Classic and Revisionist

After watching both My Darling Clementine and Once Upon a Time in the West I have decided that Once Upon a Time in the West is much better. During class we discussed the differences between classic westerns and revisionist westerns. Once Upon a Time in the West, being more of a revisionist western, really got my attention and I really liked the story behind it. For this blog I will compare the female characters in both the movies and what makes them similar and what makes them different.

First off Jill, from OUATITW, is a very independent character that can think for herself and was even able to outsmart some of the men in the movie. On the other hand Clementine was more of a "follower" and depended on men to help her and protect her. While Jill had more of a lead role and did things by herself with her own intentions in mind, Clementine didn't really make any decisions on her own and followed Wyatt and Doc. I think that this is the biggest difference between the two female characters in the two movies. It seems to me like in the classic westerns it's more common for the women to play a smaller role and not have much say, while in the revisionist westerns they can sometimes have a big impact on the story. One thing that both had in common where that they were both "easy" when it came to sleeping around with men.

Overall I can say that I did enjoy seeing both westerns but feel that the revisionist western is more appealing to me become it's longer and I feel like more things go on "Plot-wise". I hope I can see Unforgiven for this essay assignment on Monday.