'Midnight Cowboy' is a drama film of 1969 based on the novel 'Midnight Cowboy' by James Leo Herlihy. 'The American Friend' is a 1977 movie by Wim Wenders, loosely basing its themes on a novel by Patricia Highsmith, 'Ripley’s Game.' 'Midnight Cowboy' and 'The American Friend' reflects the events in the society during the time. They both fit perfectly towards the depiction of the ‘counter culture’ film movement of the 1970’s. Through their themes and character representation, the two movies give a strong challenge to genre conventions thus enabling them to successfully depict the counter-culture period in America where there was sexual, racial, and gender liberation. 'The American Friend' occurring as an anti-American movie, bases its themes on the vicious impact of American culture on a Europeans, particularly, the German sensibility.
'Midnight Cowboy' depicts the story of a Texan dishwasher, Joe Buck, who decides to quit his job and move to the Big Apple, in pursuit of easy money as a prostitute aiming for rich, middle-aged class of bored women. However, his ambitions are crushed as, New York is not as he perceived, thus ends up not achieving anything. Along the way, he makes acquaintances with Enrico Salvatore Rizzo’s, a street con artist who is crippled but somehow seems to have the best interest of their friendship at heart. Therefore, they bond trying to survive with the little they earn. The acquaintances struggle as Rizzo’s health deteriorates and Joe’s hustles do not seem to bore much fruit. The two find themselves in a Warhol-type psychedelic party; Joe meets with a female socialite who offers to pay for his services, and the woman seems to be the answers to Joe’s prayers as he promises to hook him up with his friends, meaning a steady supply of cash. However when he gets Rizzo’s apartment, he finds his friend's health to be worse than was before, and eventually he dies before seeing his dream place, Miami (Midnight Cowboy).
'The American Friend' features Tom Ripley, who receives a great deal with an art forger. The forger creates numerous paintings while and Tom makes sure they sell. Along the way, Tom meets another criminal who wants him to be his acquaintance in an even riskier enterprise that involves murder. However, Tom directs his associate to ask for the same assistance from a local farmer. The farmer has a fatal disease, though it is not clear if it is true or false. The farmer has a wife and a kid that he wants to sustain; therefore, he gets the job of a hit man since no one would suspect him. He agrees to do more misdeeds and later Tom Ripley gets intertwined in the vices.
In 'Midnight Cowboy,' was highly appreciated by counter-culture audiences. However, the ending was rather controversial as the audience did not get to know what happened and the character motives as the movie ended abruptly. However, the film is justified to end that way considering the social, cultural influence affected filmmakers at that time. In this period, the American youth was not satisfied politically and identified themselves with this kind of movies. The movie uses violence and numerous flashback structures that aid to explain Joe’s lifetime. Annie clearly supports the thematic structures. They also aid to show how Joe becomes nostalgic when he longs for a sexual relationship with great intensity with Annie. She states “you’re the only one Joe, you’re the only one” (Midnight Cowboy). The flashbacks emulate an intrusive nature affirming that the film was made at a time of sexual nostalgia and drug induced euphoria of the 1960’s and 1970’s.
In 'The American Friend,' a Hamburg art guru and a frame maker get to meet bizarre encounters with Americans who engage in illegal practices. The characters in the movie display the culture of how they behave in regards to where they come from, and the qualities they absorb from intercultural relations. The relationship of the two is a symbolism of the impact of American popular culture after the war, but largely brings out the Germanness and Americanness of the characters. “Germanness” shows a sense of order, artisanship, and decency, but unfortunately of historical extinction and sickness. “Americanness” in the movie brings out a sense of directness and strength, but it also represents violence, anarchy, tyranny, and fuss. The audience can relate to this movie as it portrays a time that they were going through after the war. The director had the freedom to depict what was in his mind without much worry as many liberating movements and movies in line with the film had already taken place. The German is the protagonist finds his narrative of concern compromised by the American boundary (The American Friend).
In 'Midnight Cowboy,' Joe decides to move to New York from a small town in Texas to become a gigolo. Joe arrives at a hotel, and the door attendant demands a hefty tip, this situation juxtaposes Joe’s previous environment in the small town, showing his approach to life and light of economic inequality, poverty, social fragmentation, and corruption of New York. Joe is dressed in a jacket, cowboy hat, and boots and walks along with old classy people, which emulates the counter-culture aspect. Joe strongly challenges conformity openly in the street showing the contradiction of a cowboy being in a city and the introvert nature of the people to connect with others (Midnight Cowboy).
In 'The American Friend,' Jonathan moves from a German to an American narrative, the German narrative emulates a relatively good sense of order and positive qualities. The same as how Texas is to Joe. Ignoring the German instinct in him, Jonathan aims to pursue an American way of doing things. However, at the end of the movie, it becomes evident that the German way of doing things is rather the best choice. The American narrative resembles violence, crime, getaways, and eventually sudden death. The actions that Jonathan decides to take in every situation introduces a juxtaposition, in line with his American adapted way of doing things. Even though Jonathan has this new doing things in the American way, he is self-conscious of his new terrible criminality behavior and the funny relationship he has with Ripley and the way he responds when told to do something. The feelings clouded him that he could not see his illness would be his demise. Off course following the American culture, this is not the only feeling Jonathan has; he feels a sense of liberation, terror, self-empowerment, and excitement. However, towards the end, the only feeling that appears from the character and the movie itself is a sense of absurdity (The American Friend).
In 'Midnight Cowboy,' Joe has a contradicting construction of himself in regards to New York and his intentions. The cowboy outfit he believes is the peak of emulating masculinity, which is again the same reason he fails to connect with women and swoon them towards social change, since the American culture he was parading for, was to be accepted 20 years later. During the era of Reagan as the president, he tried to change the state of masculinity and combine it into politics and he only ended up portraying himself as a Western president. Joe and the president are not different, as they both believe cowboy is the typical symbol of American masculinity, though with time the meaning of the symbol changed gradually as America became more sexually liberated. Joe seems to realize the something about his outfits as he talks with Rizzo when he says, ‘That great big dumb cowboy crap (is) faggot stuff!’ (John Schlesinger). Later Joe notices gay men at the Times Square dressed like cowboys. The masculine outlook in America changed after the loss of the Vietnam War and John Wayne’s death who was a destructively heterosexual masculinity. The shift in American cultures such as the gay liberation movement and the civil rights movement initiated after this events.
In 'The American Friend,' the thematic emulation of irony and absurdity does not even form the beginning of the representation of “America” but in a small event at the beginning as imagery. Jonathan is portrayed as a person who performs his actions strictly from a traditional path of his profession and his family. The obvious displays of feelings present in only in the abstract world of American music. Jonathan does not realize he needs to act according to his problems, such as his internal disease (“German”) until he engages in activities “American” orchestrated by Ripley and Minot.
In 'Midnight Cowboy,' the stereotype surrounding Cowboys appears to be changing as towards the end the relationship between Joe and Rizzo shows America’s liberalization process.
'Midnight Cowboy,' represents a true cowboy to be one who is loyal, honest, and treats people with equality the same as he would also like to be treated. The big liberation is seen when Rizzo becomes extremely unwell, and Joe acts as the care giver, feeding, and clothing his friend. Joe offers emotional supports to Rizzo saying ‘Just take it easy, I’m gunna lay you down’ (John Schlesinger). Joe takes care of Rizzo when he is dressed up in cowboy attire and performing more male dominated house roles; this brings out the first impression based on physical appearance culture of America.
Jonathan engages in the American narrative and witnesses incongruities, conflicting, and all that comes with the acquaintances he makes. As Jonathan aligns himself to fit his protagonist nature, a juxtaposition occurs when Wenders connects him to some “German” values that do not leave him even if he seems to conform to the American culture. The protagonist is a good father, having a roof over his family’s heads, and still practices customary craft as a framer and restorer of old paintings and prints. Joe in the 'Midnight Cowboy' also does not conform to the dressing codes and lifestyle that impose in his daily activities he is confident that he is all right in his dressing and is what women want. Jonathan has an incurable blood disease, which symbolizes the state of Germany and Europe at a certain point in history. Ripley with his cowboy, boots, jeans, and hat displays a true sense of Americanism. Jonathan has criminal connections, and he starts to behave like an American and portrays an affinity for violence showing how the American culture has changed him. In 'Midnight Cowboy' Joe beats the stereotype that follows Cowboys when he takes care of his friend. Jonathan of 'The American Friend, continues with his American culture vices and seems to be comfortable with what he is doing and does not care about the people who he kills. Jonathan has sunk deep in a culture that he was not originally accustomed too.
The period after the war, the counter-culture period was a significant way for the audience to relate to films and in general to the American cinema. Both 'Midnight Cowboy' and 'The American Friend' give a clear definition of the counter-culture period in their themes, which were used in the movies despite the social context of the time of their creation. The inclusion of violence, the corrosion of sexual boundaries, and corruption just the right themes the audience wants to see. The two movies speak volumes to the audience about the changing political culture, while explicating its effect on the society. 'Midnight Cowboy' and 'The American Friend' give a sense of how America is going to be, because of the counter-culture film movement that has allowed movies of the sort to be giving a playing field. These movies are, therefore, recommendable to individuals who want to develop their knowledge about the American culture.
Works cited
“Midnight Cowboy.” United States: John Schlesinger, 1969. DVD.
'The American Friend' Dir. Wim Wenders. Emotion Pictures: Reflections on the Cinema (trans. Shaun Whiteside, London.1989. Film.
