John Ford - Fort Apache 2

More random thinkings on Ford's Fort Apache

Although the Apache play the role of hostile savage threat - considerable respect is given to their plight and they are shown easily defeating the US Cavalry with skill and integrity- The character of the corrupt reservation representative acknowledges the government's failures in dealing with the native peoples.

The script of this movie really attempts to present quite a striking number of socio-political contradictions and complexities within a given historical context - and presented in a way as to convey a commentary on the contemporary post-way situation as well - and ends on note that optimismically stresses traditional collective values over individualism.

By today's standards, the ideal values put forward could be considered very conservative - although considering the current governmental positioning to the far right, perhaps not as rigid.

My only unresovled question is how well did the film succeed in fluidly juggling all the various complexities it very ambitiously set out to deal with... and maintaining a unified structure....