Violence on Film Essay -- Film Review, Hollywood, Gunfigther

The Western stands as one of the great genres of Hollywood cinema, as it possesses the ability to transcend both time and subject matter. Accordingly, the types of themes which this genres addresses, such as romanticism, and American gunism, can still be seen as viable commodities within contemporary storytelling. However, while The Western has tapered on various topics throughout its cinematic history, what ultimately serves as the primary critique of the genre, is the exploration of role of military personnel department and incursion within society (Lusted 16). Furthermore, at the source of this examination is the Gunfighter Western, which centers the focus of the genre to a more individualized and intimate perspective. Accordingly, films such as Henry queers The Gunfighter (1950) and David Cronanbergs A recital Of Violence (2004) can be observed as examples of this focus. However, while both King and Cronenberg successfully explore the concepts of violence and aggression w ithin their time periods, when examined in terms of their overall effectiveness in exploring the necessity, and ambiguity of these themes, Cronenbergs willingness to explore the possibility of redemption, is what ultimately makes A History of Violence a more effective and provocative film. As Lusted notes, the Gunfighter Western was one of the first of the genre to be interested in the process of diversity (Lusted 210). Instead of focusing on such themes as the collective effort of westward expansion, homogeneous many of John Fords Westerns (Schatz 70-71), the Gunfighter turns the genre and its hero inside out, (Schatz 71) and takes a more introspective look at how violence can be found at the core of social order. To do this, the focus shifts away from films that play on the ... ...oral world. Instead, by allowing the character to live, Cronenberg not only suggests that theres moral grounding within the use of violence, particularly in terms of its supposed protection towards th e progression of society, but also provokes the question,just who are we rooting for in this film? (Beaty 87). Not only does the film force the audience to think about the effects of violence, but questions whether we as an audience, like Toms family, can accept violence as an ambiguous order of social order. Ultimately, its because of this complex, evocative nature, and the fact that the film questions not only the morality of the characters, but the audience itself, instead of enforcing morality on its audience like in The Gunfighter, that the film succeeds in demonstrating the full specter of violence and aggression, both on screen and in society.