'The Searchers' Scene Analysis

I have chosen the scene in 'The Searchers' when the Edwards house comes under Indian attack. In this scene, all the expected stereotypes of the Native Americans are reinforced, through the portrayal of them as savage and unmerciful. This scene also represents the Indians as cowardly, due to the way they wait until nightfall, and until the family have no way of protecting themselves to attack. Although we do not see the actual attack on the house, the scream from Lucy and the panic among setting in throughout house helps create the representation of the Natives as savages. This reinforces the myth of the American west that Indians are cowardly fighters, having lured Ethan and the Priest away from the house, leaving only one man to protect the household. Not even Debbie is able to escape from these brutes and is captured.This further supports the notion of the Indians as savage, as they are not afraid to kidnap a helpless young girl. 

When the Indian is first shown in this scene, the music becomes more sinister sounding, and the man is made to look bigger, and more scary, through the way the camera is looking up to him. The Indian is also portrayed as quite mysterious, because he appears in a shadow, and in the whole scene he does not speak, but just blows the horn. In that sense, the western myth is reinforced, as it can be said that here the Indian is portrayed as almost animalistic. Further mythic portrayal of the Indians, is not in this scene in particular but the aftermath of the attack. The house is left burning, and all the family except for Lucy and Debbie are left dead, in the house and the implication is that their deaths were brutal, and again, savage.

Not only does the attack in this scene show the Indians as savage, it also reinforces the Western myth of isolation. The Edwards' house is completely out in the open, seemingly with no other signs of non-native life for miles around. Even though Ethan is not present in this scene, because of this he is, perhaps, still the flawed hero. Because he is not their, the family are all killed, so it is implied that he was lured away from the house by the Indians, who knew that he would have been capable of protecting them. This is because throughout the whole film, he is presented as entirely ruthless when it comes to the Comanche.