Have Gun, Will Travel: Textual Representation and Nationally Relevant Symbols - Research Paper Example

Running Head: HAVE GUN, WILL TRAVEL Have Gun, Will Travel: Textual Representation and Nationally Relevant Symbols Name Class Date Have Gun, Will Travel: Textual Representation and Nationally Relevant Symbols Introduction The development of the mythic Western hero was accomplished through the mystery and adoration that the American public has had with its romance of the stories of the making of the West into a civilized world (Parks, 1982). The West symbolizes the honor of the structured military unfettered from the constraints of that structure. The Western hero is godlike in his application of justice without the need of the law. He also represents the ultimate male, his experiences building him into an invulnerable rock upon which all enemies will break. The radio show Have Gun will Travel was an anthology of stories with a consistent protagonist tying them together. The stories were both hero myths and tales of American perseverance and fortitude. The Western hero represented a male ideal that could only have existed in a lawless world, but who represented the organized powers of the American government which was invulnerable to enemies both foreign and domestic. The gun as a source of power was also representative of the technological superiority of American industrialization (Tucker & Tucker, 2008). The United States had undergone great strife during the time that the Western genre was in its height. The image of the Western hero proposed a foundation of historic strength through which the American self concept was reinforced. The following paper will look at the nature of the Western as it related to the national civic imagery through which patriotic pride was built and sustained. The radio program that had been inspired by the television program was a textual promotion of the symbols that appeared on the television program, the might of the American righteousness promoted without regard to authority or law. The radio program Have Gun, Will Travel was popular because of how the American mythologies were built as reflection of the philosophical foundation upon which the American myths have been perpetuated. Literature review In the 1920s the radio was the center of the first burst of information consumption in the United States. Both news and entertainment could come directly into the homes of the masses, creating a world that was just beginning to grow smaller merely through access. Ware (2009) writes of several different perspectives on the effects of the radio. Some believed that the radio worked as a medium through which to perpetuate stereotypes, the concept of cultural differences boiled down to indicators through which to identify everyone within a culture. There was also the fear that it would act to flatten the nation, geographical locations and cultures homogenized until they were indistinguishable from one another. Others saw it as the great equalizer, bringing equal access to the same information so that a nationwide community could be built. Meanwhile, it was the CBS radio business that was holding out the longest in the radio entertainment world. The Stan Freberg Show began in July of 1957 and was the last of that type of show and had faded by October 20th of that year. The attempt at keeping up the enthusiasm for radio was to bring to the radio a show that approached humor from a variety of different perspectives. This variety show was the true end of the dominance of the radio for entertainment as the television had taken over (Cox, 2002). CBS was not quite ready to give up on the idea of a thriving entertainment division in radio. Have Gun, Will Travel ran on the radio from November 23, 1958 until November 27, 1960. The radio program was one of the last to be produced as a drama for the radio before the radio succumbed to primarily being music and talk radio. It was written by Roy Winsor. The show was an adaptation of the television series, which was also a unique event in the history of entertainment. John Dehner played the role of Paladin which was being played by Richard Boone on television. The role of Hey Boy, an Asian bellhop was played by Ben Wright on the radio, with Virginia Gregg playing the role of his girlfriend. Although the television series did not always show the Carlton where Paladin lived, the radio program always began and ended in this location. The television program lasted for six seasons, while the radio program only lasted for two, heralding the end of the radio drama (Dunning, 1998). In the last decade of its primary importance in the American landscape, radio programming began turning to mature themed dramas as a form of entertainment. In this golden age of radio, the sci-fi thriller and the police drama began to emerge as an important part of the American mythology, portraying heroes that served to symbolize the strength of the nation. None were more powerful than those that appeared in the American Western. The American Western was an historic take on the fortitude with which the nation was forged. The heroes of the Westerns were mythic, their abilities to overcome all manner of enemies reflecting the belief of the invulnerability of the American military (Cox, 2009). It might be said that the building of the Western hero was designed by Samuel Colt who tied the rugged individualist to his product in order to capitalize on this image. He defined the taming of the West as having been dependent on superior technology which was focused on the colt revolver. Tucker and Tucker (2008) write that “Colt’s genius was to merge images of his pistol, the self-sufficient individual, and empire into a seamless whole” (p. 67). Patriotism and the building of a technologically superior nation were the backbone of the importance of his product. In branding his gun with the power to create nation, the patriotic response was a belief that to own the gun was to participate materially in the creation of the nation (Tucker & Tucker, 2008). One of the sub categories in the Western genre was that of the travel anthology. Have Gun will Travel provided a framework through which a different story could be told each week that did not need to necessarily have the same recurring characters, other than the protagonist. The reoccurrence of the protagonist created familiarity, while the concept of the ‘journey tale’, kept the anthology running through different lives and different settings (Parks, 1982). Wedel (2012) discusses the nature of the American Western in relationship to American Civil Religion. The development of the hero in the Western is a symbol of the ‘transcendent importance’ of the American presence. Wedel (2012) writes that “Though civil religion may borrow language from a nation’s dominant religion (in the United States’ case Christinity), it avoids potentially divisive religious claims in order to unite a diverse population around national symbols or institutions” (p. 31). The example that is used is that of a visit by the Lone Ranger to a children’s hospital where it is reported that his presence was so powerful that children who did not sit up, sat up to greet him, children who were not eating, ate to please him, and a girl on crutches threw them down in order to accept a silver bullet. The ‘miracles’ ascribed to his presence were likely mostly propaganda, but the effect was to associate the power of his presence with that of a god (Wedel, 2012). The concept of the Western genre has several distinct elements that when seen by most Americans are instantly identifiable. There is a consensus among some that the American Western as a genre of entertainment has been dead for a hundred years, but Johnson (2012) contends this is not true. The basic ideas behind the Western have been transmuted so that they are living within current entertainment with the signature scenarios being replayed in new landscapes. Johnson (2012) uses the AMC series The Walking Dead as an example of classic Western scenes which translate the American indestructibility and violent history into a modern context. A scene that is particularly noted is one where two people enter a bar and sit on the stools, a growing tension in the room, when after a brief exchange of words they are fired upon. They avoid the bullets by diving and shooting back, surviving the day. On the walls are posters, one with a buffalo and another with the words Wild West. The distinct parallels are purposeful and used to draw upon the Western genre to elicit the response of American idealism. It was the charisma that might have had the most impact on the development of the Western hero who could embody all of these ideas about the power of the White male in American society. Crant and Bateman (2000) discuss charismatic leadership as a personality in which the symbols and meaning that are represented by the leader can be seen for the ways in which what the leader stands for is communicated by a series of ways. Crant and Bateman (2000) write that “Charismatic leaders differ from other leaders by their ability to formulate and articulate an inspirational vision and by exhibiting actions that create an impression that they and their mission are extraordinary” (p. 64). This can be translated to the Western hero and his position in the mythology of America. The Western hero makes his own law, defines his own experience, is flexible instead of tied down to a family, and often is as much outlaw as he is representative of what is right. Heroic figures such as John Wayne had a charisma that sold the institutions of their character, becoming a part of the mythology of the American white male. The symbolism in Have Gun, Will Travel comes from the television series, which was in turn reflecting the political climate of the 1950s and early 1960s. While not culturally sensitive, as in evidence of the treatment of Asian Americans and Native Americans, the promotion of the power of the male Caucasian was outwardly emphasized from the graphics used to promote the program to the way in which the diminishment of all but the white male was handled. The reason that it was translated into a radio program was that the radio network owned by CBS needed revitalization and the strong male image of Paladin, the protagonist of the show, was thought to be enough to bring listeners back to the fading network. This was not to be the case (Dunning, 1998). The character of Paladin was a different type of character and his presence signaled a shift in the way that the white hero was depicted. Rather than focusing on the working class, the shift in television programs was beginning to focus on either white collar workers or the very wealthy. Paladin was a sophisticated man with the insinuation, at least on the television program, that he was a man of means, where on the radio it was shown that he was indeed a man of means. Cox (2000) writes that Paladin was a college educated gunslinger who preferred fine things and worked for a high price. The Archive for American Television (2012) describes the show as “the first truly adult TV western--a story centered on a cultured gunfighter who had named himself Paladin after the legendary officers of Charlemagnes medieval court. A gourmet and connoisseur of fine wine, fine women, and Ming Dynasty artifacts, Paladin would quote Keats, Shelley, and Shakespeare with the same self-assurance that he brought to the subjugation of frontier evildoers”. The jobs he chose he took because they represented values, but he still took his fee for the work. He was also connected to the military through his past where he had graduated from WestPoint and done some time as an officer in the Civil War. The end of the Have Gun, Will Travel on the radio was a series ending in which Paladin went back East in order to claim his inheritance. This was not what occurred during the television series. This change in fate was an interesting twist that defined the radio program from its television equal. The television series went on for three more years after the radio program had ended. The end of the radio program occurred during a time when the radio stations were ‘pulling the plug’ on most of its dramatic programs on the radio. This occurred on November 25-27 in 1958 (Cox, 2002). ` There were a few shows that made the crossover from television programming to a radio shows. The incongruence that is reported by Cox (2002) is that radio during the middle of the 1950s was taking the lead in format. Even though the television programming was increasing at a rabid rate, the radio was still the entertainment standard. Radio programs were being turned into television programs, the television entertainment acting as a back up to the position of the radio for entertainment purposes. Hopalong Cassidy is an example of a program that was created for the television from its film format, then went to radio, and long after it had been canceled on television continued as a radio program. Historical Context The symbolism in the show ran the gauntlet from the blatant use of the white knight to the more subtle undertone that supported the patriarchal image of the gunman of the old West. The austerity of his demeanor leant to the myth of fortitude and his application of justice gave him a sense of authority. The white knight, from the game of chess, was the symbol that was on his business card. The implication of the white knight from a straight forward perspective can mean the white knight of medieval mythology that would come to the rescue of others. The more likely explanation is that it is the white knight of the Klu Klux Klan, a symbol of white supremacy that, while applied subtly, still intended to assert the authority of Caucasian male patriarchy and the oppression of other ‘races’ (Foster, 1999). The end of the 1950s was the beginning of the civil rights movements, but the presence of a man in black righting wrongs with the symbol of a white knight re-affirmed the supremacy of the Caucasian male. Foster (1999) writes that “Classical Hollywood Westerns usually exemplify the homogenized practices of White supremacist values, particularly as those values are applied to the marginalized ‘others’ of American patriarchy, women, people of diverse sexual orientations, and all people of color” (p. 100). In addition to this being racially motivated, it was politically motivated. McCarthyism had ended, but the fear of the Communist threat was still very potent and meant that the need for re-affirming symbols of national strength were still popular in television, radio, and on film. The ‘man in black’ that represented the no-nonsense, right as represented by might, lawless but authoritarian version of the White supremacy meant that all were safe in the realm of America. Being invulnerable was the mandate on the White male. There are several differing theories on the position of the female character in the Western genre. McMahon and Csaki (2010) discuss the idea of the female character in relationship to the settler woman. The settler woman is the narrative vehicle through which the actions of the male protagonist can be instigated. The major role for females, according to McMahon and Csaki (2010), are as victims, “extension of man; motives for man’s actions; essential; and controllers of the power of language” (p. 313). McMahon and Csaki quote Simone Beauvoir for saying that “The role of pity and tenderness is one of the most important roles of all those that have been assigned to women. Even when fully integrated into society, women subtly extend its frontiers because she has the insidious generosity of life” (p. 313). Regardless of her importance, the female position is one where her dialogue is minimal, she is considered to be superfluous, and is mostly ignored despite the dialogue she owns (McMahon & Csaki, 2010). Saricks (2009) writes that women represent civilization within the Western genre. Women bring the civilizing element to a world that is untamed and requires that men act where law and structure is not already in place. Although the Caucasian male is represented as self possessed with the capacity to overcome all threats, the female presence provides an anchor for someone who is essentially unfettered. The sense of the ‘other’ in the Western genre is clearly visible in the character of Hey Boy, who is a caricature of what is perceived as the stereotype of the Asian servant. The concept of ‘otherness’ is rampant in Western genres. Native Americans, Asian characters, women, as well as Blacks are stereotyped during the period of time in which the radio program takes place. All are characterized as either inhuman or as the sympathetic exotic (Naficy, & Gabriel, 2011). Although civil rights legislation was within a very few years of being passed, the domination of the White supremacy in the Western genre was intended to support the security of the patriarchal society through establishing that the White male was capable of withstanding the threat of the ‘other’ while maintaining the security for the victims and those under his protection. Methods This research study has been created through examining the relevant literature that explained the position of the radio program in Have Gun, Will Travel in the philosophical reflective capacity of entertainment during the late 1950s. Beginning with a search of the relevant literature through secondary resources, the study then led to primary research of the radio episodes themselves. Through listening to the radio episodes, a better understanding of the symbols and meanings in the program was found. The research was then examined through the grounded theory where information was coded and put into context with the themes that emerge during the inquiry. The point of using the grounded theory is to not search for specific information, but let the information lead the researcher to a conclusion (Birks & Mills, 2010). Where the first impression of examining this short lived radio program was that it would be solely relevant to the Western genre in the United States, it soon became clear that a high level of socially relevant symbolism was a part of the production of this series. The nature of this study is qualitative and from the perspective of the impressions that the program has had upon the researcher. The experience of the radio programs has been put into data sets in order to see how the phenomenon of listening to the program influences thought about the American myths. Through phenomenological research, and in particular, the idea of field study, this research is the result of the researcher experiencing the program and developing impressions about the experience (Moustakas, 1999). The field is considered the exposure to the programs, the phenomenon the impression that the programs have in their experience. Findings Primary research was conducted by listening to the some examples of the radio program Have Gun, Will Travel. There are 106 episodes of the program in total for the two year period. There are a wide variety of themes explored in the program, most of which are familiar and are part of the reproduction of storylines that seems to go on in episodic programming. There is a comment on the website by a listener who stated that to make a summary on almost all of the episodes, Paladin uses his gun, he never misses, he gives away more money than he earns, and the end of the episode includes a racial joke (Internet Archive: Old Time Radio, 2001). While this is simplified, it is also not off the mark. The episodes are fairly predictable and the events are calculated to make every move that Paladin makes both heroic and honorable. A particularly interesting version of this framework was in Episode 9 where Paladin goes to pick up a fugitive from justice who announces that his wife has just had a baby. He makes a deal with Paladin to go see his infant before he is taken back to be hanged in what he keeps referring to as a carnival atmosphere. Paladin gets to know the man and while he is sympathetic enough to the listener to deserve help, he is not sympathetic enough to forgive his crime. In the end, the man forces Paladin to shoot him, freeing him from the fate of being hanged in public. The man’s wife is grateful to Paladin who furthers his kindness to her by taking the 2000.00 bounty he receives for having killed the man to her. This is an example of how Paladin operates. He is always just, always the voice of reason and education, and always understands more than anyone else in the room. He exemplifies the American philosophy about their moral right and invulnerability. The time period is seen through some of the ways that women are approached in the episodes, but more often than not they are the victim. Even the female doctor, Phyllis Thacker, seems to be a victim that Paladin must save in order for her place in the story to have meaning. There is also an episode where Paladin takes on a town in order to get their support against a righteous bully who wants to burn down a school because of what the school teacher is teaching in the classroom. Although not fully supportive of civil rights, there is some hints at the support for women’s rights in some of the episodes, but the women are still framed as needing saved by the hero. The advertising on the episodes is outdated, of course, but the interesting development is in hearing the advertisements for cigarettes. Kent cigarettes were blatantly lying in their advertisements when they stated that in impartial tests their cigarettes had lowered levels of tar and nicotine because of their filter technology (Dunn, 2011). This type of advertising was heard in the episodes of Have Gun, Will Travel. The strategy of the advertiser was to insinuate that lowered tar and nicotine – and this means they actually made these claims, knowing they were false – would provide less harmful effects, thus quitting was not necessary. The ban on advertising cigarettes through broadcasting came in 1971, but this was well before this program was on the air (Dunn, 2011). There were a number of different advertisements on the episodes. Dandruff Shampoo by the name of Fitch was also sold on the program. Fitch’s Dandruff Removal Shampoo is advertised for its ability to help those with the problem with dandruff. The jingle that is associated with the shampoo, according to Taylor (2012), was considered quite distinctive and was very popular. The jingle did include the information that the shampoo was only .59 cents. Look magazine advertised an article on Jerry Lewis during one episode. There was an advertisement from the American Motors Company for an Ambassador, which was advertised as a compact luxury automobile. One of the interesting things about the Ambassador was that it was the first care to come with air conditioning as a stand feature. This bit of marketing made the car very popular. AMC went out of existence in 1987 when Chrysler brought its assets into their own company. In every episode there was an advertisement for other CBS radio programming. Listening to the various advertisements created a sense of nostalgia for a time when shampoo was only .59 cents a bottle (Internet Archive: Old Time Radio, 2001).. A very interesting advertisement was a public service announcement that discussed the problem with not following traffic laws. The announcement stated that 85% of all accidents were caused because people failed to follow traffic laws. This announcement was an interesting addition to the other advertisements that seemed to quite willingly skirt the truth (Internet Archive: Old Time Radio, 2001). Discussion By today’s standards, the themes and language in the radio programs for Have Gun, Will Travel is very tame. Young children may not enjoy the nature of the programs and the focus on the action is unlike the use of visual action on television. The nature of the narration is to hear Paladin tell the story in order to paint a picture of the location, which is very interesting from a literary or staging point of view. The prejudice that can be heard in the stories and the way in which minorities and women are treated gives the wrong message and would not be appropriate for children or young people. There is a subtle, yet persistent prejudicial tone that supports the claims of Western genre programs being highly centered on the White supremacy philosophies with tolerance and indulgence being the only way in which consideration is given to women and those who represent ‘other’. While the writer was mandated to write something different and he did by making Paladin an educated aristocrat of the East who was competent in the West. The nature of the symbolism clearly is a statement about the position of the White male competency in guarding not only the nation, but the world, from those enemies that would threaten them. Paladin is the protector of all those who cannot protect themselves, but in that assumption is the idea that those groups cannot protect themselves. Where civil rights had not yet been passed and women were not entitled to the same respect yet as men were given in society, the power dynamic between the sexes as it was represented in that time period, the late 1950s, is balanced in favor of the superiority of men. Where the show was differentiated from other Western genre based programming as the shift from the blue collar worker to the importance of wealth and sophistication is clearly established, it also began to touch upon the issues that were emerging at the end of the 1950s. However, the show more clearly established White male dominance as a secure social feature of the United States. Conclusion Have Gun, Will Travel was unique in that the radio program came after the established success of the television program. The program provided symbolism for the nature of the security of the nation as the White male domination kept the nation safe from those who were a threat. The use of the white knight from a chess game could also be interpreted for its symbolic representation of the male white race and can be associated to ranks in the Klu Klux Klan. The show was rife with racial slurs and jokes that in modern society would never be tolerated. The use of the name ‘Hey Boy’ for the Asian servant at the Carlton Hotel where Paladin lived is an example of how racial stereotyping at a very negative level was tolerated and made a comparison to the competence of Paladin as a protector of his community. Advertising from the old programs helps to show a significant difference between social beliefs at the time the program was produced in comparison to modern ideas about advertising products. The cigarette advertisements, in particular, show how great and powerful social change has occurred at least where the use of tobacco is concerned. The messages from the program in combination with those within the advertisements show a very different idea about how the viewers or listeners must be approached in relationship to cultural diversity and health and well-being when writing programming and advertising for modern audiences. Although inappropriate on many levels for modern audiences, the program was enjoyable and the narration by the lead actor gave it a personalized perspective. The stories were somewhat predictable and the symbolism, once it had been researched, was very clear and obvious. The phenomenon of the series as it re-emerged from television success to modest representation on the radio proves that the program affected its viewers on an important level. The symbols were proven to have profound meaning in the American mythology with Paladin acting as a symbol for American power within the world. References Top of Form Birks, M., & Mills, J. (2010). Grounded theory: A practical guide. London: SAGE. Cox, J. 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