The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance Essay

John Ford’s 1962 film The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance is considered to be one of the greatest of American movies. This Western film begins with Senator Ransom Stoddard and his wife, Hallie, returning to Shinbone for the funeral of Tom Doniphon, an ex-outlaw and old friend of theirs. Upon the Stoddard’s arrival, the editor in chief of the Shinbone Star begins to question the Senator’s reason for visiting, forcing him to revisit his past. From then on, a flashback of events in the Old West begins. In John Ford’s decision to film The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance in black and white, as opposed to the latest innovation of colored production, he suggests a sense of nostalgia. As Ransom Stoddard reflects on his past, he is reminded of the changes that the Old West has undergone. Through John Ford’s cinematography and various plot devices, one could argue that his perception of the changing West was optimistic. One way John Ford presents the history of the West as a history of progress is the notion that established law is better than vigilante law. As the West became more civilized and Ransom
“When legend becomes fact, print the legend,” one of the most memorable lines of the movie, presents us with the uncertainty between myth and reality. This quote from The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance unveils the focal point: history is as much legend as it is fact. Throughout history, stories are passed down from generation to generation; some of which are printed in the textbooks we learn from today. With that being said, we do not know if the “facts” we are reading in our books are actually facts at all. It is very possible that the materials we absorb are mere legends. The actual event often differs from what the legend tells us; it gets misconstrued as the years