Bucking the trend: Poitier at the frontier

Abstract

Considering the privileged space that the western enjoyed in the twentieth century in the forging and endorsing of a certain kind of American national identity, this article argues that Poitier's presence as a frontier hero in some of the most overlooked and underestimated films of the man's career is of remarkable significance. Despite the exasperation of some critics at the formulaic nature of his three westerns, I will argue that the casting of Poitier as the westerner creates a disturbance in the construction of the on-screen American ancestor, raising vital issues concerning American masculinity, racism, miscegenation and freedom.