The Frontier Thesis and the American West Thesis

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The Magnificent Seven: The Taming of the American FrontierThe Magnificent Seven (1961) is a classic Western film which mythologizes the Old West as a wild, lawless place that can only be governed by the actions of a few good men. The film is an Americanized reboot of an even more famous Japanese classic film, The Seven Samurai, which depicts the actions of a terrorized Japanese town who ask a group of lordless, lawless samurai to protect them according to their code of honor. Not only does the referencing of the Japanese film make a claim for an American film to achieve the type of greatness as the Japanese film. It also suggests that the West, even though it contained terrible violence and risk, also called forth incredible nobility in the hearts of individuals like the gunslingers depicted in the film.In the film, a Mexican town is being assaulted by bandits, led by a chief known as Calvera. Without any help from the law, they seek the assistance of Chris Adams, who, in classical superhero fashion, begins assembling a team of outlaw (but good-hearted) associates. Many of these men are down on their luck, and are otherwise unable to make their way in the world, other than by gunslinging, such as Vin Tanner, who has wasted all his money gambling. The gunslingers are also multiracial, at least in the context of the film (the nonwhite characters are still played by white actors). For example, Bernardo O’Reilly is Irish-Mexican, and the young Chico was once a farmer, although he is portrayed as the most hot-headed character aching for a fight in the film.The film depicts the gunmen as gradually growing more and more attached to the villagers, and becoming more and more integrated in village life. Even when the villagers’ own will to overcome Calvera’s gang begins to waver, Chris demands that they fight back, which is ultimately shown to be the right thing to do. Bravery in the face of violence, even if one is an underdog, is also yet another important code of surviving in the west.

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…Society is less complex and more individualistic in the West, as can be seen in the rapidly-created ties between the seven men, and the ways those ties are rapidly dissipated. The codes of the hired guns do exist, and are just as valuable and unspoken as the ancient samurai, but they are generated by the wildness of the environment, otherwise the men and the villagers will die (and even pursuing their rough code, many still do). To live in the West requires “coarseness and strength” rather than following a conventional code of justice or the letter of the law (Cobbs et al. 41)The film is a defense of violence and a positive form of lawlessness as a means of survival. It makes the last shootout look honorable and exciting, and the violent but lawful code of the seven men is a distinct contrast with the money-hungry, bloodthirsty bandits. By extension, it makes the American colonization of the west (and many Mexican territories incorporated into America) as similarly honorable, even though it was often ugly, bloody, and….....

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