12 Yankee Dollars

We all know that everyone experiences fear at one point or another. In Westerns, we see a whole variety of characters: the hero, the wife, the bad guy, and it's mostly quite evident when it comes to what they are all afraid of. In these films, the hero is usually the one who holds the most courage. When fear comes their way, let's just say they have their own way of dealing with it.

Let's start this off with a John Wayne classic, The Searchers. In this film we meet Ethan. He's a rugged man, who is not the most pleasant person to be around. One day, out of the blue, Ethan decides to visit his brother's family in Texas. Unfortunately, one night, his brother's home is attacked by a tribe of Comanche Indians. The only survivors are Ethan's nieces Debbie and Lucy. The problem is, they have been captured by the Comanches. For this reason, Ethan and his nephew Martin start to embark on a five year journey so that they can find the girls. At first glance, this makes Ethan look like a very courageous person, but as the story goes on, I found that he was also carrying fears of his own. In the film, it's obvious that most of the characters are afraid of the Comanche Indians. Everyone turns to Ethan. They believe that he knows what to do. They think he is a man with little fear. The reality is, that his fear is causing him to make irrational decisions. As time goes on, Ethan is afraid that the girls might have changed because of the time that they had spent with the Comanches. When he finds the girls, he plans to kill them because of this. This proves that the other characters were not the only ones afraid of the Comanches. Although it wasn't as obvious, Ethan also demonstrated fear.

The film High Noon is set in a small town where there seems to be no trouble. The Marshall (Kane) is getting married, and he is planning on retiring so that he can live a relaxing life with his wife. Everything is perfect, and then a second later, it all changes. Kane receives the news that a prisoner he arrested is being released from prison. This prisoner is looking for revenge on Kane. When everyone gets a hold of the news, they all tell the Marshall to get out of town. At first he listens to the townspeople, and leaves. Kane is obviously afraid of this prisoner. He initially decides to run away from his fears. Soon enough though, he decides to return to town and face this man. The Marshall was courageous enough to say to himself that he could not run away anymore. He knew that if he did, the problem would just come back to get him. Not many people understood why he came back. He was trying his best to do the right thing, which in Westerns, is a significant trait to have as a Hero.

Western movies taught me that the Heros of the story can also have their flaws. We all have had fear present in our lives. It's just that in some people, it's not as easy to see.

Batman Begins

Batman Begins is a film with many creative techniques. The symbolism used in this movie was a great contribution to the film. It helped the audience further comprehend the film in general, and it's characters.

A symbol that is frequently used in Batman Begins is masks. In the film, Dr.Crane has a mask that is quite frightening. When he wears this mask he becomes "the scarecrow", and his mask releases some sort of gas that causes others to have terrifying hallucinations. This symbolizes that every individual experiences fear to a certain degree. These hallucinations dug deep down into peoples souls to expose what they were honestly afraid of. In the same way, when Bruce Wayne becomes Batman his mask is a symbol of what he truly fears, which is bats. He decides to embrace what he is afraid of and attempts to help the world around him, instead of hurting others the way that Dr.Crane is.

The Wayne mansion is one of the only physical things left that remind Bruce of his parents. This makes the mansion an obvious symbol of the Wayne family. For this reason, Bruce does not necessarily enjoy the mansion. When it burns down, this symbolizes a new start for Bruce. Instead of being surrounded by his past, in a way he can put parts of it behind him. When he decides to rebuild the mansion, he's remembering his family and all that they stand for, but he's also adding some of his own personal touches so that he can grow has a person.

The arrowhead in Batman Begins is mainly a symbol of the relationship between Bruce and Rachel, and all they had gone through together. In the beginning of the film, Bruce steals the arrowhead from Rachel and he falls into a well, where he discovers an area that is full of bats. This also makes the arrowhead a symbol of the beginning of Bruce's main fear. When Rachel returns the arrowhead to Bruce on his 30th birthday, he had already embraced his fear, and had learned to accept it as a part of his life.

Shown at some points in the film is a clip of Bruce as a child with his father. Bruce's father is using a stethoscope on Bruce, and it is a very quiet scene. The stethoscope is a symbol of how similar Bruce and his father are. Bruce's father is a man who helps others, and when Bruce is older he tries his best to protect the people of Gotham. By physically using the stethoscope on Bruce, this signifies how close Bruce and his father were. It shows that they are basically connected and share the same common intentions.

After watching Batman Begins, I realized just how significant some of the symbols turned out to be in the film. They not only helped the story along, but also made it easier to understand the reasons behind the behaviour of certain characters. The use of symbolism gave more depth to each character, and made the story more interesting.