![]() But the American Dream, for all intents and purposes, was simply the way the country wished to see itself, not a true reflection of the national populace. The old adage of a chicken in every pot and a car in every garage encapsulated what was considered an ideal American life: tranquil, economically viable and, most importantly, acquiescent and inconspicuous. citizens sought comfort during a transformative time in the country’s history. Such iconography can be found throughout Ford’s work, but it is essential to note just how the context shifts over time.įord’s post-WWII films tend to reflect the burgeoning American Dream, an ideal that came into being after U.S. Ford’s earlier Westerns possess something of a sunnier disposition, or are at the very least a kind of mirroring of the “Wild West” forever etched into the American consciousness: dusty trails, ten gallon hats, rolling tumbleweeds and, perhaps most prominently, the six-shooter pistol. Perhaps the more apt statement is “John Ford mastered the Western,” or even “John Ford created the Western.”įord made a number of notable films outside the genre, but in looking specifically at his Westerns, one is able to discern all they need to know about the director: his sense of humor, his moral and political values, his trademark visual and thematic idiosyncrasies. ![]() One of the few inarguable statements in all of cinema is, “John Ford made Westerns.” It’s inarguable in the sense that it’s patently true-like saying Preminger made noirs or Sirk made melodramas-but also in the sense that Ford seemed to embody the ethos of the genre.
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