The Contradictory Humanism of John Ford: The Sun Shines Bright (1953) & The Rising of the Moon (1957)
In recent years, John Ford's stature among cinephiles has declined, as politically correct discourse has become dominant in the community. Ford was decimated in the 2022 Sight & Sound poll, leaving him with only one film in the Top 100. Ford has been decried by his detractors as a racist and a reactionary, and the aesthetic merits of his films have been neglected in favor of polemics. I think John Ford is one of the most quintessentially American directors, and see his films as representing the fundamental contradictions of the American psyche. On one hand, they are profoundly humanistic, and celebrate some of the best aspects of American society; Ford himself was a staunch supporter of FDR, and a New Deal liberal. But on the other hand, they are full of racist tropes, especially regarding African-Americans and Native Americans, even in films where Ford tries to inject some nuance, like Fort Apache (1948). The Sun Shines Bright was Ford's own favorite of his films, and I
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