The Stagecoach and Bataan Present the Classic Victory Culture - Essay Example

The Stagecoat and Bataan (1943) present the classic “victory culture” narrative. Both films featured white Americans as the central characters and protagonists to whom audience sympathy is drawn upon. Stagecoach is based on a four-wheeled enclosed coach used for passengers and goods drawn by four horses. It is noticeable that only white men and women were passengers of this vehicle, making the scene exclusively and solely occupied by whites.
Indians were depicted as villains, as when Dallas (Claire Trevor) finally agrees to Ringo (John Wayne) on marriage in a condition of giving up his plan to take on the Plummers, he agreed but turned back upon seeing signs of Indians. Only the points of view, opinions, conversations, and voices of the protagonists were put to the surface, and no viewer would sympathize with the enemies depicted in the film.
The victory culture narrative is also manifested in the rescue of the US cavalry when upon the chase of the Apaches, the passengers had a random exchange of bullets with them. Hatfield was about to kill Mrs. Mallory with his last bullet so as to save her from being taken alive by the enemies when the US cavalry came to rescue her.
In the film Bataan (1943), the ‘Victory culture narrative is seen in the heroism shown by the Americans against the Japanese, who were regarded as enemies in the film. The central characters were basically white Americans, and the Japanese were depicted as mercenary ones. The American soldiers’ destruction of the bridge that was built and rebuilt by the enemies was a symbol of victorious detailed bits of this narrative. The propensity for the culture of victory being leaned on the side of the Americans is highlighted by blocking techniques and focusing of the camera, which consists of the mise-en-scene. There was also the use of highlighting the tone and emotions of the main characters, particularly Dallas and Ringo in order to mound their points of view and that the viewer would put their sympathy on them. Music was particularly used to depict certain important scenes, such as the chase scenes and the romantic scenes between Dallas and Ringo. In the chase scenes, the enemies who were shot instantly fell from their horses on the dusty ground - dead and bloodless - making the native Americans appear heroic and the victims succumbing to a ‘harmless’ death.
The Native Americans at Stagecoach and the Japanese of Bataan do not share common traits. It is because, in the former, there was a clear focus on the characters as protagonists, being central characters of the story in which films of this era (1939) depicted them. On the other hand, the Japanese were portrayed as cruel, brutal, ruthless, and heartless. We may gather that the Americans in both films were depicted as the good ones, the rational, and the decent ones. This is because the plots were centered on them. Read More