By Alireza Vahdani
The re-conceptualization of violence
The representation of violence in Italian westerns
differs fundamentally from the American westerns. The re-conceptualization of
violence in the former is a reflection of violence in the Italian society of
the 1960s. Lino Micciché cited in Frayling (2006, p.55) explores this notion by
writing: “the Italian Westerner … [is] a commonplace of the everyday psyche of
the ‘average’ Italian [who has] the urge to overwhelm … in order not to be
overwhelmed, the urge to guarantee that you will not become anyone’s victim.”
This everydayness of violence is the first level of difference from Hollywood
films. In the latter, a community and/or a person seeks peace. The obstacle to
peace arises from the usage of violence by others. However, in Italian westerns
the protagonist or the community has another approach. They utilize violence
not for defending themselves, but for avoiding being violated. Whereas in
Hollywood films the proper etiquette is to calm the situation, in Italian films
the protagonist aims to provoke violence as much as possible. Joe proves this
notion in the first fifteen minutes of “A Fistful of Dollars” by murdering four
people because they make fun of his mule.
The next point is that Italians are more explicit than
Americans in their depiction of violence. According to Frayling (2006), in
tandem with some other American directors, John Ford did not like European
westerns because they were “too violent.” Moreover, John Cawelti in Bondanella
(1996, p.235) writes that “[in] the classic [American] westerns … violence was
the fault of evil and corrupt men.” I think that Ford and others failed to
understand the representation of violence in Italian westerns; unlike the
American western, in the Italian western violence does not have symbolic or
moral meaning. For example, in “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance” (1962) John
Ford represents the antagonist, Liberty Valance (Lee Marvin), as the villain by
portraying him as a thief and a brutal man. Valance tears apart Ransom
Stoddard’s (James Stewart) law books to illustrate that his character is an
outlaw. Moreover, he kicks Stoddard to establish himself as a violent man; but
there are no shotguns, no vulgar language and even the kicking is not that
harsh. However, Ford sets Valance apart as a violent antagonist with the use of
symbols (e.g. law books).
The essential contrast to the above example is the way
that Leone portrays his antagonist, Ramón (Gian Maria Volonté), in “A Fistful
of Dollars”. Prior to Ramón’s first appearance in the film, Joe (and hence the
spectators) learns from the film’s characters that Ramón is an artist with a
gun; and that he shows little mercy towards others. Tension is built leading up
to Ramón’s introduction at approximately twenty-five minutes. The audience
wonders: “is he really that good with guns?” “is he really a vicious man?”
Using violence in a symbolic manner not only bypasses the generic codes of the Italian
western, but destroys the suspense generated around the antagonist. Leone
cleverly avoids any symbolic attempt at the antagonist’s portrayal. Therefore,
the first time that the audience encounters Ramón is when he is behind an
automatic machine gun slaughtering a whole platoon. Furthermore, his great
marksmanship is demonstrated when a wounded soldier tries to escape and Ramón
shoots him dead with his Winchester rifle at distance. In Italian westerns
characters are privileged with an absolute freedom to use violence.
The secularization
of Biblical themes
As Bertrand Russell (1961) espouses, Judeo-Christian
traditions have had a great influence on Western culture and art. Biblical
themes can always be found in the films of both continents. Bertellini (2004)
believes that the man with no name’s visit to Saint Miguel can be likened to
the entrance of Jesus to Jerusalem. The evidence is tangible; he is coming from
the desert on a mule; and he enters a corrupt town with the aim of making
changes. Up to this point the narrative is classically Biblical. However, the
contrast starts from the point the audience learns that Joe is not trying to
bring salvation for others, but for himself. If Jesus brought the message of
‘love’ and ‘peace’ to Jerusalem, Joe conveys concepts of ‘death’ and ‘personal
gain’ to Saint Miguel.
The above claim can be contested if one considers that
towards the end of the film Joe saves the honor of a young woman, Marisol
(Marriane Koch), and reunites her with her family. He also saves her life by
not telling Ramón of her whereabouts, an act which leads to his torture.
Nevertheless, this act of self-sacrifice helps Joe as well as Marisol. When
Marisol asks him why he is helping her, he responds: “I knew someone like you.
No one was there to help.” This response perhaps suggests that in the past Joe
was a simple man without the skills of a hero, like most of the film’s viewers.
If this is seen as an admission of self-defeat, then helping Marisol allows him
to overcome personal demons. Therefore, the spectators learn that to be useful
to themselves and others, they need to be as strong as Joe.
The Biblical ethos of Italian westerns is also different
from the American films. In American westerns the concept of God shapes the
faith and destiny of its people; whereas in Italian westerns God does not
intervene and is absent from the films. In the Hollywood western the
incarnation of God is often likened to the idea of the ‘Garden’. Cooke (2007)
argues that seeking the garden –that is, the idea of the family in a developed
land– is the most significant ideology of American westerns. In the last
sequence of “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance”, Hallie Stoddard (Vera Miles)
tells her husband that their hometown (Shinbone) was once an undeveloped land,
but now it is a garden. Many western film critics have suggested that the
garden is an allusion to the Garden of Eden, and America, with its newly
‘civilized’ land, representing a new Garden of Eden.
In opposition to this usage of Biblical themes, Leone
gives us a secular version of God. The signs and icons of a divine being are
indeed present: crosses, churches, the platonic man with no name (like Jesus),
and so on. However, God does not challenge the violent men of Saint Miguel. He
lets them sort their problems out on their own. This forms the ideological
rationale as to why the Italian westerns are violent; God has left us already,
so we can do whatever we want. Even Joe’s deeds do not bring peace to Saint
Miguel. He simply annihilates the men and leaves the town before the American
and Mexican armies enter.
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