Spaghetti western films differ from the western films made in America mostly because of the roles specific characters play, and the amount of violence seen throughout the films. These two characteristics make a statement about how other countries viewed the United States during that time period. The film Navajo Joe chronicles the life of an Indian, and how he saves an American village after his is attacked by outlaws. The film opens with Navajo Joe's village being ransacked by American men. The Americans are extremely brutal and violent toward the Indian tribe, while Navajo Joe is depicted as a hero; he is captured and tortured by the white Americans on multiple occasions because of his heroic actions. In American western films, the roles are reversed, and the Indians are displayed in a negative light, portraying the American cowboys as heros and role-models. This is one aspect where the spaghetti western differs from the American western.
Similarly, in The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, the three main characters Blondie, Tuco, and Angel Eyes, all make multiple alliances and friendships throughout the film, but end up going against all of them in order to find the golden treasure. Each one is willing to back-stab the other in order to further himself in the journey to find and claim the treasure for himself. Because of this, the film is full of violence and shoot-outs, portraying the American west as an extremely violent place. This differs from American westerns where violence is present, but at a much smaller extent. Typically, American western films build up to a major encounter between two forces at the end, but the spaghetti westerns have violence throughout the entire film.
This hints towards the fact that foreign countries looked towards America as a self-serving country willing to use any type of force, whether justified or not, to achieve its goals.
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Spaghetti western films differ from the western films made in America mostly because of the roles specific characters play, and the amount of violence seen throughout the films. These two characteristics make a statement about how other countries viewed the United States during that time period. The film Navajo Joe chronicles the life of an Indian, and how he saves an American village after his is attacked by outlaws. The film opens with Navajo Joe's village being ransacked by American men. The Americans are extremely brutal and violent toward the Indian tribe, while Navajo Joe is depicted as a hero; he is captured and tortured by the white Americans on multiple occasions because of his heroic actions. In American western films, the roles are reversed, and the Indians are displayed in a negative light, portraying the American cowboys as heroes and role-models. This is one aspect where the spaghetti western differs from the American western.
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This hints towards the fact that foreign countries looked towards America as a self-serving country willing to use any type of force, whether justified or not, to achieve its goals.