Spaghetti Westerns give us insight into how foreign filmmakers (and their targeted audience) view American society during a particular time period. In 1966, they used The Good, the Bad and the Ugly and Navajo Joe to explain their perception of American capitalism and imperialism through film. These were both made through the eyes of Italian directors.
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly follow three men as they search for treasure. The "Good" is a loner and thief. The "Bad" is an assassin. And the "Ugly" is the most vile criminal; including rapist. There is no alpha male, which is common for both movies. The traditional western uses money as basic incentives but the spaghetti western revolves around money. The entire narrative is about these three men challenging each other to find the lost gold. The director for Navajo Joe uses a trail of money leading Duncan up a trail into a trap set by Joe. This is a perception that Americans are greedy and will follow a path without thinking of the consequences. This view is made possible because of the Vietnam War during 1966. The view of Americans invading countries for wealth and resources. Navajo Joe also used a Native-American as the protagonist. Again, this is the opposite of classic western films. The Italian director points out the racism during 1966, using Indians as the target. He also views American military involvement in Vietnam as imperialist and uses the fact that we took over our land with force and drove out the Natives as proof of our possible intentions. Money and expansion are the goals for American imperialism according to these films. It is the foreign culture being expressed through spaghetti western film.
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