The Searchers- CJ

In the movie The Searchers starring John Wayne and directed by John Ford there are many instances during which the land seems to define the alpha male cowboy (abbreviated AMC) and we are made to assume that this is how the alpha male cowboy has come to have the personality that he does.

In the first scene of the movie we are given a shot of the family looking out over the landscape all remarking that Uncle Ethan is out there, however at first it is impossible for us to see him. Then however we can see a slight movement as if it were nothing more then a shrub blowing in the wind but as our attention focuses onto that small movement it becomes more and more defined until we can tell that it is a man riding a horse who we almost instantly recognize as the AMC. Now why do we recognize this man as the AMC? It is because that is what we have been lead to accept, the AMC will ride out of the wilderness, as if he is born from it, and he will be alone coming into society. So immediately in the film we have an idea of how the land has defined the AMC's life up until now. The next example of how the land has shaped the AMC's way of life is when Martin's horse collapses because he did not let it rest enough.
Ethan, our AMC, knows a certain amount about how to survive out in the wilderness and it has taught him that patience can be and usually is a virtue. When he and Martin are hurrying towards Futtermans trading post Ethan tells Martin that his horse has to rest and drink or else it will not make it. Martin however hurries off without letting his horse get the appropriate rest. Shortly thereafter Martin's horse is clearly slowing down and Ethan, after letting his horse rest and recover goes galloping past Martin and his horse who will shortly there after pass out from exhaustion. In this situation Ethan was humble to the land and knew that he had to be patient because clearly at some point his horse had succumbed to the same issues as Martin's just did. This is a clear example of Thompson's idea that overall the land is the largest factor in life and the AMC will never be greater than it, but that with time the AMC can learn to deal with the issues of the wilderness and eventually overcome them to a point.

These two rather specific instances within a movie help to show us just how the land will shape the alpha male cowboy's life as well as personality because the first scene I described shows where the alpha male cowboy spends his time and the second scene shows how the area in which he lives defines his personality and how he reacts to situations.