John Wayne's America: The Politics of Celebrity

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John Wayne's America: The Politics of Celebrity

3.56 of 5 stars 3.56 · rating details · 71 ratings · 10 reviews

Eighteen years after his death, John Wayne is still America's favorite movie star. He was less an actor than a symbol, the most popular pop icon of the twentieth century, and one of the most important political figures in America. People shaped their lives or adopted political stands to conform to him as a template of authentic Americanism. Wayne became the lens which peop...more Eighteen years after his death, John Wayne is still America's favorite movie star. He was less an actor than a symbol, the most popular pop icon of the twentieth century, and one of the most important political figures in America. People shaped their lives or adopted political stands to conform to him as a template of authentic Americanism. Wayne became the lens which people saw their own and their country's history. In this brilliant, groundbreaking study of the relationship between politics and popular culture, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Garry Wills focuses on the manufacture of "John Wayne" from the raw materials of Marion Morrison, the person born in Iowa who became a myth, his own reality swallowed up in his meaning as master directors such as John Ford crafted films that made him a personification of America's frontier myth.

Unlike other actors and actresses with whom we associate political views, Wayne embodied a politics of large meanings--a politics of gender (masculine), ideology (patriotism), character (self-reliance), and personal responsibility. It was a politics of implicit dogmas that often transcended his own views and behavior. Although Wayne avoided serving in the military during World War II, he became, through his screen roles, the model of the American soldier. Likewise, although Wayne's popular image is that of a staunch anti-Communist, in reality he avoided taking a stand in the bitter ideological war that raged in Hollywood until after the issue had been decided.

Wayne acquired his larger political meaning gradually, as he moved from one film role to the next: from the young, individualist cowboy hero (the Ringo Kid in Stagecoach) to the middle-aged authority figure weighed down with responsibility (Sergeant Stryker in Sands of Iwo Jima) to the cool, determined patriot in the midst of Cold War dangers (represented by Davy Crockett in The Alamo) to the elderly lone survivor of a past heroic time (Rooster Cogburn in True Grit). Wayne himself became aware of his larger political meaning only through a progressive act of self-identification, in much the same way that his fans came to associate their ideals with his screen personae.

In this work of great originality, the biography of an idea, Wills shows how John Wayne and the Hollywood image factories distorted or ignored important facts of Wayne's life to create his myth. Wills shows for the first time how Wayne, through his screen characters, spoke to the needs of his audience at crucial periods in American history, and how in response Americans invested their emotions in that embodiment of their deepest myths.

John Wayne's America traces the way Wayne's countrymen became "entangled in his story, by the dreams he shaped or inhibited in us or in others, by the things he validated and those he scorned, by the particular definition he gave to 'being American.'"(less)

Hardcover, 1st edition, 384 pages

Published March 10th 1997 by Simon & Schuster (first published March 1st 1997)

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Jul 05, 2011 Ken rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

John Wayne is one of the great American iconic actors. His movies are entertaining, but what they say about America can be controversial even more than 20 years after his death. This book attempts to set a context in both Hollywood and the American cultural and political scene for Wayne's success. In general, the book successfully traces the arc of Wayne's career and explains the background behind his most famous movies. The sections on John Ford's famous "Cavalry Trilogy," "The Searchers," and...more

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Feb 11, 2011 Rebecca Radnor rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: history, teaching-prof-dev, america, wild-west, political-science, biography-autobiography

The author, who normally writes about politicians, sets out to investigate what is it about Wayne that made him so iconic/political that he continued to be listed as one of the greatest American male movie stars long his death. A character accepted as definitively Male, and yet is usually overlooked by academics who specialize in gender-studies. The goal (according to the intro) isn't a biography written for fans so much as a critical analysis interested in the part Wayne plays in America's poli...more The author, who normally writes about politicians, sets out to investigate what is it about Wayne that made him so iconic/political that he continued to be listed as one of the greatest American male movie stars long his death. A character accepted as definitively Male, and yet is usually overlooked by academics who specialize in gender-studies. The goal (according to the intro) isn't a biography written for fans so much as a critical analysis interested in the part Wayne plays in America's political myth of self. The book says its intent is only to consider who Wayne really was and his actual history, in order to compare those to the constructed (spun) image and the Hollywood myths surrounding him, in order to clarify that construction.

Please note that above I referred to the intent as described in the intro and title, not what the book actually does. This book reminds me of some of my very WORST papers, the ones where I write a great intro paragraph, get lost and confused along the way, never actually support any of my arguments, or have a clear central one to begin with, and then at the very end I come up with biggest 'grand' statement of utter bullpuckie I can, hoping the proff will get so confused in my grandiose conclusions as to forgive the mess that was the paper.

Additionally, there are parts of Wills' narrative that ring false, so for instance when talking about the director Ford, it feels like the author has his own 'narrative' that he's pushing so hard that it feels like listening to partisan politics. There's no nuance to it, it's too black or white and therefore untrustworthy. Now you might be saying to yourself, 'well Wills' very liberal and this reviewer must be a conservative' only I'm not, I'm also a liberal. However, it sort of puts my teeth on edge when authors are so busy trying to indoctrinate that they push their arguments to incredulity.

The final conclusion is out in L.A.-L.A. land, making comments about how our relationship to cities is different from the rest of the world, and that this is an extension of our separation of church and state....??? The author says that all cities are built around a religious point (rather than an economic one, as most are), and even gives St. Paul's in London as an example. Problem is, St. Paul was built on the site of roman temple, and London was never a religious center, not even in ancient times.

The book says its about the construction of Wayne, and spends a lot of time describing scene by scene various movies he was in, and what went on behind the scenes of the making... but rarely if ever does the author broach the central issue of the introduction of how did these movies ring in the national consciousness as part of the construction that is the political image of John Wayne the movie star.

The book is in fact over 300 pages, and if you whittled it down to just the bit where the author does do this, its maybe a 15 or 20 page paper .... double spaced. Now these 20 odd pages are very good.

Also, if your interest is not in the political image of Wayne but rather you're a film student interested in how the films were made, a shot by shot analysis, what was going on in the background and any petty squabbles on set, this book does go into great detail about that.

It does not however do what it claims it set out to do, at least not really. By the end of the book you're not really any more knowledgeable about the politics of celebrity of Wayne than you were at the start

(less)

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Jul 13, 2012 Andrewh rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

My rating is probably closer to three and a half stars. This book was not a biography of the life of John Wayne (aka Marion Morrison) but more of a critical examination of the evolution of the 'John Wayne' persona (or, rather, the icon), and, to a lesser degree, how this reflected American politics of the time. The book contains some brilliant passages of insightful writing about Hollywood, specific films, US politics and American culture and literature, but is also somewhat incoherent at times,...more My rating is probably closer to three and a half stars. This book was not a biography of the life of John Wayne (aka Marion Morrison) but more of a critical examination of the evolution of the 'John Wayne' persona (or, rather, the icon), and, to a lesser degree, how this reflected American politics of the time. The book contains some brilliant passages of insightful writing about Hollywood, specific films, US politics and American culture and literature, but is also somewhat incoherent at times, and the gossamer-light central thread of the book is often hard to see among the critical virtuosity. Wayne started out as a B movie actor and was a late developer - while he became famous in John Ford's seminal 'Stagecoach' (a departure from most Westerns before it, and a tour de force of deep focus), he was really moulded by Raoul Walsh's The Big Trail, argues Wills. Even then, the real persona of Wayne, as the American (Alpha) male incarnate, of a certain rugged political disposition (associated with the solitary Western hero of lore) and indomitable will, was not really formed until his performance in Howard Hawks' great Red River, in which he played the first in a series of grouchy, hard-faced tough guys. Thereafter he was associated mainly with John Ford and made some of his greatest films with that director - Wills is excellent at recounting his difficult relationship with the irascible director ('Coach' to Wayne), who, allegedly, taught him his famous John Wayne rolling walk and spent a lot of time vilifying him on set (and everyone else, to be fair). The description of the Ford cavalry trilogy, in particular, is superb and the book is generally very good on analysing the films, but I was less convinced by the book as a whole, which seems to spend very little time examing the title's promise re the 'politics of celebrity'. The Conclusion goes some way to redressing this imbalance, but Wayne is only mentioned in the last few pages after a long disquisition on the sources of American culture (i.e. the importance of the frontier and distrust of cities), which reminded me of Greil Marcus. It is a fine piece of writing overall but I think it could have gone into more depth about the relationship between Wayne's position as the leading icon of his time (the 50s in particular) and what this said about US culture. (less)

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Nov 08, 2010 Jb rated it 4 of 5 stars

Wayne's movie persona is detailed. The book is not so much a biography per se but of how he was shaped by first-rate directors, namely Raoul Walsh, John Ford and Howard Hawks. Movies that Wayne both directed and acted in turned out not so good -- The Alamo compounded an already large historical myth and Green Berets, though a commercial success, was widely ridiculed by critics. Wayne's later successes (True Grit and Big Jake) came amid clinkers and absurdities, but overall he was the epitome of...more

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Jul 29, 2012 Stephen Hughes rated it 3 of 5 stars

What would have made for a fascinating magazine article is padded out to book size by the author. Dull.

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Jul 30, 2011 Patrick Nichol rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I concur. It's a great read, especially the portrayal of Wayne's special relationship with director John Ford.

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Jul 29, 2008 Tony rated it 4 of 5 stars

Apparently most Americans still believe John Wayne embodies the most what it means to be the Ideal American. This is a thorough examination of that premise, how Wayne's screen persona fed that view whilst his non-film life did anything but. It's by no means a hatchet job and restrains for the most part from judgement (unless Wayne has invited it).

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Aug 27, 2008 Daniel rated it 4 of 5 stars

As a professional film critic I sometimes get annoyed when other writers go "slumming" by writing about the movies, but not here. Wills, who has written brilliantly on politics, religion, and history, offers solid knowledge and insight into Wayne's signature films.

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Nov 04, 2011 Fredrick Danysh rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: political

John Wayne was an outspoken American patriot. The author has profiled the actor's political views and how he used his status to project them.

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May 15, 2008 mike rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is fun to read & argue with.

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Apr 16, 2013 Patrick rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: owned

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Feb 14, 2013 Kathy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction

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Shelves: biograph-and-history

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Shelves: english, yankee, cultural-studies

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About Garry Wills

Garry Wills is an author and historian, and a frequent contributor to the New York Review of Books. In 1993, he won a Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction for his book Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words That Remade America, which describes the background and effect of Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address on November 19, 1863.

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Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words That Remade America

James Madison (The American Presidents, #4)

Nixon Agonistes: The Crisis of the Self-Made Man

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