{"id":1911825,"date":"2023-04-08T12:41:07","date_gmt":"2023-04-08T16:41:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/from-john-wayne-to-john-wick-american-cinema-loves-the-noble-outlaw\/"},"modified":"2023-04-08T12:42:32","modified_gmt":"2023-04-08T16:42:32","slug":"from-john-wayne-to-john-wick-american-cinema-loves-the-noble-outlaw","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/from-john-wayne-to-john-wick-american-cinema-loves-the-noble-outlaw\/","title":{"rendered":"From John Wayne To John Wick, American Cinema Loves The Noble Outlaw"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ffrom-john-wayne-to-john-wick-american-cinema-loves-the-noble-outlaw%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1911825&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div class=\"article-content\">\n<p>It\u2019s safe to say \u201cJohn Wick: Chapter 4\u201d avoided the movie theater malaise these past few weeks. During its opening weekend, the fourth installment in the silent-but-deadly hitman franchise set a record by earning just under <a href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/2023\/film\/news\/john-wick-4-box-office-sets-franchise-record-opening-weekend-1235564839\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">$74 million<\/a>. It continued to rake in cash by making <a href=\"https:\/\/www.msn.com\/en-us\/movies\/news\/john-wick-4-global-box-office-shoots-past-245-million\/ar-AA19nCDY\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">$245 million<\/a> worldwide in its first 10 days.<\/p>\n<p>Much like the smash hit of summer 2022, \u201cTop Gun: Maverick,\u201d the latest \u201cJohn Wick\u201d movie is an action-packed, winner-takes-all story that doesn\u2019t attempt to evangelize on behalf of contemporary political entities or push ideological goals. They\u2019re the <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/02\/25\/hollywood-studios-like-marvel-use-themes-of-revolution-to-radicalize-viewers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">increasingly rare<\/a> type of movie that exists simply to provide entertainment for entertainment\u2019s sake. But this doesn\u2019t mean they\u2019re void of greater substance.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2-long d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-820372997\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1379703300879-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div  class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-fdecd4ceb9aa8c410563d06e540df42d fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-fdecd4ceb9aa8c410563d06e540df42d\"><\/div>\n<p>For instance, both films feature male protagonists who are best characterized by their generally stoic demeanors and resentment of rigid, out-of-touch authority figures and institutions. This archetype is well known to moviegoers, and American cinema is replete with these types of characters: Han Solo, \u201cDirty\u201d Harry Callahan, John McClane, and Martin Riggs are just a few who come to mind.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The medium would simply not be the same without characters of this nature.<\/p>\n<p>And, to that point, many of the stories that most effectively depict Americanism and our traditional understanding of the founding ethos on-screen are dependent on this archetype \u2014 the \u201cnoble outlaw.\u201d The various characters portrayed by John Wayne in the Westerns of the mid-to-late-20th century provide us with the clearest example of this.<\/p>\n<h2>The Noble Outlaw<\/h2>\n<p>The man who stands with one foot in and one foot outside of society; the lone dissenter begrudgingly turned righteous vindicator; the, well, maverick whose heroism on the silver screen is spurred by righteous indignation is a distinctly American symbol.<\/p>\n<div  class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-5c51d3fa9e4ac5a553583f3bfb0ae095 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-6\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-5c51d3fa9e4ac5a553583f3bfb0ae095\"><\/div>\n<p>These characters are often depicted as cowboys in search of vengeance, vagabond veterans of the U.S. Civil War, or generally just rugged men spiritually grizzled by the constant struggle to stay alive when neither freedom nor comfort could be guaranteed.<\/p>\n<p>Tending to be individualistic, this character prefers or requires a life of solitude and engages with the larger society on a case-by-case basis to either reaffirm or challenge his ideals. He exists outside of man\u2019s law \u2014 by the nature of being an outsider \u2014 but has a deep appreciation for order, as it facilitates the conditions in which he can pursue his freedom and the natural role that objective morality plays in preserving it. At the same time, he is unafraid to resort to violence to protect or establish his way of life, ideals, and traditions. This is perfectly in line with the anomalous nature of the American founding, accurately depicts the enlightened scalawags who participated in it, and adheres to our traditional understanding of the country\u2019s founding ethos. As the quote attributed to legendary director John Ford goes, \u201cAmerica was born on the frontier.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The closest cultural parallels to this archetype are European cinema\u2019s depiction of the refined individuals who embody the cultural and aesthetic traditions of their people and Asian cinema\u2019s depiction of warriors who master self-discipline while adhering to strict codes of conduct in the pursuit of lineal honor. Essentially, knights and samurai are the cowboys of European and Asian cinema.<\/p>\n<h2>Wayne\u2019s World<\/h2>\n<p>In \u201cThe Man Who Shot Liberty Valance,\u201d Wayne plays Tom Doniphon, a rugged and self-reliant rancher who lives beyond the town of Shinbone. Doniphon embodies the contradictions and complexities of American history and identity as he is a successful white landowner opposed to racial discrimination, despite certainly being in a position to benefit from it, and readily uses lethal violence to preserve law and order and to rid the community he cares about of predatory ne\u2019er-do-wells.<\/p>\n<div  class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-5e1f9af4dd9ca71fdddbc75fd1c8f9ec fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-10\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-5e1f9af4dd9ca71fdddbc75fd1c8f9ec\"><\/div>\n<p>In \u201cTrue Grit,\u201d Wayne\u2019s portrayal of Rooster Cogburn emphasizes the character\u2019s rough-and-tumble approach to out-of-the-box problem-solving <em>and <\/em>his chronically bent elbow. Cogburn, a veteran of the Confederacy, possesses a strong moral compass and unwavering commitment to finish what he\u2019s started, but he often struggles with his personal demons. And his commitment to seeing justice done, no matter what, often puts him at odds with the Texas Rangers.<\/p>\n<p>Similar observations can be made about Wayne as Ethan Edwards in \u201cThe Searchers\u201d \u2014 a hardened frontiersman haunted by his past who takes on a years-long quest in the wilderness to free his kidnapped niece from the Comanche \u2014 and Hondo Lane in \u201cHondo,\u201d a half-Apache man torn between his admiration for Western civilization and his love for living among the wilderness.<\/p>\n<p>In these roles, Wayne depicts the spirit of Americanism, warts and all. In doing so, he animates the vast contradictions of human nature. The characters he portrays contain multitudes as they often walk in two contradictory worlds attempting to reconcile them \u2014 much like John Wick.<\/p>\n<h2>From Wayne To Wick<\/h2>\n<p>In 2014\u2019s \u201cJohn Wick,\u201d the first installment in the franchise, we are introduced to the titular character as he stumbles out of a black SUV, wounded and covered in blood. Wick, we soon learn, is a widower \u2014 in flashbacks, we see his wife passing away from an inoperable ailment \u2014 casting a long shadow over the rest of the franchise that helps to establish him as a somber and stoic man of many deeds and few words. The film\u2019s plot is set in motion when the puppy his wife arranged for him to receive as a postmortem gift is killed by Russian gangsters. Wick subsequently reacquaints himself with the sophisticated underground network of assassins he had previously retired from and, with the help of his hitman friends, exacts vengeance.<\/p>\n<p>Wick\u2019s motivation in this first film is to reaffirm the love and commitment he has for his deceased wife. Despite having previously set aside his pugnacious profession to live a tranquil domestic life, he accomplishes this through violent and extralegal means. Then again, his nemesis is a vast criminal syndicate that is outside the reach of legal institutions. <\/p>\n<p>The film\u2019s cast of characters exists in a brutal state of nature beyond the scope of social norms, much like the situations in which Wayne\u2019s various characters found themselves. They are outside a formal system of law where the governing authority is either the strongest or most resourceful man.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The rest of the franchise focuses more on the enigmatic underworld of assassins Wick is dragged back into, along with its loathsome and feared governing entity, the \u201cHigh Table.\u201d From the second movie onward, Wick struggles with and resents his return to the incredibly violent lifestyle he previously left behind, but he doesn\u2019t have a choice: He must kill in order to stay alive, he must murder to be free, to topple the corrupt regime he must do unspeakable things no one else could do.<\/p>\n<p>John Wick\u2019s story is predominantly about him being persecuted by corrupt individuals and institutions while trying <em>not to die<\/em> so the memory of his loved ones may live on. Throughout it, his freedom and life are at stake, but they are secondary to the larger goals of toppling the corrupt authority terrorizing him and his associates.<\/p>\n<p>Wick and the various characters portrayed by Wayne generally exist outside of an established social order or, at the least, are perpetually at odds with it as they struggle to preserve specific principles and create societal conditions in which future generations might thrive. The noble outlaw might embrace brutality, but this is an attribute meant to serve a greater purpose so he may assist in society\u2019s recalibration and proper re-ordering.<\/p>\n<h2>Tying It Together<\/h2>\n<p>Not to garner sympathy for Hollywood (it\u2019s the last place in the country that needs it), but the movie industry <em>is<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/marisadellatto\/2022\/05\/05\/covid-isnt-why-americans-arent-going-to-the-movies-study-suggests\/?sh=578dfb915180\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">hurting<\/a>. And it\u2019s not because big studios alienate audiences by taking artistic <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/02\/11\/disney-needs-to-cool-it-with-the-sequels\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">risks<\/a>, or because of the looming specter of Covid-19. People are tired of paying exorbitant prices for a constant stream of socially conscious <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/03\/24\/why-classics-like-casablanca-hold-up-and-modern-schlock-doesnt\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">shlock<\/a> when they can watch better content on their phones at home.<\/p>\n<p>But when films like \u201cJohn Wick: Chapter 4\u201d or \u201cTop Gun: Maverick\u201d are released, people flock to them. Moviegoers resonate with characters of the noble outlaw archetype and greatly enjoy the stories featuring them; the box office numbers speak for themselves. Just compare them to any of the recent superhero movie flops. Films of this nature don\u2019t seem to suffer from the same audience burnout.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Undoubtedly, the \u201cJohn Wick\u201d franchise\u2019s approach to the noble outlaw differs from John Wayne\u2019s, as the latter was far more explicitly aligned with the nation\u2019s founding ethos.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But the fact remains that this is a unique symbol that is, at its core, attuned to American cultural identity.<\/p>\n<p>John Wick is a cowboy, albeit in a bulletproof Armani suit.<\/p>\n<div  class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-1f0562f442187c4b9ed1c2575dc66092 fdrlst__b89e9-after-post-content\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-1f0562f442187c4b9ed1c2575dc66092\"><\/div>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">   Samuel Mangold-Lenett is a staff editor at The Federalist. His writing has been featured in the Daily Wire, Townhall, The American Spectator, and other outlets. He is a 2022 Claremont Institute Publius Fellow. Follow him on Twitter @Mangold_Lenett.<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/cinema\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">cinema<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/cowboy\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Cowboy<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/entertainment\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">entertainment<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/hollywood\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Hollywood<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/john-ford\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">John Ford<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/john-wayne\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">John Wayne<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/john-wick\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">John Wick<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/john-wick-4\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">John Wick 4<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/media\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Media<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/movies\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Movies<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/top-gun\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Top Gun<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/top-gun-maverick\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Top Gun: Maverick<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It\u2019s safe to say \u201cJohn Wick: Chapter 4\u201d avoided the movie theater malaise these past few weeks. During its opening weekend, the fourth installment in the silent-but-deadly hitman franchise set a record by earning just under $74 million. It continued to rake in cash by making $245 million worldwide in its first 10 days. Much<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1185,"featured_media":1911826,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[4123,12614,4475,10944,22169,18151,23855,22035],"class_list":["post-1911825","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","tag-american","tag-cinema","tag-john","tag-loves","tag-noble","tag-outlaw","tag-wayne","tag-wick"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1911825","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1185"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1911825"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1911825\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1911826"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1911825"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1911825"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1911825"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}