“My heroes Have Never Been Cowboys”: A Revisionist Look at American Icon, John Wayne

John Wayne is as American as apple pie. No one would deny John Wayne’s status as an American icon, especially after receiving the Congressional Gold Medal in 1979 for his “distinguished career” and “service to the nation.” Thus, it should come as no surprise that an entry is dedicated to him in Greenwood Press’s three-volume encyclopedia, American Icons: An Encyclopedia of the People, Places and Things that Have Shaped Our Culture, which appeared in 2006. Even after his death, John Wayne’s legacy and status as an American icon lives on.
Synonymous with the westerns and cowboys, John Wayne has portrayed Western heroes in films such as Red River and The Searchers which impart media messages and values tied deeply to the frontier, affecting the lives of many Americans even today. These media messages only reflect an idealized representation of the American frontier life from the perspective of settler society. Nevertheless, studies have shown time and time again that many people view television and film as reflections of “real” life, which in turn influence their behavior, actions, and can even affect how they define identity. One particular area of controversy includes the stereotyping of ethnic and minority groups in the media. These issues are not only covered in textbooks and anthologies on the media but can be found in literature as well.
Native writers have much to say about John Wayne. In particular, authors north and south of the 49th parallel such as Louise Erdrich, Sherman Alexie, and Thomas King deal with the stereotyping of Indigenous people, certain reoccurring media images of cowboys, or the hero archetype, which John Wayne embodies in his films. This presentation will first give a short overview of the status and meaning of John Wayne as an American icon and second take a critical look at John Wayne from the perspective of Native writers, concentrating on the media messages which have affected and still affect many today.


North America as West / The West of North AmericaUniversity of Helsinki, Department of World Cultures