social issues
Great movie...had me laughing and thinking both. There is a post in one of the other threads that seems to imply that if a movie is a comedy it cannot be serious or push serious social issues, which I strongly disagree with. I am a fan of JW, although not a worshipper. I found it interesting that the movie seems to push so fervently for the rights of Native Americans. Yet, it seems to be disprespectful toward them at the same time. Especially the one in the red broadcloth. He is a comic element, but the comic elements highlighted are poking fun using stereotypes of American Indians: his speech and how he repeatedly says things like "Big party, no whiskey!" and acts like a fool.
This is probably obvious, but the other issue I had was that of the feminists. What would the feminist criticism for this film be? Especially the idea that women need to be tamed through beating them with hard metal objects. Mrs. Mclintock seems also to forgive her husband without having her primary issue resolved. I, as a viewer, was still left with the impression that he had been unfaithful to her, with the barmaids or whoever, although obviously not with Mrs Warren. Yet suddenly she forgives him, although he never declares himself innocent of this, and the movie ends with him yelling, "Happy Day" and turning her bedroom light off.
My last question is, what did the whole hat thing mean? Sorry, that one got past me. Did it symbolize somethign or mean something when he threw his hat up there?