Cinematic AnalysisShane

Jack BulgerRed Group

Part A:
The theme of the movie Shane is that standing up to ones enemies can be
hard, but it is easier and more rewarding when everyone works together towards a
common goal.
The movie begins at Joe Starks homestead, where he lives with his wife,
Maryanne, and his son Joey. The family is visited by a man on horseback named
Shane, who stops to rest. Joe is initially friendly to Shane, until the Ryker brothers,
who represent the ranchers who want wide open space for their cattle to roam, pay
an unwelcome visit. Joe thinks Shane is associated with Ryker, but when he finds out
he isnt, Joe invites Shane to stay with him and his family. Shane accepts, and helps
Joe around the house.
The homesteaders decide to band together and go into town together for food
and the like, to avoid trouble from the ranchers. Shane gets into a fight with a bar
full of ranchers. Joe joins in, and they beat up all the ranchers in the bar.
Later, the ranchers stampede the homesteaders freshly plowed soil,
effectively ruining it, as an act of intimidation and domination. Shane shows Joey how
to shoot a gun, and when asked to by Joey, proves his worth as an impressive
sharpshooter. Meanwhile, talk of a new gunslinger named Wilson arises, and a
homesteader named Tory goes to investigate, and try to make him leave. The
gunslinger then shoots and kills Tory. This makes some homesteaders scared and
anxious to leave, but when Ryker sets fire to one of the homesteaders houses, the
homesteaders become more stubborn to stay, and not be budged by the ranchers.
Joe wants to go fight Ryker and Wilson, but Shane fights him and knocks him
out, for his own good. Shane goes to the bar, where he has a gun duel with Wilson and
a few other men, shooting and killing each of them. After the duel, he says goodbye
to an unhappy Joey, and leaves town, on his journey into the unknown.
Part B:
The historical setting of the movie Shane was between the years 1860-1900.
It took place around the same time that the government passed the Homestead Act,
and homesteaders and cowboys moved west to find living and job opportunities,
respectively. Americans in the west had to work hard to reap benefits from their
lifestyles. Homesteaders had to build their own homes. As there werent many trees
around to use to build these homes, the homesteaders would make soddies to live in.
A soddie was a structure with the walls and roof made from blocks of sod-strips of
grass with the thick roots and earth attached, according to the textbook AmericaPathways to the Present: Modern American History. The movie did not portray any of
these structures as homes of any of the homesteaders. The cowboys in the movie
were not shown exactly as they existed in the 1800s, either. The job of a cowboy was
hard and dangerous, whereas in the movie, all the cowboys were happy and cheerful,
and seemed to have a lot of fun doing their work. Also, in the movie, each of the
cowboys is white. However, University of Oregon history professor, Kenneth Wiggins
Porter, argued that the number was closer to 8,000 or 9,000[African Americans]of
the 35,000 or so cowboys who worked in the frontier cattle industry.

Part C-#1:
The production crew of the movie Shane used cinematographic techniques
to increase the viewers awareness of the setting. Whenever there is an outdoor
scene, there are always rolling hills, or wide open skies, or majestic mountains in the
background of the shot. The techniques are especially effective when theres a shot
that is pulled way back, one can see much more of the background. Another way the
setting is more easily seen is that frequently, the characters of the movie are not the
main focus of the shot. Obviously they are the most important and interesting part of
the shot, but they are not in the center, and instead lets the eyes of the viewer
wander around the screen and take in everything around the characters.

Works Cited
Cayton, Andrew, et al. "Mining, Ranching and Farming." Looking to the West, 18601900. Modern American History. Needham: Prentice Hall, n.d. 271-73. Print. Pathways
to the Present.
Hardaway, Roger D. "African American Cowboys." PBS. Educational Broadcasting Co.,
n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2015. <http://www.pbs.org/wnet/ranchhouse/1867_essay6b.html>.