. As the “bad cowboy”, Valance recognizes that there is no written law, and he is not afraid of using his gun to enforce his law. He fits into a category of Matheson’s known as a “dandy”, wearing ornate clothes that do not belong in the desert, showing that he does not come from the land (895). He does not know how to behave in society so he mimics the actions of others (895). Matheson would also point out how his wardrobe never changes because he is a static character (895). Valance is a callous savage, unaffected by the fact that he has beaten and murdered innocent individuals. He is not afraid of killing anyone who stands in the way of what he wants and is willing to do anything to get what he wants, no matter how cruel or unethical it may be. For example, he is unhappy about what Dutton Peabody prints about him in the newspaper, so Valance kills him. He is unaffected by the murder he commits, asking the doctor if another person has had an accident. Valence is not an alpha male cowboy, but is, instead a sociopath.