Week 5 Reading Response - Where Have All the Heros Gone?

I found myself very surprised by Wills’ article; when I read the title “John Wayne’s America,” I had no idea that a main focus, several pages worth, would be analysis about the way John Wayne moved. Maybe this is because Stagecoach is the extent of my familiarity with the star. One thing that this ‘movement’ must have contributed to that I did notice just from Stagecoach is John Wayne’s aura, the way his body and demeanor drew my eyes and filled the screen. I believe this aura is typical of many stars and that is why they are stars at all – people are fascinated to watch them. Think of the other stars on the ‘favorite stars list’ on page 11 of the article – Brad Pitt, Harrison Ford, Mel Gibson, Clint Eastwood – can you take your eyes off them when they are on the screen? It is not just the way they look but even more importantly a combination of the rhythm they speak in, they way they stand, breath, look at another person, etc. With the right combination of these things you have a great aura and even someone who isn’t gorgeous can be quite sexy. So even people who weren’t initially attracted to Wayne (or even would never be because they are attracted to women) are drawn to him. As in his case (evidenced by his description of his family’s ‘secret walk’), and I believe most others, it was a natural gift. He was aware of its effect and was able to use it to bring his characters to life.
With that in mind, I was very pleased that the article separated Marion Morrison (the person who played “John Wayne”) from John Wayne. As noted, Marion was not John – he hated horses and preferred suits, etc – and he was a compilation of the ideas of filmmakers. Like the myth he stood for, John Wayne was fiction. I think that is a big reason why “John Wayne” has lived on as a favorite actor long after his death – it is not Marion Morrison who has lived on but the ideal to which he lent his aura – sure all actors are tied to their characters in some way – I just think that Marion was tied to the quintessential American character and that is why he is so loved. I know a slew of people that hated Sean Bean after he played the betraying Boromir in Lord of the Rings...the characters actors play have a big effect on how we remember them.

P.S. YES for the reference to James Fennimore Cooper’s Hawkeye – there is actually a facebook group referencing girls’ missing when men used to be manly men – are there any “Hawkeye”s or “John Wayne”s around still today? Were there ever really? *tear*