The man who shot liberty valance analysis. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance Film Analysis 2022-10-21

The man who shot liberty valance analysis Rating: 6,4/10 407 reviews

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance is a classic western film directed by John Ford and released in 1962. The film tells the story of a young lawyer named Ransom Stoddard, who travels to the small town of Shinbone in the American West. There, he meets Liberty Valance, a notorious outlaw who terrorizes the town and its citizens. Despite the danger posed by Valance, Stoddard decides to stay in Shinbone and fight for justice, eventually facing off against Valance in a climactic showdown.

The film is known for its complex themes and characters, and it has been analyzed by film critics and scholars for decades. One of the most striking aspects of The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance is its portrayal of the relationship between law and justice. Stoddard is a symbol of the rule of law, representing the civilized and modern values of the East. Valance, on the other hand, is a representation of the Wild West, a place where law and order are often subverted by violence and brute force.

Throughout the film, Stoddard is confronted with the difficult decision of whether to fight for justice within the confines of the law, or to take matters into his own hands and use violence to defeat Valance. Ultimately, Stoddard chooses the former, choosing to use his intelligence and legal skills to outmaneuver Valance and bring him to justice. This decision reflects the film's underlying message that the rule of law is essential for a just society, even in the face of violence and chaos.

Another important theme in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance is the role of myth and memory in shaping the way we view the past. The film is narrated by an elderly Stoddard, who reflects on the events of his youth and the ways in which they have been distorted over time. This perspective highlights the fact that history is often shaped by the stories we tell about it, and that the truth can be difficult to discern.

In the end, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance is a powerful and thought-provoking film that explores the complex relationship between law, justice, and violence. Its themes and characters have resonated with audiences for decades, making it a classic of the western genre and a timeless tale of the American West.

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance at 60: the great American western

the man who shot liberty valance analysis

The talk is mostly of steaks and fried beans; no one pulls out a gun, except for Liberty Valance Lee Marvin and Tom Doniphon John Wayne In the opinion of many genre critics the Western satisfies particular social needs. Senator Ransom Stoddard In a long flashback involving most of the film, Ford recalls the events leading up to that day. All three spend much of their time hanging out in the restaurant kitchen. Valance has killed several farmers. It implies that people prefer the right-based judicial system, which emphasizes equality and justice among people, to the old honor-based judicial system. I do not believe if something tragic happened back then the town would be as heartless as the reporter is being. Not only will he make you regret the day you were born, he will enjoy it, too.


Next

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance Analysis

the man who shot liberty valance analysis

He is Tom's farmhand and seems to be his only confidant, a protective presence; he always has Tom's back. That's why he said, "I can live with that. First Pinch Point: Tom arrives home from a journey to announce that Valance has been acting as a hired gun for the ranchers across the picket wire who are opposed to statehood. Of the murder trial, the Memphis Commercial Appeal said: "Evidence necessary for convicting on a murder charge was lacking. In this movie Ransom Stoddard is a well educated attorney from the East who comes to the West to find new opportunity and a place to practice law.

Next

Analysis Of 'The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance'

the man who shot liberty valance analysis

The police tried to pull him over in Lake View Terrace in San Fernando Valley after he was speeding at 110 mph. Throughout the movie there is a clear message; wilderness V. The drunken marshal won't protect him. The Western was nothing but a myth built upon exaggerated truths that will die with the men who spun them. Many question the reasoning for the appearance of Ransom because not many know who Tom Doniphan was. This movie was the final reveal.


Next

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance: Cultural Attitude of the Press

the man who shot liberty valance analysis

While Ransom Stoddard is depicted as a coward, he attempts to face this in the duel against Liberty Valance. From then on, a flashback of events in the Old West begins. In contrast, people will find the old, honor-based practices to be ridiculous because they have quickly adapted to the right-based system. The film demonstrates how narcissistic and insensitive the press can be towards a human being and their story. The official hero includes the law in their tasks and, helps create new laws for the future.

Next

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance: Film Analysis

the man who shot liberty valance analysis

On the other hand, Westerns depend upon means that everywhere expose this ideology, relying on plots that demand instead the creation of manhood, then its re-creation. When the legend becomes fact, print the legend. To represent the new west is Ranse and to represent the old west is Tom. Stoddard believes so firmly in the law that he is willing to lose his life for his principles. It further explains the new right-based system will immediately overthrow the old one once it is introduced. The song was ranked No. Ryan and four others traveling with him on a fact finding trip to Guyana.

Next

The Man Who Shot Liberty Of Valance: Film Analysis

the man who shot liberty valance analysis

This random violence against the black community leads to an overwhelming sense of fear and distrust of authority. The Indigenous people were forced to acclimate into the Anglo society which is paralleled moving forward in time, thus depicting the continuous circulation of the same events. The film takes place at that turning point in the West when the rule of force gave way to the rule of law, and when literacy began to gain a foothold. Tom Doniphon tells him that without a gun in his hand and the experience to use it, he will sooner or later certainly be killed by Valance. The new west values are equality and enlightenment, Ford symbolizes all of these traits in the school house scene. Indeed Hallie and Nora Ericson Jeanette Nolan are the only two noticeable women in town; little wonder Tom's love for Hallie is intense.

Next

John Ford’s Funeral Oration: The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance

the man who shot liberty valance analysis

In most stories, this would be the Climax, not the Third Plot Point. In all fairness Turner, for all his oversights, his romanticism, and his racialism, sought to explain America. Years ago Shinbone was held in a grip of terror by the sadistic Liberty Valance played by In town, he's nursed back to health by Nora and Peter Ericson, two recent Swedish immigrants who run the local chowhouse. Dada was not rational, yet this author believes that Dada shows a sense of rationality. On the other hand, the imaginary Mexico works to destroy the Mesoamerican way of life and to fill that void with western capitalism. Further along we learn how the law-book toting hero falls in love with a girl who, when he is forced to confront Valance, waits alone and prays, knowing that: "When two men go and face or "fight" each other, only one returns".

Next

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (Analytical) Essay Example

the man who shot liberty valance analysis

First Plot Point: Rance meets Valance again, while waiting tables in the restaurant where he works. In the book we are presented with some of both veiwpoints. Here there is nothing cathartic or healing about the cannibalism, but rather cannibalism leaves the realm of abstract social threat and into the realm of real social and individual threat, as barriers between the viewer and the actors in the screen are broken down and antagonized Dwyer 270-72. To me, this movie represented the unveiling of that myth. It asks the question: Does a man need to carry a gun in order to disagree or state an opinion? The police claimed that he was resisting arrest once he was pulled over. Melancholy is inherent in the odd temporality of the Western, which dramatises for contemporary audiences a world of the past, a world that is no more The Seven Samurai 1954 , an elegy to the vanishing warrior class and the samurai code. With the local newspaper harassing him for answers as to who Tom Doniphan was, Ransom gives in and tells the tale through the use of flashbacks.

Next

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance movie review (1962)

the man who shot liberty valance analysis

Last September in Sumner, Miss. I think Tom called it "murder" not from a legal standpoint but from his perspective as a gunfighter since he "cowardly" killed Liberty from a corner instead of facing him in a gunfight. The preservation and survival of the Mesoamerican way of life is largely attributed to the Mexico Profundo. Liberty Valance cannot abide anyone standing up to him, and the shingle is an affront. Clothier Ed: Otho Lovering Art Dir: Eddie Imazu, Hal Pereira Mus: Cyril J. When a meeting is held to vote on statehood, Pompey sits outside on the porch.


Next