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221 NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN The Decline of Ethics and the West(ern) William J. Devlin “You Can’t Help but Compare Yourself against the Old Timers” The “Wild West,” as depicted in the cinematic genre of the western, is “wild” not only in the sense that it is portrayed as an untamed land of lawlessness, but also in the sense that the films present us with a variety of “wild” but colorful characters, some of whom are considered notorious, while others are treated as role models. From charismatic individuals and brave groups of pioneers who sharply depict moral dispositions in their pursuit of law and order to villains, bandits, and gangs of outlaws who seek to challenge such order, the western ethos is built on stories of moral duty, friendship, loyalty, and camaraderie. “Good guys” like Marshal Will Kane (Gary Cooper) in High Noon (1952) and Shane (Alan Ladd) in Shane (1953) exhibit rugged masculinity and moral commitment. They are courageous and righteous, strong in their firm belief in justice and morality, and ready to save the day (and the town) from evildoers. Their moral qualities are clearly emphasized by their polar opposites: the “bad guys.” Villains, gunslingers, cruel mercenaries , and greedy gold hunters—from the cold and selfish Jack Wilson (Jack Palance) in Shane to the powerful Coy LaHood (Richard Dysart) in Pale Rider (1985)—pose as the moral counterparts to the heroes, as they are driven by their own selfish desire for power. Together, these two kinds of characters suggest that there is one overarching theme to the characters of the western genre. Namely, they are either good or bad; they are either heroes or villains. They either terrorize a small community of families striving to live the American dream, or they are called to heroically save it. In short, the moral poles of good and bad in the western cinematic society are very clearly defined. The lines are clearly 222 William J. Devlin drawn so that the viewer can easily see who is good, who is bad, and the reasons for such a distinction.1 This moral framework helps to provide stability and order to the western film. With the dualism between good and bad implicit in the film, the narrative is able to interweave these two components in such a way that the good always triumphs over the bad. But we find that notions of the hero, the villain, the narrative, and hence the moral framework and the stability of the western film are shattered in the Coen brothers’ No Country for Old Men (2007). In this chapter, I argue that when we examine this film as an example of the western genre, we will find that No Country for Old Men demonstrates a decline, or decay, of the traditional western ideal. First, there is decay, in the sense that the old western style of living has come to an end. Second, there is decay in the sense that the moral map that was used in the traditional western narrative has faded, leaving viewers without a clear moral compass to determine what is right and wrong, thereby forcing the western tradition to collapse into moral nihilism. I will show how this decline takes place by examining two of the central characters in the film, the hero, Sheriff Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones), and the villain, Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem), looking at how their characters develop in a way that is expressive of the decline of the western genre. The Moral Frontier: Mapping Out the Terrain of Good and Bad in the Western Narrative Films of the western genre have at least three central features that help to make them properly western films. First, each film has a hero who displays morally good qualities. The hero is the good guy who always makes the right decision, can always be understood as acting with moral justification, and always saves the day through his actions. Second, each film has a villain who serves as the antagonist to the hero. The villain is the bad guy who acts from selfish motivations and desires, can always be understood as acting immorally , and is always thwarted by the hero. Finally, each film follows a narrative in which the confrontation between the hero and the villain, between good and bad, is inevitable, and the hero triumphs in the end. My analysis of No Country for Old Men will show that this film, as a neo-western, degenerates each of these...

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