The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance

4 Pages 1029 Words

Genre films are determined by four marks: actors, icon, setting, and archetypes. These four marks make genre films what they are because it is through these marks, which gives the audience the repeatable experience associated with genre films, such as Westerns. “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance,” is no exception to this rule. It incorporates and uses icons, actors, settings, and archetypes that are synonymous with the Western genre. The Western genre puts to use these indicators in order illustrate the struggle between wildernesses vs. civilization. This archetype is the fundamental structure Westerns are built on. This too holds true in “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance,” which uses this archetype as its main theme.
John Ford, the director of “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance,” in no way tries to get away from using actors that represent the Western genre. John Wayne is the name synonymous with westerns. He established himself, through the classic Hollywood style of using actors for specific roles, as the tough imposing hero of the west. James Stuart, who is also a well-established actor in many different genres, is no stranger to the western. He plays the typical Stuart role of the soft-talking, shy, honest everyman. Ford, who can be called the father of westerns, has worked with both these stars before, and knows how to play with the audiences’ pre-expectations of each. These two characters, though cast in their typical roles, actually reverse roles as the movie progresses. Wayne, who plays Tom Doniphon, starts off as the tough, ‘get-the-girl-and-be-the-hero,’ character he usually plays. However, due to his good intention, which is to save Stuart’s character, Ransom Stoddard, from himself and from Liberty Valance, Wayne losses both the girl and the glory. He does this by shooting Valance from a secluded spot at the same moment Stuart misfires his weapon at Valance. As a result, Stuart, who starts...