WhatisaTypicalAmericanFilm?
IstheresuchathingasatypicalAmericanfilm?
ItistruethattherearemanyfeaturesthatmarkamovieasAmerican,
butperhapsthemostessentialfeatureisthethemeoftheloner-hero.
Fromtheearliestdaysofsilentfilms
untiltherecentextravagantsciencefictionfilms,
theAmericanmoviehasconcentratedontheroleofoneindividual
whospendshisorherlifecombatingtheforcesofevil—
usuallywinsbytheendofthefilm.
whichcomesoutofmanylegendsoftheAmericanWest,
atypicalfigureisthelonesomecowboy.
Hewandersintoatownandstraightensoutitstroubles.
Thosetroublescanbecattlerustlersorout-laws.
Thenthestrongandindependentherofadesoffintothesunsetalone.
Americanslikethisimageintheirfilms
becausetheyarehighlyindependentthemselves,
andindividualismcountsagreatdealwiththem.
Anindividualwhoisabletocorrecttheevilsoftheworld,
orofasmalltown,issomeonetoadmire.
averypopularformofthetypicalAmericanfilm,
usuallyhasahero.
Eitherheisalawmanouttocatchthecriminalsoragangster
whosuddenlyseesthelightandtriestogostraight.
Duringtheviolence?riddenperiodofProhibitioninthe1920s,
itisnaturalthatthegangstermoviewouldgrowinpopularity.
Thesefilmskeptthesametoneasthewestern—
thebadcannottriumph!
Onegoodpersoncansavetheinnocent.
Recentsciencefictionfilmsdealwiththesamethemes.
Againsttheforcesofalienpowers,
peoplewillfighttoprotecttheirideals.
Here,too,theactioncentersaroundasingleindividual,
butnowheorshemustsavetheworld.
