IstheresuchathingasatypicalAmericanfilm?ItistruethattherearemanyfeaturesthatmarkamovieasAmerican,butperhapsthemostessentialfeatureisthethemeoftheloner-hero.Fromtheearliestdaysofsilentfilmsuntiltherecentextravagantsciencefictionfilms,theAmericanmoviehasconcentratedontheroleofoneindividualwhospendshisorherlifecombatingtheforcesofevil—andthegoodguy,thehero,usuallywinsbytheendofthefilm.Inthewesternmovie,whichcomesoutofmanylegendsoftheAmericanWest,atypicalfigureisthelonesomecowboy.
Hewandersintoatownandstraightensoutitstroubles.Thosetroublescanbecattlerustlersorout-laws.Thenthestrongandindependentherofadesoffintothesunsetalone.Americanslikethisimageintheirfilmsbecausetheyarehighlyindependentthemselves,andindividualismcountsagreatdealwiththem.Anindividualwhoisabletocorrecttheevilsoftheworld,orofasmalltown,issomeonetoadmire.Eventhegangstermovie,averypopularformofthetypicalAmericanfilm,usuallyhasahero.
Eitherheisalawmanouttocatchthecriminalsoragangsterwhosuddenlyseesthelightandtriestogostraight.Duringtheviolence?riddenperiodofProhibitioninthe1920s,itisnaturalthatthegangstermoviewouldgrowinpopularity.Thesefilmskeptthesametoneasthewestern—thebadcannottriumph!Onegoodpersoncansavetheinnocent.Recentsciencefictionfilmsdealwiththesamethemes.Againsttheforcesofalienpowers,peoplewillfighttoprotecttheirideals.Here,too,theactioncentersaroundasingleindividual,butnowheorshemustsavetheworld.
