The Catholic Imagination of John Ford

In "The Nationalization of the Catholic Imagination: The Westerns of John Ford", Anthony Burke Smith explains that the catholic imagination of western cinema focuses on the social dislocation of communities and individuals in those communities.  He adds that these films can be related to social disruptions of the time, such as depression, war, and postwar cultural struggles.  This social dislocation is integral in the films of John Ford.  In "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence, for example, Stoddard is pulled from the East and dumped into the Wild West, and the film details his struggle to resolve his place in the community.  The community is resolving its own displacement, which manifests in the form of outlaw Liberty Valence.  Both Stoddard and the community find support around them to help them through their adjustments.  Tom Donaphin acts as the savior for Stoddard, whereas Stoddard is the savior of the community.  Through these men, the community rids itself of Liberty Valence, but more importantly, learns a lot about itself and the ways of the West.

In "Drums Along the Mohawk", when Lana and Gil first arrive back at the homestead, they are treated to the presence of Blue Back.  Gil is outside when Blue Back steps into the doorway and severely scares Lana.  She screams and flails about until Gil strikes her across the face.  With this scene, we are given a heavy-handed example of the social dislocation typical of Ford films.  We have a rich city girl coming to the frontier littered with danger and adversity, mostly in the form of the Native American.  With this scene, we get another Ford protagonist who is trying to find her way in a tumultuous community.  While many Ford films are set during the Indian Wars, this flick finds home in the American Revolution, which further extends the reach of his broad catholic imagination.

Recently, I have been reading "Meditations in Green", by Stephen Wright.  It is series of closely connected vignettes concerning a man named Griffin.  The novel cuts from his time as a Field Researcher for the Army during the Vietnam War to his present residence in a nameless metropolis, most likely New York City.  The book is funny and sometimes psychedelic, while remaining profound.  The thing of most intrigue in the story is the perception of the war.  Most of the characters were not foot soldiers, and rather stayed inside all day and analyzed war data.  They would spend a lot of time doing nothing, just smoking reefer and sitting on the roof of the compound.  Many of them, including Griffin, eventually turned to smoking heroin, leaving some badly addicted.  But in the end, this cast of characters can't get enough of Vietnam.  They love the life and never want to go back to the states, which I find fascinating.