English 300: The Western
Midterm Exam Study Sheet
Midterm Exam: March 13, 2003 ML350 3:30-5:30
http://www.u.arizona.edu/~swhite/e300_s2003/notes.html
In studying for the midterm, be sure that you know the authors of the literary works we have read and the directors and release dates of the films. The exam will include fill-in-the blank questions about terminology, names, and dates; identifications of characters, situations, and objects/motifs from the films and literary works; two or three short essays based on questions similar to those listed below; and a technical and thematic reading of a film clip.
Terminology from Film Art and class discussion for which you are responsible:
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mise-en-scene and its elements
cinematography
continuity editing
prop
motif
three-point lighting
low-key lighting
high-key lighting
key light
fill light
back light
chiaroscuro
cast shadows
attached shadows
deep space
shallow space
deep/shallow focus
racking focus
short-focal length (wide-angle lens)
middle-focal length (normal lens)
long-focal length (telephoto lens)
planes of the image
superimposition
matte shot
aspect ratio
pan
tracking/dolly shot
crane shot
tilt
high-angle shot
low-angle shot
straight-on angle
Master shot
close-up
medium shot
American shot
long shot
establishing shot
eyeline match
shot/reverse shot
on-screen space
off-screen space
point-of-view shot
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Literary terms
focal character: a character in a film or literary work whose range of knowledge is closely followed by the narrator; a character through whom perceptions are filtered in film or a literary work
range of knowledge: Do we know more or less than the character knows? If we know more, our range of knowledge is “wider” than the character’s; if we know less, our range of knowledge is narrower. Some characters have a wider range of knowledge than others.
metaphor: The representation of one thing by another related or similar thing. A metaphor is a trope, or figure of speech, that expresses a relationship of resemblance between two things.
metonymy: Like metaphor, metonymy is a figure of speech based on substitution, a trope. Whereas in metaphors two things are related by resemblance, (my love literally resembles a fire, for example, because both burn), in metonymy the two terms are related through (sometimes arbitrary) association or proximity. Objects in films and literature often have both metonymical and metaphorical meanings at the same time.
ideology: A set of ideas or a system of thought, often at least partially unconscious, by which we judge the world. This set of ideas, shared by a social group, are often taken for granted as natural or inherently true.
point of view: The vantage point or stance from which a story is told; the eye and mind through which the action is perceived and filtered. There are two general narrative points of view, first person and third person, which depend on whether the narrator stands within the story or outside it. The most common third person narrative perspective is called the omniscient point of view. An omniscient point of view allows the narrator to read the thoughts of the characters. In limited or restricted omniscience, only certain thoughts, or the thoughts of certain characters, may be available to the narrator.
Essay Questions
1. What is “Manifest Destiny”? What are some of the important historical events of the 19th and 20th Centuries that are important background information for understanding Western films? Discuss how specific films or literary works illustrate “Manifest Destiny.” For example, how is the replacement of the Indians by figures like Ryker and then the homesteaders shown to be “good and natural” in Shane (or, using different types of characters, in The Searchers)? Are there moments in any of the films or literary works where that Manifest Destiny is placed in doubt?
2. What are some of the literary narratives of the 19th and early 20th Centuries that established the characters and plot paradigms for the Western?
3. How was William S. Hart considered different from other Western stars of the period, such as Tom Mix?
4. What scenes and images does Hell’s Hinges use to depict Blaze Tracy as a “good bad man”? How is Reverend Henley represented as a “bad good man”?
5. Describe the representation of women and ethnic minorities in Hell’s Hinges and The Iron Horse. Discuss in detail specific scenes representing women and minorities and how these individuals and groups of people fit into the overall meaning of the films.
6. The outsider-hero, partly civilized, partly savage is a recurrent figure in the Western. Describe how these “heroes” are represented, including costume, behavior, social interactions and final destinies. How does a figure such as “Two Fingers” (The Iron Horse) both differ from and anticipate someone like Ethan in The Searchers? Compare Shane as an “outsider” figure to Lin in Winchester 73.
7. What kinds of “oppositions” does Schatz (55) describe the Western as setting up? How are those oppositions resolved? (Extra credit: What is the role of structuralism in studying social categories, such as oppositions?) Describe some people and places who seem to be important in the reconciliation of opposites (e.g., Grafton’s store in Shane).
8. What are the major differences between the story and film versions of Stagecoach? Think of the differences in characters, situations, and outcomes.
9. How is social hypocrisy depicted in Stagecoach? Compare the “Petticoat Brigade” in Hell’s Hinges to the “Ladies’ Law and Order League” in Stagecoach.
10. How is mise-en-scène used to depict the social differences and alliances between the characters in Stagecoach? Discuss, for example, the scenes inside the stagecoach itself, the scene around the dinner table, the childbirth scene, etc.
11. How does the stump scene in the novel Shane differ from the same scene in the film? What are the different roles men and women play in these two versions? Be sure to discuss the language of the novel and the visuals of the film.
12. What is the “initiate hero” and what role does he play in films such as Shane? The Searchers?
13. How does Shane both support the nuclear family as a positive and valuable entity and imply that the nuclear family is somehow lacking something essential? How is this conveyed visually in the film? Relate this to what may have been thought about the nuclear family during the time when Shane was made. How do other westerns, such as Stagecoach, reflect the anxieties and social problems of the period in which they were made?
14. How are Blaze Tracy, Two Fingers, Shane, Lin McAdam, Reverend/Captain Clayton Ethan Edwards and Tayo "divided characters”? What visual elements are used to convey their internal and external divisions?
15. What is the “psychological” Western? When did it become popular? In what sense is Winchester 73 a psychological Western? How does the device of the “circulating” rifle (and woman) contribute to the psychological overtones of this film?
14. Can you describe Devil’s Doorway as a “pro-Indian film”? Build a case for why it is or is not “pro-Indian”—or discuss how it is both “pro” and “anti” Indian. Why is it important, in this context, that Lance Poole’s (Broken Lance) lawyer is a woman?
15. How are The Searchers and The Return of Navajo Boy both stories about “returns”? What deep meanings do those returns have in each of these films? How, in addition, are these “captivity narratives” and in what way do they resemble the captivity narrative of Mary Rowlandson? Finally, how is Ceremony also about a kind of “return”?
16. Ford draws a number of equivalences between the white and Indian cultures in The Searchers. For example, the ending of the film seems to place the whites and Indians in the position the other group occupied at the beginning of the film. In addition, Ethan is specifically identified with the Indians he hates through costume, behavior, knowledge, etc.--indeed, you might call him Scar’s “double.” Similarly, Laurie and Look are explicitly compared and contrasted as young women on the verge of marriage. Choose one or two of these or other equivalencies you see drawn between whites and Indians in the film and discuss their thematic importance. Be sure to discuss visual elements and dialogue in support of your thesis.
17. How does The Searchers raise questions that it doesn't answer, for both the audience and the characters in the film? How does this film answer some of the questions it raises through visual means? You may refer to Lehman’s essay on this topic, but try to add some original insights of your own.
18. Trace the motif of the “arch” or “doorway” in The Searchers. What is the significance of the repetition of the arch pattern as doorway, cave, wigwam entrance, and so forth in the film? Be sure to discuss a broad range of specific instances in which this visual pattern appears and include a reading of the meaning of this pattern. Again, you may refer to Lehman’s essay on this topic, but try to add some original insights of your own.
19. How is war (the Civil War, the First World War, the Second World War, etc.) an important element in the Western? How are Southerners represented? Northerners? What is problematic about the “returning warrior” whom we find in so many of these films?
20. Discuss the representation of landscapes, including Monument Valley, in at least three of the films we’ve seen.
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