Spaghetti Westerns CJ N

While the Western was the quintessential American genre, the Spaghetti Western gave it a different twist through outside eyes. Spaghetti Westerns were filmed and directed mainly in Italy, and rarely followed the typical template for the Western film. As a result, commentary and criticism towards America can often be seen through the films which reveals a foreign perspective on American society at the time. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly was released in 1966 and replaces the traditional quest for justice and the moral compass with a seemingly insatiable and greedy lust for money as the focal point of the film. Of the three characters in the film; Good, Bad, and Ugly, none of them represent the traditional ideals of the cowboy. The fact that Good is still far from the honorable alpha male we are used to as opposed to Bad and Ugly reveals the idea that there is only a lesser of two evils; no one is inherently and completely moral or just. Instead money is the primary motivator among men in America, at least through Italian eyes. Reflected here is criticism of a strongly capitalistic country who's gaps between social classes are ever widening. In the film, Tuco's life is even put on the line all for the sake of making money in he and Goldie's scheme. Likewise, the film's constant violence as the answer to every problem and situation is not romanticized, lending it a more real and heavy effect on the viewer. America has long been criticized for its use of warfare and violence as a means of attaining land, resources and power.

Money again seems to be the primary motivator in the film Navajo Joe which was also released in 1966. The protagonist asks the town for money in return for his protection in which he is constantly risking his life in confrontations with bandits. However, the protagonist in this film is a Native American and comparatively is the most moral out of the characters. Joe is met with discrimination and hesitance when he asks the town for payment for his protection as they "don't make deals with Indians". This is a clear criticism of the discriminatory nature of American society in the eyes of outside countries, as well as the lack of equality throughout the social hierarchy.