![]() He strips the mayor and sheriff of their power and appoints the town dwarf to both offices. Eastwood mocks the church as described above and also law and order. Again, I see Nietzsche in this film because of the assault on failed, traditional values. Eastwood is at least halfway to becoming an ubermensch, dishing out retribution as well as compassion, mercy and justice as he sees fit, but never as prescribed. I would argue, however, that Eastwood is not taking an eye for an eye, so much as he has seen through and broken free of the God-fearing, bullshit morality of the townspeople. The fact that Eastwood is taking revenge on the townspeople creates a story line set in traditional morality. The second level is the explosion of hypocrisy and weakness. You want a woman, you rape her, and she likes it, only becoming angry when you “don’t go back for more.” In this film, Eastwood has absolute power and indulges in it remorselessly. You tell men what to do and they do it out of a mix of awe and fear. One level is the unapologetic male fantasy of being the biggest orangutan ever known to the jungle. So, there are really two levels to this film and both are way, way Ruthless. For instance, after Eastwood forces the townsfolk to paint the entire town red, he then renames the town, “Hell.” When the preacher says, “surely you don’t mean the church,” Eastwood replies, “ especially the church.” That is Ruthless. But what makes the film truly Ruthless is the Nietzschean assault on false morality and worthless people. Within the first ten minutes, he kills four men, rapes a woman in front of the whole town, robs, and abuses power. ![]() High Plains Drifter.Įastwood’s character perpetrates a long list of misdeeds after riding into town. You can, nonetheless, achieve a full understanding of Ruthlessness by watching Clint Eastwood’s fine film. For instance, while Ben Kingsley is motherfucking Ruthless, Stone Cold Steve Austin is most definitely not. Here, Ruthless means debauched, subversive, cantankerous and unrepentant… the local meaning of Ruthless is actually a bit ambiguous and open ended. At Ruthless Reviews, the very word “ Ruthless” has taken on a new meaning.
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