John Ford, Director (1894 - 1973)

It would be an understatement to say that John Ford was focused. He was quite unique amongst film directors in having devoted his energies principally to a single genre, the Western. In many respects he created the genre, giving it a specific form, which thereafter no other director making westerns could ignore. He made over two hundred films of which fifty were Westerns. He was famously laconic and self-effacing. When once making a public speech, he introduced himself, "My name is John Ford. I make Westerns."

Thanks largely to his work, the Western became very popular not just in the US, but throughout the world. The Cowboy became an icon and the imagery of the 'Wild West' as an aspect of American history is etched very strongly in the contemporary mind, the wide brimmed hat, fast horses, cattle ranches, dusty main streets, train robberies, battles with the Indians, the vast inland deserts and of course, the six shooter pistol.

The US has always decreed it as the right of an individual to protect himself using firearms. The US was founded on the principle that a human being had unalienable rights to pursue his individual goals inscribed in her constitution as the 'pursuit of happiness'. From its inception, American society conjoined the idea of liberty with that of self determination. In trying to understand how guns became so prevalent in the US, it could be argued that the sense of individual freedom was so critical to the American way of life that it became justifiable to defend it in an extreme way against any possibility of its violation. The issue of gun ownership has become more problematic in the modern era but in the days of the pioneers, the use of guns was not only considered legitimate, it also granted individuals an unprecedented degree of autonomy and independence. Whether a gun is used for defence or otherwise, there remains the fact of having to kill. The fascination of the Western genre hinges on this very matter. A threat of fatality is always simmering under the 'good life' that the protagonists of John Ford's films are trying to create. The innate moral tensions of pioneer life render the conquest of the West as a perfect subject for high drama. The necessary paradoxes, contrasts and suspense come ready made in the pretext. That is, all Westerns by necessity depict perilous voyages into uncharted territories. Just for the courage needed in embarking on such a journey, ordinary people become heroic. John Ford recognised this potential and turned these human stories into indelible art.

Why did the Americans keep on expanding westward? Was it a thirst for adventure or real economic needs? Was it indeed the desire to civilise a new world or just simple greed? How important is the idea of the Christian mission? How much of it is myth and how much of it real?

Cinema has a capacity to narrate a story more solidly and completely than any other medium. In well made films such as those of John Ford, we may even grasp insights into how the ideals of the American Dream manifest in the deeds of the pioneers. Typically too, for films of the thirties up to around the sixties, the dialogue was written in a dramatised form using civil language. This makes John Ford films ideal for students who are learning English; to hear it being spoken in its proper cadence. While a Grade 8 class may still seem like a group of children, it is a good time to start appreciating something about the complexities of art and literature, and how drama is structured both in its technical and aesthetic aspects to make it possible, not just to enjoy, but also to gain a deeper understanding of the nature of humanity itself.