对美国西部精神建构的剖析—以经典西部片为例

A Deconstruction of American Western Spirit —A Case Study of the Classic Western

18世纪末,当欧洲原始的男性气概已被高度发达的社会文明消磨殆尽时,美国西部成为实现英雄主义梦想的理想舞台。这里是文明与野蛮相碰撞的地方,无数厌倦了被文明束缚的开拓者加入了西进运动,希望重拾已逐渐逝去的活力。在这漫长的历程中,独特的西部精神被建构,并最终融入到民族文化之中。由此,经典西部片应运而生,其刻板的情节模式恰恰蕴含了以牛仔为代表的西部精神的主要建构元素。

Late in 18th century, as the original European masculinity has been exhausted by highly developed social civilization, American West becomes the ideal stage that can make the hero dream come true. This wild ground is full of collisions between civilization and barbarism. Numerous pioneers tired of civilized constraints devote to the Westward Movement and hope to regain their gradually disappearing vigor. During this long-term process, an unique Western spirit is constructed and eventually merges into national culture. Thus, the Classic Western sprouts. Its inflexible plot mode precisely contains the major elements of Western spirit construction represented by cowboys.