Historical Thinking

The sources for this assignment include 2 interviews with John Wayne, 2 trailers for the films discussed, and a brief secondary source that includes some of John Wayne’s thoughts on the films. You can watch these in any order, but it will serve you to take some notes and have your notes on the Cold War available for consultation.

It will be helpful to think broadly about how the Cold War affected how society, and in this case John Wayne (and other’s in favor of blacklisting) understood what it meant to be an American and the general fear of Communism.

Answer Length: Part 1 should be in essay form and approximately 200 words. Part 2 answers should be no longer than 150 words.

1. For this portion, you will want to take note of specific elements within the interviews and film trailers. You will need to briefly discuss at least 3 major themes that you notice throughout the 4 primary sources and contextualize these with lecture and textbook material

2. After reviewing the trailers and interviews and extruding at least 3 major themes from them, you will then write a letter to either John Wayne or Gary Cooper. This letter can take any form. That is, the letter may critique Wayne’s or Cooper’s ideas or portrayal of the American West and its perceived relationship to American values or it can discuss a any of a variety of ways that Wayne or Cooper relate to the Cold War. You should keep in mind their role in the film, the themes you discussed, and how those individuals might be in favor or not of those particulars.