Despite our familiarity with these stereotypical characters and scenes, Stagecoach (1939) tells a story that effortlessly continues to hold our attention. What director John Ford does to capture and hold our attention is he allows the audience to learn more about and ultimately become invested in the characters. One way we are allowed to invest in these characters is the fact that they are all essentially given equal weight to one another in the actual traveling Stagecoach. Because of this, we don't continually see the key scenes with the same big star. Director John Ford directed this film in a way where he laid out the purpose of each scene very clearly but lingered around the purpose exactly long enough to make the point of the scene.…show more content… By the 1880s, the old American West was becoming the new American West. To recognize this critical shift in American history, Clint Eastwood created and starred in Unforgiven (1992). Similar to Stagecoach (1939), Unforgiven (1992) explores the common and sadly true lifestyle of Americans during this time of westward expansion. Throughout the film, the audience is exposed to alcoholism, murderous mindsets, shootouts, farming in the land of desolation, and the struggles that surrounded raising a family during this period. It is clear to see that in this film Clint Eastwood has no patience for melodrama or nostalgia in telling the story. This entertaining and action packed western is an accurate representation of the interactions that occurred between cowboys, whores, and outlaws. We see characters and settings shift from the musky bars of saloons to the bounty hunts that happened across the open wild…show more content… Unforgiven was released shortly after the Los Angeles riots, which were sparked by the brutal beating of Rodney King by police officers. Because of a lack of patience with the justice system at the time and a lack of forgiveness for what they believed was a racially motivated beating, individuals both black and white, rioted, burglarized, burned down their own neighborhood and, worst of all, murdered over 50 Koreans and Caucasians. This is very similar to what see in Unforgiven (1992) and the brutal beating, murdering, and bounty hunting of individuals by all citizens, including elected officials like