Author: Hilary Lowe

The American Dream: A Fallacy for Some by Angie Indik

AMDreamThe American Dream is said to be attainable by anyone. Politicians boast about this notion during campaign speeches. “If you work hard enough, you will achieve your ambitions in America!” Movies throughout time, such as The Pursuit of Happiness, Cinderella, or Arthur, portray the “rags to riches” story that attract a sizable audience. Famous people like Oprah Winfrey, Steve Jobs, or Sam Walton have all come from financially meager backgrounds but they acquired great wealth in their adult lives. It is these stories, fact or fiction, that give life and hope in the American Dream. For some people, the American Dream does not have to mean huge riches. It could involve living in a comfortable home. It can entail providing necessities like food and clothing for a family along with attaining some extras like toys and the ability to take a vacation every year. This American Dream is certainly a reality for many people, but for others like Florence Owens Thompson pictured in the famous “Migrant Mother” photograph, the American Dream is an absolute fallacy.

mmThe “Migrant Mother” photo was taken by Dorothea Lange in 1936. Florence Owens Thompson is the focal point of the picture. The woman is surrounded by three of her children. Thompson carries a worried expression. Two of her children hide their faces from the camera, perhaps out of shame. The third child is an helpless infant. The photograph displays depravity. These people are wearing old, torn clothes. They appear unbathed. The message is the mother and her family are poor. This picture is iconic for not only presenting what poverty looked like in the 1930s, but because of the emotional response it received. A parent’s job is to provide necessities to his or her family and it is apparent that Thompson was unable to do so.  Lange took this picture to show the inhumanity of being one of America’s poor. For the people who were not devastated by the Depression, Lange was telling them the American Dream is not alive. The message was the system is broken and we as Americans need to do something about it. As photographer Jacob Riis brought awareness of the horrors of child labor (and poverty) around the turn of the century, Lange was doing the same with her pictures as she was exposing the degradation of poverty. Both photographers were motivating people to act.  The “Migrant Mother” was an important picture then as it is today. While America has not experienced this grand level of poverty since the Great Depression, this photograph is a reminder of the time when we did. It reinstates that poverty is real and that the notion of the American Dream does not exist for all.

 

The Political Undertones of The Wizard of Oz by Alexa Morgan Bricker

Though I hadn’t read the book as a kid, to me the movie The Wizard of b5596e939586e577cc01ff888998b69fOz seemed to be nothing more than a simple fairy tale about a girl who travels to a faraway land and meets a number of characters, ultimately learning the lesson that home is the best place to be. But now, having learned a great deal more about American history, it seems obvious that not just this story, but the majority of stories, are reflections of their time periods. I am always really fascinated to find out when the stories I grew up watching or reading have a deeper, hidden meaning, so I was excited to know The Wizard of Oz does too.

Many children’s books, both old and contemporary, are riddled with political undertones. Though some messages are more subtle than others, it is pretty evident that The Wizard of Oz is a clear reflection of the state of America’s political system at the time it was written.

Nearly every character and theme can relate directly toward the Populist movement and its players the years leading up to the publishing of the book. In his essay, Henry Littlefield argues that each beloved character and theme from the story can be linked to the environment of the late 1800 and early 1900s in America.  The scarecrow represents the farmer, fighting for the introduction of silver into the economy to boost the dollar, and the Wizard represents politicians themselves and their trickery. I find it hard for the points Littlefield makes to be no more than coincidence when everything from the silver shoes to the twister seemingly finding a tie to something in the real world.

In 1900, when the book was first published, the political and economic state of the U.S. wasn’t that bright. Money and jobs were scarce, and like we’ve seen at other points in history when times are tough, people turn to politicians to resolve the problems but are often disappointed when they realize the politicians have their own interests in mind, not those of the people. In this political cartoon originally published on Bizzaro Comics, Dorothy asks the Cowardly Lion, the Scarecrow and the Tin Man that they must be politicians since the things they “need” are a heart, brain, and courage. While not the original intent of the characters, the images of Dorothy and her crew have been utilized in new ways to reflect many different eras of political distress.2djw7du

In this more recent cartoon from Righttoons.com, big business is still depicted as sneaky and conniving and having an upper hand in the political scene over the people, just as it was depicted in in the time of The Wizard of Oz. Though it cannot be known for sure if this is the true intent of the story, it shouldn’t really matter. This story and many others have been used to better explain political affairs that may otherwise be confusing. To me, allegories are more than comical comparisons, they can be an important tool into seeing a part of society that needs to uncovered.

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Alternate View of OZ: The Wiz by Calvin Thrall

The image I’ve selected is a promotional poster for the 1978 musical The Wiz, an alternate take on The Wizard of Oz with an entirely African-American cast. To The-Wizunderstand why this film exists, and why the fact that it exists is relevant, we have to examine the conditions under which L. Frank Baum created the original Wizard of Oz story in the final years of the 19th century. Baum was a member of the Democratic Populist party, and in the 1890s he ardently supported Populist William Jennings Bryan in both his 1896 and 1900 presidential campaigns – obviously, both were unsuccessful (Littlefield, 49). Henry Littlefield proposes that The Wizard of Oz is an allegory for the political climate during the time Baum was writing it: Dorothy is the common citizen, the cowardly lion is Bryan, and the Wizard represents the U.S. government leadership (the emperor has no clothes). Though Bryan’s dual losses in the presidential election proved that Baum’s Populist party was in the minority, The Wizard of Oz has a happy ending, with all of the characters realizing that what they were looking for was inside themselves all along. If Littlefield is right about the allegory, we can see The Wizard of Oz as a story that Baum wrote with the intent to empower and motivate his fellow Democratic Populists to pick themselves up, dust themselves off, and perhaps be a bit smarter and braver the next time around. Baum was writing for a minority group that didn’t have the political or social clout that it desired.

Flash forward almost eight decades to the conception of The Wiz in the late 1970s. Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5 are superfamous African-American pop stars in a nation that had only been desegregated fairly recently. It would be disrespectful to say that L. Frank Baum’s Democratic Populists were ever in a situation as dire as that of African-Americans in the mid 20th century; however, enough parallels can be drawn that I believe it is fair to say that The Wizard of Oz and The Wiz were created with a similar goal – to empower and encourage a minority demographic that lacks social and political power. The Wiz feautures a Dorothy who is from Harlem, not Kansas, but both locations were chosen with the goal of appealing to the common citizen as opposed to the elite. Additionally, the Wizard himself in The Wiz turns out to actually be a failed politician, which is probably a symbol for the numerous ways that the U.S. government has failed and mistreated African-Americans throughout the country’s history. If The Wizard of Oz was an attempt to rally and reinvigorate the downtrodden and few Democratic Populists, than The Wiz was an attempt to empower African-Americans, who suffered awful injustices at the hands of the government trusted with protecting it. Both works succeed in these goals while simultaneously delivering a fun, entertaining musical.

Oz Wars by Carlee Cantwell

After our class discussions on The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and its use as an oz_wars_by_denism79-d30j2a3allegory, I got to thinking about other movies that could have employed the same method. Some further research revealed theories about Star Wars and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz being essentially the same story. Although created in completely different eras, the resemblance between the two works is startling.

Once I found out about the theory I was curious to see if any images had been created representing the story book and science fiction movie. Sure enough, I stumbled upon an artist rendering by Denis Medri of what he calls “Oz Wars.” The image depicts Dorothy walking somewhere with a Wookie, who represents the lion, a cross-over between C3P0 and the scarecrow, r2d2 as the tin man, and Toto mixed with Darth Vader.

There are two levels of similarities between these two works: the characters and the allegory they represent. The main protagonist in each story, Dorothy and Luke Skywalker, both leave their home with their Aunt and Uncle in search of something. On their journey both have a companion with them. For Dorothy, Toto takes this position and for Luke it is R2D2. The interesting part about these companions is they cannot communicate directly with the protagonist but both help move the story along.

Then there are the three companions the protagonists meet along the way. In Star Wars, Han Solo is searching for wisdom in the same way that the Scarecrow is hoping to get a brain. The Lion’s quest for courage is replicated in Chewbacca the Wookie’s search. Both also happen to be furry creatures. Finally, while the Tin Man is looking for a heart, C-3PO desires love among all things. There are also unnamed sources of evil in both stories, represented by the flying monkeys and Storm Troopers of Darth Vader’s forces.

Beyond the realm of the similarities in characters, both the story book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and the film Star Wars, both have a secondary allegorical meaning. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, whether intentionally or not, serves an allegory for the Populist movement in the 1890s and early 1900s. With the gold standard mimicking the Yellow Brick Road, the silver shoes showing the Populist solution to economic troubles, and the Cowardly Lion representing William Jennings Bryan among other things, there is clear evidence to the allegorical nature of the story book.

To the same tune, George Lucas the creator of Star Wars, has come out in recent years stating that the film, originally aired in 1977, was meant to represent the Vietnam War in many ways. While the film did not make it to the screen before the conclusion of the conflict, the screenwriting process took place at the height of the fighting. Many have said they can see the resemblance of Han Solo to a guerilla on the run from the Viet Kong. It also has followed suit that during most of the releases of future Star Wars films since the original film, America has been involved in some form of armed conflict, most recently in 2005 when Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith premiered during the United States controversial involvement with the war in Iraq. While L. Frank Baum may have unintentionally written about Populism and George Lucas outright says he is presenting an allegorical film, it is clear to see the similarities between these two works.

http://denism79.deviantart.com/art/Oz-Wars-182287947

“So Much Happened Before Dorothy Dropped In” by Elizabeth Yazvac

In my young twenty years of life, I have been dragged to see A Musical Christmaswicked-logo Carol on more public school field trips than any person should have to endure. But, despite these unhappy visits to the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera, I have managed to preserve my love of musicals by way of Wicked: The Musical. Four t-shirts, one sweatshirt, two Collector’s Edition Grimmeries, one bootlegged soundtrack (oops), four shows in Pittsburgh, and one show in San Francisco later, my mother has forbidden me from purchasing more tickets to see Wicked, and has certainly stopped buying me overpriced clothing with the word “popular” on it.

I’m not sure what sparked my obsession with Wicked: The Musical, especially considering I had never been obsessed with The Wizard of Oz – the film or the book. Certainly, the cast of the Broadway production is absolutely fabulous, and the songs are ridiculously catchy, but no other musical has ever cost me (read: wicked-musicalmy mom) so much money. In addition to the powerful message of believing in yourself and the importance of knowing the whole story before making judgments, the sheer creativity and modern political allegory that warns against the power of those in charge are what makes Wicked resonate so well with audiences.

Wicked: The Musical is based off of a book (by Gregory Maguire also titled Wicked), that follows a girl named Elphaba and describes how she eventually became known as The Wicked Witch of the West. The name Elphaba is a play onfakemonkey the sounds of L. Frank Baum’s (author of original The Wonderful Wizard of Oz) initials – LFB. This is only one of literally hundreds of references to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the children’s book that Wicked is based upon. Wicked opens as the townspeople of Oz are rejoicing in the death of The Wicked Witch of the West. Glinda The Good Witch arrives (traveling via bubble) and tells the townspeople that they should not be so quick to hate the Wicked Witch, and reveals that a long time ago she was friends with The Wicked Witch, whose name was Elphaba. The rest of the musical is a flashback to Glinda and Elphaba’s time at Shiz University.

Wicked: The Musical is full of creative reimagination, and this helps transform the message of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz into a message that resonates with today’s audiences, although the underlying theme of being hesitant to trust those in power remains. For example, Elphaba’s sister Nessarose receives a pair of silver slippers as a gift. Later in the musical, Elphaba enchants the slippers, turning them red. In this way, the slippers pay homage to both the original book and the film (the book had silver slippers, and the film had ruby red ones). Another interesting example of this re-imagination is the flying monkeys. In Wicked, Elphaba is told to cast a spell to prove her magical abilities, not knowing what the spell will do to the monkey she is casting upon. After successfully completing the spell, she realizes in horror that she has caused all the monkeys in the room to painfully and permanently sprout wings.

Many other characters and plot elements play on the original universe created in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and this makes watching Wicked a much richer experience for audiences who are familiar with the story of The Wizard of Oz. Although the political messages are much more apparent in the book Wicked, they are also present in the musical. Animals (with a capital A) can talk, until they are stripped of their speaking abilities, and put in cages “where they belong.” Plot elements like this are a way to translate the old allegory of populism into a modern-day political message. Audiences today wouldn’t pick up on allegory about the silver standard, so the transformation of the story to, instead, send messages warning against the subjugation of groups or the trickery of those in power makes Wicked just as powerful as the original, while still maintaining the underlying theme of distrust in government. By using both the themes found in the original L. Frank Baum book and 1939 film, as well as themes for today’s audience, Wicked is definitely a mix of the best from the old and the new.

Wicked Poster: The Image Kid. http://imgkid.com/wicked-the-musical-logo.shtml

Flying Monkey: “Trouble in Oz?” The Upstager: all the world’s an upstage. 1 April 2014. https://theupstager.wordpress.com/2010/04/01/trouble-in-oz/

Elphaba and Galinda: Mitchell, Keri. “Want to see ‘Wicked’? Buy tickets now!” Advocate. 15 January 2013. http://lakewood.advocatemag.com/2013/01/15/want-to-see-wicked-buy-tickets-now/

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid–Iconic of the West by Sarah Klein

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is unique in that the iconic movie is based Butch-Cassidy-and-the-Sundance-Kid-Robert-Redford-and-Paul-Newmanoff of the true story of outlaws Butch Cassidy, born George LaRoy Parker, and the Sundance Kid, born Harry Longbaugh. I had the good fortune of watching PBS’ documentary on the men just a few weeks ago. Brilliant timing. The film chronicles the history fairly accurately, but as one might expect, glosses over their very beginnings and perhaps the less exciting parts of their lives.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid captures a snapshot of American history in a thrilling and telling way. Condensing their story into a film just under two hours required the film to work over time inferring and bringing to life what life was like in the late 1800s Wild West. The film begins in sepia tone, looking aged and brown, as one might imagine the West to look–antiqued. The browns of the wood-built Western town and the dirt roads blend with the sepia tone to create a perfect depiction of a stereotypical frontier town. The film opens with Butch and Sundance smoking, drinking and gambling in a saloon, emblematic of Wild West happenings. Within the first few moments, a horse is seen pulling a wagon and Butch and Sundance look like the quintessential cowboys of the era.

Throughout the film, iconic images of the West are included, such as steam powered trains traveling across vast open space, huge bank vaults, debauchery in saloons and brothels, train robbing, riding horseback through a476b0502fa2cb3d92600329cbe3bbd8open fields with canyons in the background, a Marshall urging townspeople to take action against the outlaws, and a chase scene on horses, just to name a few. Due to these images, and the panoramic scenes of the land, obviously the West, it is quite apparent that this film is indeed a Western.

The primary themes from the film include outlaws/bandits and the idea of making one’s own in a rather lawless world. Perhaps the iconicity of the West lies in the idea of it, and that it represents a way of life akin to Butch and Sundance’s where they live for ultimate freedom and adventure. The epitome of the West nowadays is Las Vegas, where one goes to lose their inhibitions, win money, have fun and go wild. Freedom. Americans have always yearned to make it on their own, from rags to riches, the American Dream, and all of those images associated with obtaining success through hard work on American soil. The West is no different–it represents the attitude that adventure and freedom lies beyond our hometowns, that success and riches is obtainable on one’s own terms.

The American West: Glorified, Capable, and Adaptable by Nicole Thomas

The Western Film I chose to watch was Once Upon a Time in the West.  This A13galZ0-yL._SL1500_movie was made in 1968, and it is set in a made up-town somewhere in Utah called “Flagstone.” It was filmed in a studio in Italy and in the Spanish desert. The overall theme of this film adheres to what most, if not all of America, believes to be stereotypical of the American West. We drew many of these same themes on the back of our maps in class on Monday. The idea of the American West was created to glorify the American people, especially white American men.  And most of these ideas have made their way into popular icons and themes created by the media through film.

First, I want to discuss the setting. The movie poster really does say it all. The movie is set in the frontier. The land is barren, harsh, and the town of Flagstone is very much isolated. It is equipped with all of the fantastic structures and furnishings that popular culture believes the west should have such as saloons, train stations, and old dusty wooden houses. The setting describes the life of the American Frontier. There are horses, railroads, covered wagons, and dirt roads. Everything that we believe to be “the west.”  The American West is dirty and wild, and in order to survive Americans had to adapt to the wilderness, or die, which makes us a strong and powerful people (maybe/maybe not).

Next, I want to discuss the characters. The characters of this western exhibit certain roles and icons of the “American West” including the role of men, women, and Indians. There are four main characters: three men and one woman. First, there’s Frank, played by Henry Fonda. Frank is a notorious murdering, gang-leading cowboy. Frank is the villain. Then there are the two hero figures, Cheyenne (Jason Robards) and Harmonica (Charles Bronson). Cheyenne is a bandit who has been wrongly accused of committing Frank’s crimes, and of course, he wants Frank dead. Harmonica is a mysterious, sharp shooting, stranger who speaks little and frequently plays sad songs on the harmonica. He also wants Frank dead. The lives of the men in this movie are quite glorified and fantastic.

Then there’s Jill or Mrs. McBain (Claudia Cardinale) who is the only female role in the film. Unsurprisingly, she is a beautiful buxom ex-prostitute who married one of her clients for his money. She plays a helpless role in the film. She ends up getting taken advantage of by Frank, and the only reason she’s alive is because Cheyenne and Harmonica protect her from harm. Remarkably, throughout the movie there are also African American and Native American slaves as well.

This brings me to my point of the idea of the American West being the ideal world for white American men. The idea of the American West avoids all of the contradictory parts of history such as Native American enslavement (driving them out of their lands) and Women’s rights. In this film, and many other western films, the Native Americans and the women are more than happy to be slaves to white men, and everyone seems pretty ok with it.

Much like Betsy Ross, I think the idea of the American West is kept alive because it is made to seem simple, easy, and entertaining.  The idea of good vs. evil, cowboys vs. Indians, and the “final frontier” is entertaining to America, and to the world. I think the reasoning behind the idea of the West makes sense, because although it isn’t really historically accurate, it seems to make America…well… American. In avoiding certain parts of history that make us look bad, through the media and through movies like Once Upon a Time in the West we can bring the image of the America we want everyone in the world to have, which I think is the idea of a durable, adaptable, and capable people.

 

Shane: Manliness and Independence by Lea Millio

In a random selection, I chose to watch the Western film Shane. I have never taken the opportunity to watch a Western film but I had some idea about what I was going to see in this movie.  The first scene was exactly what I expected to see: mountains, horses, a big blue sky, and a cowboy.

To shortly w-shanesummarize the film: The cowboy, Shane, is wandering through the West on his horse as he comes across a family living on the homestead.  Shane befriends the family, especially the little boy, Joey. Joey thinks Shane is invincible and is mesmerized by him. However, Shane is very mysterious and the father of the family, Joe, is reluctant to trust him. There are also some subtle feelings between Shane and Joe’s wife, Marian.  The movie includes classic Western scenes of saloon fighting and drinking just as I had expected it would. The family that Shane meets is struggling to keep hold of their “claim” (land) along with other people on the homestead. A greedy man named Ryker claims that Joe is on his land and he has come to take it back. One by one, other families on the homestead leave their land but Joe is determined to stay.  Ryker recruits a notorious gunman, Jack Wilson, to help him fight off the people on “his land”.  Joe plans to fight Ryker and Wilson but Shane’s inner cowboy and previous gunfighting experience surfaces as he knocks out Joe and goes to fight Ryker and Wilson. Shane ends up killing Wilson in a saloon shootout.  To Joey’s disappointment and Marian’s relief, Shane rides off just as any true cowboy would too.  w-shane-9

Two themes that I found most prevalent in Shane, are manliness andindependence.  There are two instances in the film when Shane is asked to leave the saloon because he is not fit to drink with the men.  It is obvious that the Western men pride themselves on their “manliness.”  I’m assuming that most of them have built their homes and started their families out west.  This also fits in with the theme of independence.  The men on the homestead want to be independent and keep their “claim” without being controlled by land barons.  Also, Shane is very independent. He enters this story alone, and leaves alone.

Significant images and icons I identified were horses, guns, mountains, saloons, whiskey, cowboy attire including hats, and wagons.  All of these images are consistent throughout the film and are what I would describe as classic Western images.

Because I can identify these images as “classic Western” images, I stand by my opinion that the West is an icon. I already knew what to expect before I watched this film and I think that says something about the West being an American icon.  The West has its own style and iconic images that the majority of people across the United States and elsewhere could identify.

Picture Sources:

http://shauncostello.com/tag/lawrence-kasdan/

Hondo and the 1950s Western Hero by Deja Sloan

hondo-movie-poster-1954-1020258317After watching the 1953 adventure film Hondo, I can safely say it follows the pattern of many American Western films, and heavily reinforces to the idea of the overall icon of the “West.” The movie shows the adventures of a very mysterious, very masculine, cowboy/outlaw/gunman, Hondo Lane (played by John Wayne), who develops an unlikely relationship with a New Mexican housewife (Mrs. Lowe) and her young son. The movie deals with themes such as masculine bravery, territory, ways of life, and surprisingly, love.

All of Hondo’s heroism is accredited to his sheer bravery and unapologetic boss attitude. He travels alone accompanied by his dog Sam (Man’s best friend) and is not afraid to stand up to any man—White or Native. Another sub theme in the movie was death, which comes close to Hondo almost every scene. This, accompanied by his leather-ish shirt, handkerchief, rugged appearance, and extensive knowledge on Apache culture and gun use, makes him the epitome of the stereotypical Cowboy contemporary society that has come to associate with the old west. (That and Hondo’s ability to take shots of straight whiskey and win a saloon fight against three other men without breaking a sweat). The movie also emphasizes how the Apache value bravery as well, so much so that they spare the life of a young boy who shot at one of their own because he was protecting his mother.

The protection of one’s territory is also a huge theme in the movie. In this case, Mrs. Lowe represents the All American family protecting its home with a gun when she first meets Hondo. The Native Americans are trying to protect what is left of their land (reservation) from white people, and Hondo represents the West in general as he is brave, wild, and doesn’t have a territory of his own, but protects whoever he needs to as a “good” cowboy. There are a number of lengthy war scenes in the movie that begin over a dispute of territory and who it belongs to. This tension over ownership of land also feeds into the idea of the “American West” as they depict it being extremely iHondo22mportant, and worth dying for.

Another re-occurring theme that caught my attention over the course of the film was the idea of a “Way of life.” Hondo, who is a loner is very anti-social, and chooses to travel alone and make up his own rules. Mrs. Lowe stays quiet about her husband’s affairs, even when she’s aware of all of his unfaithfulness in order to protect her son in a cloud of oblivion. There is also a scene in the movie where Hondo refuses to let Mrs. Lowe feed his dog because “He’s independent…that’s the way to be.”  Even the Apaches are given a moral standard of how to live bravely, and reward whites for living up to it

Surprisingly, the theme of love also made its way into the film a number of times. In the beginning of the film, Mrs. Lowe is depicted as a loving mother that will do anything to protect her son, and is faithfully awaiting the return of her husband. Later on, the Apaches develop so much love for her son that they almost demand she remarry so he has a father to look up to. And in the end, of course, Honda and Mrs. Lowe end up together, as an unlikely couple with a strong tough man capable of protecting a weak, beautiful, delicate, young woman.

These themes are known across many western films, and perfectly fit the iconic “Western” image so many of us have. Images of “savage” Indians with colorful face paint, dark reddish skin, long hair and “tribal yelling” are some of the stereotypes used to depict the Indians in the film. The image of a strong American family and complete male dominance are also used to depict other iconic images associated with the west. What makes this film American is its sense of pride over “heroes” such as Hondo and the “Perfect” American family. What makes this film western is its open backdrop, shoot-outs, Indian slaughter, and a brave cowboy who gets the girl.

 

Disney and John Henry – by Kelsey Miranda

Walt Disney Pictures created an animated short depicting the life of American jh1legend John Henry.  The cartoon tells a story of two freed slaves John Henry and his wife Polly Ann on the search for work and a new home during Reconstruction. John Henry finds a crew of exhausted workers who are having trouble completing the railroad’s deadline.  The railroad company has a contract with the workers; if they complete their deadline on time the workers are entitled to 50 acres of land.  John Henry gets right to work but workers become fearful when a steam-powered drill comes to finish the job. The laborers contracts will be broken if the steam-powered drill proves to be more efficient. This part of the film dealt with the anxiety workers had during this time that industries would replace manpower with machines. In Nelson’s reading this anxiety propelled labor unions and the communist party to use pictures of John Henry to represent Black laborers.

In the film American hero John Henry will not let his crew lose their land due to the machine, which results in a competition between John Henry and the steam-powered drill.  Whoever gets the most work done by sundown wins the competition. John Henry with two hammers beats the machine; the workers and his wife Polly Ann were given the land that they were promised in their contract. Unfortunately, John Henry loses his life due to exhaustion and the movie ends with Polly Ann telling this story to her and John’s son. In the film, Disney recreated versions of the worker songs about John Henry, which showed the icon’s lasting power in American Folk music.

In the readingJH2s by Scott Reynolds Nelson stated music teachers taught rhythm using John Henry folk songs during the 1950’s and later. He was also written about in many children books but was not discussed in other disciplines due to the association with the communist party.  This Disney short was a part of a compilation called American Legends and the addition of the John Henry short was only released recently compared to the other shorts that were released in the 1950s. This displayed the controversy that surrounded the icon but his popularity continued through children stories, music, and movies.  John Henry has had a strong lasting power in American society and is one of the greatest African American heroes.