Nurturing Nature and Cinematic Experience: The American Landscape and the Rural Female Community

Abstract

The Western film genre fosters the mythic view of America as a feminized Eden where one can regenerate or recreate oneself. Westerns typically depict the American countryside as though it were simply a gorgeous framing device for the film's male protagonist whose primary function is to introduce the rough wilderness to the pioneers (or cinematic viewers) who will follow him. In contrast, in the rural femalecentered films of American life— such as Daughters of the Dust, Places in the Heart, Bagdad Cafe, and The Spitfire Grill—the landscape plays a central role. Nature, in fact, generally replaces the powerful male protagonist of the Western. Unlike European movies that also highlight nature's regenerative power, the American films discussed here center on the transformation of the woman. They highlight the Jeffersonian ideal of America as a garden community—one where the female protagonist is regenerated by her ties to the land and by her relationship with those labeled “Other.” She does not conquer or traipse through the cowboy's wild Eden. Rather, she inhabits a nurturing cinematic place that celebrates community and embraces difference.