Catholic Dads

I love a good western. My favorites are “Once Upon a Time in the West”, “The Wild Bunch” and “High Noon”. Westerns are about how a man uses. or doesn’t use, violence and standing up for what is right in the face of opposition and when the people around you choose not to back you up or make waves. They’re also about justice – like when Bronson puts the harmonica in Henry Fonda’s mouth at the end of “Once Upon a Time…” (but then the Italians are connoisseur’s of revenge!) In this way, westerns are kind of religous experiences….

I think this is a rite of passage for many males on the way to manhood usually in the setting of school or workplace(especially if you’re blue collar). Many young men now have no moral barometer for the use of violence despite the oceans of violence in the media. It’s symptomatic of the “lost father” problem nowadays.

The new archetype of the lone gunman standing up to the bad guys with violence is Travis Bickle from “Taxi Driver”.

I find myself wanting to tell my kids to react with violence to bullies – in fact I hear my Dad’s words coming out of my mouth.

Best villain in a western, my vote: Jack Palance in “Shane”

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