The Raid to Rescue Debbie

In this scene, we see the Comanche camp of tepees, this is well-known iconography of the Native Americans in the western genre. Along with the tepees we see the hides of animals, skulls of animals they have successfully killed, and blankets with typically Native American designs. The Natives are also dressed as we expect them to be dressed. They have elaborate headpieces, long dark hair secured in plaits, and the men aren’t wearing any tops. This suggests that they are ‘uncivilised’ compared to the rangers who are fully clothed, complete with jackets and hats.

By scalping Scar, Ethan breaks from the generic conventions of the western, in that it is common for the natives to scalp westerners to deter them from crossing them. Instead, we see a westerner scalping a native, this makes us question Ethan’s attitude towards being a Cowboy. We also see Ethan and the other rangers challenging the Cowboy Codes that Gene Autry created. By charging in guns blazing, they break the first code that, “the Cowboy must never shoot first, hit a smaller man, or take unfair advantage.” The Natives shoot back at them in defence, this is justifiable as they were attacked.

By charging into the natives’ camp, we see a symbolisation of the idea that the Wild West will be tamed by civilisation. The rangers (a group enforcing the law), are punishing the tribe for the capture of Debbie, and as such they are ‘justified’ in their actions. However, we also see that they go too far. This is shown when they have charged through the camp, and they turn to charge again, unnecessarily, on the Captain’s orders. It is interesting that the Captain is also the Reverend. As a Reverend you would expect him to be tolerant of others and averse to violence. Yet here we see him leading a charge and potentially wounding women and children.