Lucchese Boots

This is one design of the Lucchese cowboy boots brought up time and time again in No Country for Old Men. They go for about $600-$1300 a pair. They look like regular cowboy boots to me, but something must make the desired luxury of cowboys everywhere.

How the West Was Fun

You may have learned about how the west was won but have you ever wondered how the west was fun? If so let Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen tell you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_GlZ5yFbT4

Urban Cowboy

I happened to have stumbled upon the worst Western of all time. I was flipping around channels late on Friday night, and Urban Cowboy was just starting. I wish that I would've done the right thing and changed the channel, but I sat through and watched the entire film. John Travolta, at his ehh.., well at least he looks good, plays a troubled "cowboy" who has difficulty in the real world, because he wants to be a free bird. He marries his first love; they have an extremely abusive relationship. They fight about his life, their pastimes, a scandalous ex-con bull rider that Sissy starts seeing, and anything else imaginable. Everything about the movie screams forced "Western": stereotypical trailer homes, square dance night club equipped with a mechanical bull, bad fake accents, and the good guy vs. the bad guy relationship. For the majority of the film Sissy and Bud were hooking up with other people to get one another jealous. And of course, the movie resolves with Bud getting Sissy back when he beats the ex-con in a mechanical bull riding contest.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

I really liked this movie. I liked how they mixed in a lot of humor to a type of movie that normally would not have any. I also saw a lot of similarities to The Wild Bunch. The whole theme of outlaws sticking together, robbing trains, and fighting for each other was in both movies. There were also themes like justice in both, but if I was writing an essay on this movie I would mainly talk about theme of honor. This theme has really been in every Western movie I have seen. Butch and the Sundance Kid stuck together and cared more about each other and not just themselves. Overall though I enjoyed the movie.

David Allen Coe

If anyone knows David Allen Coe, they know he can do some questionable stuff, but this song is fantastic.

"The perfect country and western song", images of a modern west:

Well I was drunk the day my momma got out of prison
And I went to pick her up in the rain
But before I could get to the station in the pick-up truck
She got runned over by a damned old train.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEo8poVlQrM

Waylon, Willie and Bingham

National Day of the American Cowboy

After discussing the significance and symbolism of cowboys in our culture, I found out that there is a national holiday to honor the American cowboy celebrated on the fourth Saturday of every July!

"National Day of the American Cowboy"

This is a day we set out to give praise

To those who honor the Cowboy ways.

The American Cowboy is a true hero,

Who helped our nation to thrive and grow.

The cowboy was a true pioneer,

Who braved the wild western frontier.

Not only did he tame the American West,

He stood for the values which we think of as best:

He believes in hard work, and playing hard too,

And in honoring women in all that they do.

To be independent and stand up for what's right,

To be courageous and honest and not run from a fight.

To be brave and loyal, to ride for the brand,

And be a good steward of his livestock and land.

Those are timeless values that still hold true,

Still used every day in what modern cowboys do.

Now the U.S. Senate has voted to have a day

To honor the American Cowboy in this way.

We give thanks for all that cowboys and cowgirls do,

To keep the Cowboy way alive and true.

So we honor this legacy for the values it will employ,

As we celebrate the National Day of the American Cowboy.

by Ron Wilson, Poet Lariat

Final

The American West and the Historical Imagination Final
Spring 2010
Dennis Kuhnel

Instructions: Answer all four questions below in essay-format. Be sure not to exceed the page limit denoted for each question. This is an open book exam. You may consult all books assigned this semester and your notes, but you may NOT use the internet for reference. Your response to each individual question should be no longer than 1 typed page, Times New Roman font, double-spaced. Do not spend more than 3 hours completing this exam. The exam is due Friday May 14th at noon via email. Late exams will not be accepted.

1) The American Film Institute recently ranked Shane as one of the Top 100 films in the last 100 years of American cinema (in total six westerns made the list: The Searchers, High Noon, Shane, Unforgiven, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and The Wild Bunch). Analyze the major themes of Shane in the historical context of the Johnson County War and other events in the history of the American West. Do you think the film Shane was intended to speak to political realities in 1950s America? If so, why? Finally, how does Shane thematically compare with other creative imaginings of the American West, pre-1950s and afterwards?

2) Willa Cather’s novel, The Professor’s House (1925), presents the United States as a dangerously morally corrupt and money-fixated society. A complicated novel, Cather’s novel interweaves tales of modern suburban life in Chicago with the lives of cowboys and railroaders in New Mexico and the existence of a lost Indian civilization. How is the American West imagined and represented in the novel in contrast to these other settings? What are Cather’s views on indigenous America and why does she believe that their history is crucial to American cultural identity? Some critics have said that Cather’s novel lays out a vision of “Americanness.” Do you agree? If so, explain and comment on how history and the actual historical American West plays a role in this idea.

3) Sam Peckinpah’s film The Wild Bunch (1969) is often described as one of the most important westerns ever made. Cormac McCathy’s No Country for Old Men (2005), was widely acclaimed as a novel when it came out and quickly transformed by the Coen Brothers into an a film that was nominated for eight Academy Awards in 2008, winning four, including the most prestigious award of Best Picture. Book and movie critics of No Country for Old Men often noted the similarity between it and westerns made by Peckinpah. Do you agree with this comparison? Is the book, No Country for Old Men and the film, The Wild Bunch thematically and historically similar? Do they imagine the American West in similar ways, especially in how they differ in their view with earlier westerns? In your answer be sure to include historical analyses of the plot and specific discussions of the themes in each work.

4) Think back to the beginning of this semester in frigid January. Identify what, in your opinion, are the three most important and interesting ways, in which, the history of the American West has been imagined. Be sure to include in your answer books and films from the first and second half of the semester.

America the History of Us

http://www.history.com/shows/america-the-story-of-us/videos/gold-rush#gold-rush

I was watching an episode of America the History of Us last night and I thought a lot of the things that we talked about earlier in the semester related to what they are saying in this clip...this doesn't really have to do with current themes we are talking about but I still found a connection to our class.

Migrating to the West

After discussion on Tuesday, I realized that what I wrote about in my paper sort of goes with it. In the movie True Grit, there was an obvious problem for Rooster Cogburn (John Wayne) when lawyers moved into the area. In the late 1800s, there was a huge increase in the number of lawyers in the U.S. Most of these lawyers moved to work in the West, where the standards were lower and there was a "need" for them (if you want to say that.) Obviously there weren't many lawyers in the West, so the job market was open. Judges and federal marshals, who were presently in charge, were now having to explain their decisions and listen to both sides of the story. This bothered many people, as they would now have to answer to the things they had done.

Book Characters vs. Movie Characters

I feel as though every time I read a book then watch the movie, I am always partially disappointed with how the characters are portrayed in the movie (with the exception of a few). I envisioned the Sheriff to be more personable and compassionate. In the novel, he seemed like a sweet, old man who has gained so much knowledge throughout his life and seen it all. Tommy Lee Jones was neither personable nor interesting. He was just sort of there. While he did deliver some vital, moving dialogues, he really didn't do much for me.

On the other hand, Javier Bardem, the man who played Anton Chigurh in my opinion did an excellent job. Not only did his appearance (and the horrible hair-do) creep me out, but his overall persona gave me chills. The way he showed no emotion before and after murdering people gave me insight into the depth of his evil. I was more afraid of the representation of Chigurh in the movie than in the novel, because it put an image to the face of a physco.

Another character that I surprisingly really liked in the movie was Llewelyn's wife Carla Jean Moss, played by Kelly MacDonald. She had the largest female role in the movie and held her own amidst the men. She was so loyal to Llewelyn; in class some thought she was submissive, however, I saw it more as pure trust in her husband. I especially liked the scene in which she faced Chigurh. She maintained her composure and till the end, maintained that faith in Llewelyn. I wish that the Sheriff's wife would've had a bigger role, because I enjoyed their relationship in the novel.

With the exception of those two characters, I preferred McCarthy's written characters to the Coen brother's movie characters.

The Assassination of Jesse James by Coward Robert Ford

A few weeks ago I watched the Assassination of Jesse James. I enjoyed this movie. It is exciting to watch the train robbing scenes- and it was especially cool that it was done at night. I kept relating this movie to social banditry- as we had discussed in class. Jesse James was definitely a glorified outlaw. Ford kept pictures and newspaper articles about him in a tin under his bed. At one point, the man on the train Jesse is robbing claims that all of the robberies were done for purely selfish reasons and did not have anything to do with social oppression. I couldn't tell what their motivations were in the movie. From what I have read it seems that Jesse was unhappy with declining social status after the civil war and continued to rob trains.

http://www.jessejamesoutlaw.com/jesse-james-history.html

Effigy Mounds

I went Effigy last weekend. It was nice- hiked up to Hanging Rock. I thought it was interesting that the mounds were shaped like animals. I was able to see the bear- but I couldn't make out a bird anywhere. Well, it was a good trip and I would recommend it!

Truth and Community

A week ago in discussion we were talking about the gatherings at cemeteries. We were discussing the idea of a deep respect for our past and we need to know where we come from to really understand ourselves. I think truth does exist in the world but it is cluttered. I think the image of holding gatherings at cemeteries is a powerful one. It seems that no matter how little we might we know is true in the world, the only truth you can't escape from is family. It is the simplest form of truth we have. Bell commands respect because he respects his elders, the people who have gone before him. People respect him not because he is old but because he is wise for learning from the past, and not just knowing where he has come from but understanding the past. I think he also understands that he wants to go back to that time, when violence wasn't done just for the fun of it, and he didn't have to carry a gun around, because he was a Sheriff.

No Country for Old Men

"Still there are men- rough, timeworn men- who uphold decency, who hang on to sturdy values of honor."

This is one of a few statements I actually agree with in those reviews. I think before this class I would have a hard time disagreeing with what these reviewers say about made-up western themes. They both seem to agree that "No Country" was based on a nostalgia for a phony romantic version of the old west. That there really wasn't such a thing as a simpler time, and people do adapt to the changing world. I do now however disagree. I think it was a great movie showing a troubled young man who may have done things in war that he regrets, being chased by a lunatic and by a war vet of a different era who has a hard time dealing with the quickly changing present, who only wanted to help. I think the reviewers were so caught up on a lack of inner monologue by the Sheriff that they ignored what Bell was actually saying. To me everything the Sheriff said was only himself thinking aloud and he even admitted at one point "I don't know, my mind wanders". I felt that the Sheriff did show depth as a character it just wasn't as easy to pick out, becuase it wasn't in italics.

Grading Self-Assessment Exercise

Grandpa in Cody, Nebraska in 1930s
Originally uploaded by Castleton Road

Screenwriting Grade (15):


Midterm (20):


Paper No. 2 (will be handed out Thursday) [20]:


Participation (20):


Note: When you self-assess yourself for participation, please include a 1-2 paragraph rationale for the grade you have chosen. Also, please include a list with the date of every blog post you made and any extra participation efforts you made.

Here is what it said in the syllabus about participation:

Participation (20%): Many of the intended educational benefits of this class are contingent upon the participation of everyone. I expect you to be an active, contributing member in class discussions, exercises and projects. At the end of the semester I will give each student a “participation” grade based upon my assessment of that student’s overall performance and contribution to our class. Attendance alone will not earn you participation marks, even if you come to every class. Positive participation involves completing assigned reading assignments, being prepared for class, asking and answering questions, sharing relevant ideas and opinions, staying on track in small group activities, and making a genuine effort to support your classmates. Another way to contribute to our class discussion will be for you to post comments or questions about the assigned reading to our class blog: http://americanwestimagination.blogspot.com. You will lose marks for negative participation, including but not limited to: showing up late, chatting during class, answering cell phones, doing other homework, reading the newspaper and etc. At the end of the semester, you will complete a self-assessment of your participation performance throughout the semester. I will take into consideration your self-assessment when I evaluate your performance at the end of the semester.


Finally, if you completed any extra credit assignments you completed.

Grading Self-Assessment Exercise

Grandpa in Cody, Nebraska in 1930s
Originally uploaded by Castleton Road

No Country For Old Men

I had seen this movie before, but it had been a while ago. However, the one part I do remember is how creepy Chigurh is. I thought that the movie was pretty good. It really followed the book a lot except for the whole thing about how Lewellyn died. Other than that, I thought a lot of the scenes were word for word with the book.

Picture from Family Album (Taken in Cody, Nebraska)

Picture from Family Album (Taken in Cody, Nebraska)
Originally uploaded by Castleton Road

Negative Reviews of Film Adaptation: Do You Agree?

Two negative reviews . . . please read and comment:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/reviews/article-508983/Coen-brothers-fine-mess-No-Country-For-Old-Men.html

http://www.salon.com/entertainment/movies/review/2007/10/05/no_country/

Another negative Salon review about book:

http://dir.salon.com/story/books/review/2005/08/24/mccarthy/

No Country For Old Men

Being a senior with two jobs its hard for me to find time at night to watch movies, so I won't make it to the movie tonight, I did, however, watch No Country For Old Men today before work. I saw some of this movie when it came out but never saw the whole movie. From what I remembered before, it didnt make too much sense to me, but after reading the book it was much more enjoyable. I thought Tommy Lee Jones did a really good job of playing Sheriff Bell, and I thought Javier Bardem stole the show as Chigurh.
I found a couple things interesting. First, I find it interesting that the movies skips over a lot of the sherriff's commentary. When making the movie, the Coen's must have decided to only pick the most important passages. I think they were correct in begining the film and ending the film with the Sheriff's commentaries that started and ended the book, but more throughout the movie could have given a little more depth to the Sheriff character that was there in the book, but lacking in the movie.
In relation to the sheriff, I thought the movie did do a good job of showing his nostalgia for the old West. As I said, I thought the Coen's picked good passages to use, which included the begining where he talks about the guy he put away who was on Death Row, and how a lot of law men didnt even carry a gun. The Sheriff's nostalgia for the Old West was apparent in the movie, as well as the book.

Motorcycles

1979 Honda CB 125S

1975 Honda XL 350

2005 HD Road King Classic

1997 Suzuki Bandit 600S

1977 BMW R100 S/RT/RS/Mystery Bike

-This has nothing to do with the class

-Vinnie

Tonight @ 8 P.M. No Country for Old Men in SH

Meet tonight before 8 in the hallway outside SH 115 if you would like to see No Country for Old Men. To earn an extra credit point you will have to stay and participate in a discussion about the film after it is over.

See you later.

Dennis

Sopranos

I have been watching The Sopranos series and it reminded me of some topics that we discussed in class. This show is about a Mafia family and it shows the lifestyle of the families. Throughout the show, there were many references from the leaders of the group of how they wish it were like the old days. In class we had many discussions about wanting to go back to the past to live the Old Western lifestyle, for example, the Professor's House and even from Jeremiah Johnson and how he wants to live in the mountains alone because he is not meant for all the changes and advancements that are happening. He wants to continue living his life in an old fashioned manner. When the show references the past life, they always talk about how simple it was back in the day and how smoothly everything ran. Another topic that i thought about during this show was on banditry. The mafia crew all are above the law because they bribe the police and they have their way of getting whatever they want. They all have their own reasons of being in the Mafia, for example one man wants to support his wife and kids, while another needs the money to support his mother in a retirement home. The mafia resembled many of the social groups discussed in class, because they are involved in violence and also greed. These were some major topics of the Old West that were referenced in The Sopranos.

3:10 to Yuma

Over the weekend, I watched 3:10 to Yuma for some participation points. Overall i thought that this movie was filled with action and it showed a perspective of the Old West. To start off, this movie was about a Rancher that was in need of money and in order to make extra money to keep his farm and support his family, the rancher needs to escort a criminal to the train station to send him to prison. This is a dangerous job, because the criminal that got captured is the leader and his crew are constantly trying to help him escape. This movie was filled with all kinds of themes and topics that we discussed in class. The first thing that came to my mind during this movie was the topic on social banditry. The criminal that is being sent to prison was a cold blooded murderer and a train robber. The crew of bandits stole for their own needs and they all thought that they were above the law. Another theme i noticed in the movie was the relationship between the Chinese and the whites. According to White, one of the main railroad workers were Chinese and this movie portrayed it perfectly. One scene took place in an area where a new road for trains was being built and it showed the Chinese building it, and it also showed that the Chinese were of lower status than the white man, since they worked for the wealthy Americans. Finally another topic that i came upon was the idea of the Code of the West. I do not want to ruin the ending, but the idea of the Code of the West was exemplified in the ending. The criminal being transferred showed his beliefs of the Code by doing what he did in the end. Overall this movie was exciting to watch and it connected to many themes we discussed in class.

Real Estate Prices

As I was working on my paper, I came across a very interesting fact about homesteading. According to the Homestead Act, any person could obtain 160 acres of land free of charge. A small filing fee was charged, but other than that, the land was basically given away. After 6 months of residing and working on the land, it could be purchased for $1.25 per acre. It blows my mind that land was so cheap in the 1800s-buying 5 acres of land would be like buying a pack of cigarettes today! Today, an acre of land can be purchased for somewhere between $500 and 500 million depending on the location. Regardless, it's crazy to see how times have changed.

Asian Western

http://www.ifccenter.com/films/the-good-the-bad-the-weird/

There is also a Japanese western called Surayki Djanjo or something like that I believe, that Quentin Tarantino co-produced.

Boondock Saints?

For my paper I watched the movie Hang 'Em High. I liked it the first time I watched it, but after writing my paper on it, I've come to appreciate it even more. I liked the messages it addressed on the ambiguous and arbitrary nature of law in the west. In the beginning of the film Clint Eastwood's character, Jed Cooper, is hellbent on finding and killing the guys who tried killing him. After being deputized as a Marshall by judge Fenton he is warned about not taking the law into his own hands and is asked to find the men, but to bring them back alive so that they can by tried and then hung. Jed Cooper makes a statement about there not being a difference between killing them out on the plains or "in front of the American flag", they'll be dead either way and justice will be served. The movie The Boondock Saints is another example of individual people taking the law into their own hands for the greater good of society. In The Boondock Saints the main characters murder mobsters, mafia members, and other murders. So what's so wrong about killing off all the bad guys? After watching movies like Hang 'Em High and The Boondock Saints, I'm almost lead to believe an eye for an eye is a justified theory. Almost. In reality everyone has their own opinion of good and evil and why should one person get to play judge and jury? Though set in different times and in completely different contexts Hang 'Em High and The Boondock Saints share some interesting points about law and the judicial system.

Effigy Mounds

The trip to the Mounds was a good time. I really enjoyed the views along the way, it was interesting to look at Hanging Rock from what seemed like for ever, then a while later, standing on top of the Hanging Rock, I enjoyed looking back finding traces of the trail and also the previous spots of which we were just looking from. The hike was long but was enjoyable, we got to bond with each other while bonding with nature. The Mounds were interesting for many reasons, a thing that intrigued was that the mounds went on for ever, I wonder just how many lives were sacrificed along the way. Also the exhibits in the beginning were also pretty interesting as well. The trip was a great time and I recommend going to the mounds with your friends just to see it for yourself.

Being a feral child is as weird as it sounds

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyqbnDjId7g

Reading for Thursday and Tuesday

Hi Class.

If you are not finished with reading No Country for Old Men yet, which I believe most of you are, make sure you have it done by this Thursday.

Additionally, skim (isolate the major points) of pages 541-573 in Richard White. It may inform your opinion of No Country, and possibly even give you some ideas for your own paper.

Finally, for Tuesday READ pages 575-632. You have read part of this chapter before, but I would like for you to return to it in the context of these last books we have read and movies we have seen that involve more the 20th century.

Paper Format

NOTE: All papers will use the following format:
• Do not use cover sheets
• Stapled, NO paper clips.
• Name and section reference should be single spaced and put on first page, in the header.
• Typed, aligned left, double-spaced with 1-inch margins all around.
• Times New Roman, 12pt font—do not change the character spacing.
• Use page numbers with first initial and surname (10pt font) in right header (e.g.: Kuhnel 2). This will help me keep your paper together should any pages come loose.
For additional help when writing, please talk to me or contact the History Department’s Writing Center at 303 Schaeffer Hall well before the due date. Their web site is http://www.uiowa.edu/~histwrit/ or you can call 335-2584 to schedule an appointment.

The Sheriff

I was watching Gran Torino today and I saw a lot of similarities between the Sheriff in No Country for Old Men and Clint Eastwood's character. They are both old-fashioned types of people who are not necessarily happy with what is going on around them and to some they may seem grumpy or mean, but I think that they are both characters that audience members generally like. I know that while watching the movie and reading the book I found myself feeling sorry for both characters, and I feel like their attitudes towards change are pretty common for the older generation. I just thought that was an interesting connection.

The Sheriff and the Cemetery

Today's discussion had me thinking about the sheriff, and of his views on truth. Our closing discussion kind of revolved around his perceptions of truth, but we also discussed the significance of the story about cleaning cemeteries. I think now that perhaps maybe the sheriff finds cemeteries so important because they are ever-present visual reminders of our history. Maybe the sheriff believes that cemeteries are more than just social constructs because they hold the truth that will remain even after the stories have been told.

While some may argue that the sheriff is a maniac stuck in the past ideals of the west, I still argue that he is an adorable old man who just wants to preserve the respect and honor of his western community.

Discussion Afterthoughts

I feel like the Sheriff is just having a tough time dealing with the changes. He can't quite figure out why it's changing and to what extent, but he knows that it is. He also feels like it's passing him by and there's nothing he can do about it. At the same time this is happening, he's struggling with himself and his past experiences. To tie into what we discussed today, the Sheriff is a character that has tried to leave part of his past behind but he knows that it's impossible. He had a very tough decision to make during his time in the war, and wonders if he shouldn't have stayed back with his group. He fights with himself, knowing that he'd much rather be alive than dead, but that it was his duty to stay with the men. The fact that he has so much trouble dealing with the past makes it that much harder for him to deal with the future. I think he's a very confused man... but at the same time, he's a very smart man and knows when his job is done and he's contributed to his society all he can.

The Sheriff

Today's discussion of the sheriff reminded me of a fellow named Edmund Burke, a British guy who flipped out during the French Revolution because of how many historically-cemented ideas these revolutionaries were upsetting. He saw culture and "society" as something you inherited from your ancestors. You shouldn't start over just because you think you have a better idea for it. Burke admitted that society and goernment are illusions but insisted we must play by their rules to keep from killing each other. (Some evidence to his argument: People stopped playing by those rules during the French Revolution and very soon after started killing each other, exactly as he predicted they would.) Even if truth is socially constructed, it's socially constructed for a functioning reason. It's kind of all we have.

I think this is very relevant to the sheriff, though the two would probably disagree on principle about truth. Their disagreement, however, would be irrelevant. They both have conservative ideas about how we should treat history, how we should respect it, how we should grant it some agency to act on us. For example, McCarthy includes the story about the motel killers. The story is a really repulsive story for a lot of reasons. One of the most awful parts, however, is that all of the murdered people are elderly. The story goes against our traditionally protective concern for the past, a concern that the sheriff worries is deteriorating (or knows is deteriorating). Given that the sheriff is aging, he has a concern for who is inheriting society and what they will do with it.

That might be a reductive portrait of the sheriff (it's certainly a reductive portrait of Burke), but I think it captures a mood that has occurred repeatedly in this class. Notice that no matter what year a story occurs in, the main character is always looking back on a better idea of the West. The West is perpetually ending, even in the 80s. It's always finding new ways to be less cool and less moral than it used to be. How is this possible?

First part of No Country

I felt that the title No Country For Old Men kinda was influenced by the idea that the Sheriff is the old wise figure in the story, one of the oldest yet throughout the chase and investigation he is always one step behind. He says a couple times that he feels like these new criminals are ones they can't control, that it is beyond the control of anyone in general because they are too ruthless and sharp to be caught. Chigurh is really one of the best villains ever because he is so methodical yet is willing to kill someone like that clerk just for getting the wrong vibe from someone. He makes you feel like anyone could be thinking about killing even in a convenient public place like the gas station where normally you feel safe, whereas at home something like that is much more likely.

Jankem

Well I have done my research and according to Urban Dictionary, a very reliable source, "jankeming" is very real. You breath in methane and "start seeing stuff like dead people and purple dragons for days." Wikipedia, another reliable source, has a great page on this subject which, surprisingly, has a great history. It is good to know I learned a lot on the trip.

Effigy Mounds

I thought that the trip was informative and fun. It was neat to see all the different mounds and memorials of Indians. I personally thought that it was cool how the mounds were in shapes of animals such as a bear. The trail itself was tedious and long, but it was a good experience. The stop points that showed the overview of the land was also cool to look at. Overall the trip was fun and it was a good time.

Photos from Effigy Mounds

Trip to Effigy Mounds

I was unable to make the trip to Effigy Mound with the class- but am going to try to go on my own. I plan on going Saturday (May 1st) I am hoping to be able to get off of work by 12- and thought I would see if anyone is interested in making the trip with me.

You can either comment here on the blog or email me at sarah-koepp@uiowa.edu

Effigy Mounds experience

Overall the Effigy Mounds hike was a success. Some of the trail was steep at times but it wasn't too strenuous. I wish there were more mounds instead of the long stretch of plowed land. Definitely some interesting topics of conversation going around and I had to research a little about Jackie's comment about getting high off huffing your own shit. Supposedly it's called "Jankem" but doesn't seem to be too realistic. Anyways...

http://www.erowid.org/ask/ask.php?ID=3113

Trip is Still On

Lull in Storm Over Mississippi River (It Rained 6 Inches) Near Prairie Du Chien, Wisconsin
Originally uploaded by Castleton Road

Well folks, the forecast for Effigy is it will rain all morning but stop around the time we get up there. This afternoon, there is just the chance for occasional showers and it might not rain at all. While this is far from great weather, based upon all your comments in class on Thursday I am thinking you will all be ok with this considering its your last shot practically to get the hike in.

Dress accordingly. Bring water/food. We will stop at one gas station with a Subway/convenience store on the way up if you want to hit that b/c you did not pack a lunch or etc.

See you at 9:30 in front of the Old Capitol on Clinton St. Be early.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

Besides the fact that Paul Newman and Robert Redford add to the movie's appeal for being ridiculously good looking, I really enjoyed the movie for what it offered. After watching High Noon for my movie critique, it was entertaining watching a Western narrated from the "bad guys" point of view. In High Noon, the marshal is the character of interest, and the villains are represented as crude, dirty creatures. In Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, the two robbers personify these sexy, intelligent, talented men, highly skilled in their trade. The scene dealing with the marshal asking his citizens to join his forces against Butch and Kid reminded me of scenes in High Noon when Kane seeks his citizen's help against Miller. It's interesting how two scenes, portraying the same thing, can be so vastly different. In Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, the marshal is this bumbling idiot, receiving no compassion when he's left standing alone. Whereas in High Noon, one immediately pities Kane and has negative feelings toward the cowardly towns people. A line in the film that I found foreshadowed the ending was when the sheriff says, "Your times is over and all you can do is die bloody! Your times is over!" From that phrase on, I knew the film wouldn't end in Butch and Kid's favor.

Sunday Effigy Mounds Hike

Picture: The Field Trip Van

Hi Folks.

The Sunday Field Trip is still tenatively on. Be sure to check back in tomorrow morning on the blog before you head downtown to meet on Clinton St. in front of the Old Capitol @ 9:30. BE TEN MINUTES EARLY, AT LEAST, AS I WILL LEAVE PEOPLE WHO ARE LATE.

Right now, the forecast says its going to be overcast with a fifty/fifty chance of an occasional light shower tommorrow. I think we can still do it. Bring your rain coats. If anything, the cooler temps (60) will make the hike easier.

Check the blog before you head out tomorrow, as I will cancel the trip if the forecast gets worse but for now it looks like a "go."

Take care.

Dennis Kuhnel
6206947798

Effigy Mounds News

The front page of the Cedar Rapids Gazette on Friday featured an article about possible damage done to Effigy Mounds. Unauthorized construction had taken place- which may have disturbed the ancient cultural features. See article below.



http://gazetteonline.com/breaking-news/2010/04/23/unauthorized-construction-may-have-damaged-effigy-mounds?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+GazetteOnlineBreakingNews+%28Gazette+Online+Breaking+News%29&utm_content=Google+Feedfetcher

Crazy Heart

I just finished watching Crazy Heart with Jeff Bridges and I actually enjoyed it a lot. I think Jeff Bridges deserved the Best Actor Oscar he won based on this performance as Bad Blake. The movie showed the modern Southwest as Bad Blake performed in small town bars and bowling alleys. It also showed the contrast between the old style of Country Western music and the new style of country music. Bad Blake represented the old cowboy type of musician who drove around with his guitar, drank, smoked and wrote music. Colin Farrell's character, Tommy Sweet, showed the new style of country musician by traveling around in a tour bus and having people write songs for him. I liked how the movie portrayed Tommy Sweet as appreciative and content enough in his success to thank Blake for helping him along the way instead of as a snotty rich musician. The themes of this movie were the old style of the country musician versus the new style of the western musician. This related to the "New West" as opposed to the "Old West". The old musician and the old west represent simplicity, freedom, individualism and American ideals, while the new represents flashy buildings, money, industry and the loss of individualism. Overall I enjoyed the movie more than I thought I would and would recommend it anybody who likes movies that focus primarily on a single character and his quest to find himself.

Extra Credit Opportunity Saturday

Saturday morning at 9 A.M. in Shaeffer 140- a conference on the Iowa Artist Grant Wood will take place.

If you attend one of the talks and write a response to it, I will give you one extra credit point. I believe the talks last all day but can't find a schedule. There is an article on it in the Daily Iowan.

"Mexico Gunmen Kidnap at Least Six in Hotel Raids"

Hey, here is an article that describes a recent kidnapping in a Mexican hotel. I thought that since we are reading No Country for Old Men this is a relevant article because it shows the same kind of violence taking place today in the 21st century. Authorities believe that the kidnappings were targeted at certain individuals in the hotel. They also believe that it was part of organized crime in Mexico. Kind of similar to the hotel "happenings" in the book.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8637016.stm

No Country For Old Men

I really enjoyed reading this book. What I really thought was interesting was how Sheriff Bell felt like he didn't deserve the bronze star. He couldn't handle the fact that he deserted his men instead of dying during the war. He felt like it was his duty as a soldier to hold his ground. Bell also knew that his father Jack probably would have stayed. "Had Jack of been born fifty years later he might have had a different view of things." The quote shows how people change which goes along with the west changing also. I would say this is the best book we have read so far this year.

Townes Van Zandt's "Pancho and Lefty"

Hi Folks. Here is a famous story song about Pancho Villa. The events in this song would have taken place around the time of "The Wild Bunch."



Here is another famous TVZ song. You will probably recognize it from "The Big Lebowski" soundtrack.



Here is a great clip from the movie Heartworn Highways (1974). In it Townes is at his house in Austin with some friends and performs one of his songs.

Reading for Thursday

Picture: My sister at Mesa Verde in southwestern Colorado.

Remember to read the 20 or so pages from McGee for Thursday on The Wild Bunch that I wrote on the board. I believe it starts at page 144.

Also try and have No Country for Old Men read to close to 200 by Thursday.

We will discuss No Country for Old Men on Thursday.

I do not think we will view the film in class, so if anyone would like to see it outside of class let me know and we can watch it some night for extra credit.

Where did the title "No Country for Old Men" come from?

The title comes from a poem called "Sailing to Byzantium" written by William Butler Yeats. The poem is written about a journey to Constantinople that is used as a metaphor for the spiritual journey of a man pursuing paridise.

That is no country for old men. The young
In one another's arms, birds in the trees
—Those dying generations—at their song,
The salmon-falls, the mackerel-crowded seas,
Fish, flesh, or fowl, commend all summer long
Whatever is begotten, born, and dies.
Caught in that sensual music all neglect
Monuments of unaging intellect.

The fact that McCormac took the first line of this poem to be the title of the book really shows a lot about how he felt about the book and what it was supposed to say. It really portrays western themes and the fact that people were trying to find their paradise, it whatever way they could. In the book Moss finds the money and knows that the money could lead him to the paridise he wants for him and his wife. However, his lack of thought on the situation leads him into great danger. Also, the Sherrif in the book is a older gentleman who has seen a to old to be able to handle the West that they live in and the violence that takes place there. It takes him most of the novel to realize that the West really is "No country for old men" like him.

The Wild Bunch

I found this review that Roger Ebert wrote about The Wild Bunch and I thought it related well to some of the things we were talking about in class today.

http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19690803/REVIEWS/908030301/1023

Glendale Train

Talking about robbing trains today in class made me think of this song by the psychedelic country rock band, New Riders of the Purple Sage. If you've ever heard the song "Panama Red", then you know this band.

The Wild Bunch

I did not like this movie at all. Starting out with a great shoot out and bank robbery you would think the movie could only get better but you thought wrong. It just gets worse. Maybe its because I don't know spanish and the director wanted to keep it more authentic so there were no subtitles. Maybe it was because the character development was poorly done. I did not care for this movie at all.

Reminder for Class Today

Don't forget that everyone is supposed to have their assigned movie watched by today. I will go around the classroom and ask everyone for a brief description of their film for the class' benefit.

oops I forgot about the blog

I completely forgot we were supposed to blog over the movie..hope I can still do this, but the movie was interesting. It was difficult to get into because the lack of set up. However, it was a different Western than what we've watched so far in the sense of a traditional western. Shane for example had the good guy defending the family life with a set of ideas and the violence was more of random gun shots going off. Whereas the wild bunch was different in the sense of the gore and violence being displayed. However, the whole relationship between the outlaws and bounty hunters wasn't apparent to me. The outlaws didn't appear to be terrible characters, just men looking to keep living in their old ways and trying to survive without society conforming to a "civilization." However, I was like most of the class, very unsure what was going on.

which enemy poses the most threat to the Wild Bunch?

After reading a article that Dennis posted from boozemovies.com a question about the content of the movie really stood out to me. The writed of the article said "It is unclear whether the greatest threat to Pike and his gang comes from their Mexican allies, the bounty hunters, or from fissures within their own group." This seems to be a very important question about the content of the movie and whether or not they Wild Bunch was successful in the end. They had more than one enemy and a large amount of people working against them. Because of this they had opposition from all sides which made it difficult for them to trust people as well as come out on top in the end. I think that the Mexicans allies were actually the biggest threat to Pike and his gang. Both sides were manipulative and wanted to always be in control of the situation, because of this there was a ton of tension between these opposing sides even though they were considered allies. An important theme that can be taken from this is the "need for dominance" that is shown in the movie by a majority of characters in the movie. None of them want to be the little guy and they seem to go to extreme lengths to make sure that they are never reduced to that level.

The Wild Bunch

Personally, I did not enjoy the film. My biggest issue was not being able to distinguish who people were. Almost all of the actors looked the same, making it hard to keep up with what was going on. Besides that, it did have some major themes of the west, such as perserving the ideal of being a badass and doing whatever you want to, killing anyone that stands in your way. Another theme that stood out to me that we have continously talked about in class was the racial discrimination between the groups of people. I enjoyed seeing the dynamic between the Mexicans and whites.

Class on Tuesday

On Tuesday we will discuss at length the film The Wild Bunch. Towards the end of the class we will discuss No Country for Old Men too, so make sure you are keeping up with your reading with that work. You should be around page 150 by Tuesday.

It seemed to me that many of the responses to The Wild Bunch only dealt with the film superficially and not in substance. Be prepared to discuss the film seriously on Tuesday and how it treats western history. It may be a good idea to read original reviews of the film and look up what the author says about it in From Shane to Kill Bill.

http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19690803/REVIEWS/908030301/1023 A review from 1969 in Chicago.

http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=EE05E7DF1730E774BC4E51DFB0668382679EDE

http://www.boozemovies.com/2009/03/wild-bunch-1969.html

Movie Response: Day 2

The last half of the movie left me a little confused, I guess. I wasn't entirely sure why the Wild Bunch decided to take on the entire Mexican Army! And then the group of bounty hunters came and looted them all. Maybe it's a way of saying justice will always prevail? (or something ... ) This as an example and a few other parts added twists that weren't entirely answered, leaving a lot of questions after watching this movie. I did like to see how the Wild Bunch adapted and learned the ways of the different groups of people they encountered. They were always respectful; not what you would expect from the stereotypical group of outlaws. Overall, the movie wasn't all that bad. ;)

American Pickers

There is a show that is televised on the History channel at 9pm on Mondays called American Pickers. The show is kind of corny however it kind of relates to a topic in class. In the book The Professor's House, when Roddy sells the old materials to the German. Tom got upset because he was giving away the history they should have been preserving. Well in the show American Pickers, these guys go around and they scour the country for hidden gems in junkyards, basements, garages and barns. They buy these antiques, then help preserve them. They show how all across America there is history everywhere and while trying to preserve the materials and they may teach you a thing or two about American history along the way.

Wild Bunch

While watching The Wild Bunch, I did not find myself very intrigued with the film. The beginning had a bank robbery from the start which drew some attention, however that quickly vanished. I thought it was an interesting tactic that they used, having an ex-member or partner tracking down the group. Overall, the movie was confusing, however I enjoyed the ending for the violence and also how the outlaws, even though they died, they managed to evade the bounty hunters. It was a small victory they had even after their deaths.

Me and My Uncle

So I was jammin out this morning and realized this is such a great song about outlaw cowboys. Its by the Grateful Dead.

Here's the lyrics:

Me and my uncle went ridin' down,
South Colorado, West Texas bound.
We stopped over in Santa Fe,
That bein' the point just about half way,
And you know it was the hottest part of the day.

I took the horses up to the stall,
Went to the barroom, ordered drinks for all.
Three days in the saddle, you know my body hurt,
It bein' summer, I took off my shirt,
And I tried to wash off some of that dusty dirt.

West Texas cowboys, they's all around,
With liquor and money, they're loaded down.
So soon after payday, know it seemed a shame;
You know my uncle, he starts a friendly game,
High-low jack and the winner take the hand.

My uncle starts winnin'; cowboys got sore.
One of them called him, and then two more,
Accused him of cheatin'; Oh no, it couldn't be.
I know my uncle, he's as honest as me,
And I'm as honest as a Denver man can be.

One of them cowboys, he starts to draw,
And I shot him down, Lord he never saw.
Shot me another, oh damn he won't grow old.
In the confusion, my uncle grabbed the gold,
And we high-tailed it down to Mexico.

I love those cowboys, I love their gold,
I loved my uncle, God rest his soul,
Taught me good, Lord, Taught me all I know
Taught me so well, I grabbed that gold
And I left his dead ass there by the side of the road.

The Wild Bunch: Negotiating Technology

I found the most interesting aspect of the film to be how the characters interacted with the presence of technology. During the train hijacking scene, the bunch showed some serious expertise at sneaking up and clandestinely disabling the train. Their ability to do that shows a tactical manipulation of new industrial tools. Their hijacking could not have worked the same way if it was working against a wagon and horses. They used the train's blind spots against it and took off before anyone knew what was happening. The bunch probably didn't start their careers robbing trains but discovered what about the new technology was weak, then learned to exploit it.

A different sort of interaction occurred with the machine gun. While all of the characters in the movie seemed comfortable and well-adjusted to rifles, the advent of the machine gun was a huge development. While the bunch had learned to manipulate the train, it seemed like no one had learned to manipulate the machine gun. The bunch first presented it to the Mexicans as a kind of exotic gem. It was wondrous and interesting. It became obvious after acquiring the gun that no one in the camp could effectively operate it. The first group to try went mad blowing everything apart. The gun was too powerful. Eventually, in the final fight scene, the Mexican camp learned to clumsily implement it. The death it caused was significant though haphazard.

The gun and the train exemplify technologies in different stages of understanding. Industry's influence on the culture of the West was very important. The viewer can tell how important by examining the difference between how the bunch had come to exploit the train and how the Mexican army attempted to exploit the gun.

The Wild Bunch

The Wild Bunch was not one of my favorite movies. From the beginning I was confused with the plot, and I just found it to be stupid and cheesy for the most part. Some of the scenes were cool like the opening and ending of the movie. There were some themes that we read about in It's Your Misfortune and talked about in class. Mainly it had the theme of outlaws in the west. There is also the conflict of races, White has a whole section about Anglo-Hispanic conflict in our reading. Even though I can understand why it was important to see for what we are talking about in class, I really did not enjoy watching it.

The Wild Bunch

Honestly, I really did not like The Wild Bunch. It almost seemed like it was trying to hard too be a "western shoot 'em up" type film. The opening scene of the movie could have been the final scene with the gunfight and violence it contained. I did like the dynamic relationship between Bishop and Thornton. I think it was interesting that an ex-outlaw was now leading the bounty hunters and I liked seeing Bishop's flashbacks of their past partnership. As far as the plot goes, I didn't think the game of cat and mouse was all that interesting, nor did I like the ending. It seemed like the movie was trying to make a statement about how the "old" west was dying as government and technology was improving. In the end, the outlaws knew they couldn't continue to live the way they wanted to and as a result they were all murdered. The movie didn't do much for me entertainment wise, but I see how people consider it to contain an important message.

The Wild Bunch

Although I wasn't a big fan of this movie I thought it had some good parts. I enjoyed how the former member of the Wild Bunch was leading the bounty hunters to track them down. Although completely different themes surrounded both movies, it somewhat resembles the rationale behind Silence Of The Lambs. They used a killer to track a killer in that movie, in The Wild Bunch they used an outlaw to track outlaws. I also think this movie saw some similar themes with the painting of Custer's last stand that we looked at in class. The Wild Bunch may go down at the end, but at least they go down doing something they believe in. It romanticized the violence of gunfights to make them look manly and noble. I have seen better movies, but overall it was not too bad and had some themes relevant to our class.

Response to Wild Bunch

I think the Wild Bunch captured the essence of bandits in the West. The movie opened with the bank robbery and they continued to stir things up continuing with the train heists. I also do agree as stated in someone's response that it was confusing to distinguish the different groups. Especially with the ex-bandit leading the charge, I felt like keeping him and Pike apart was a little difficult. The bandits did what they wanted and weren't afraid to take anything.

The Wild Bunch

I thought that this movie was pretty good. I thought it was interesting how this group of outlaws really knew how to survive against all the different kind of people who they came across. I also found it interesting that the leader of the bounty hunters use to be one of the outlaws. I thought that the fighting was pretty realistic, and I only got lost at some of the parts with the Mexican groups. Sometimes those scenes were a little confusing to follow.

The Wild Bunch

I found it interesting that an ex-member of the Wild Bunch is in charge of leading the group of bounty hunters. I was intrigued by the concept of having what seems to be an ordinary group of men- with no authority- in charge of hunting down and killing criminals. Rewards and bounty hunters were relied on to bring justice to the West opposed to the established law enforcement we have today.

The Wild Bunch

In the beginning, does anyone in the temperance union repeat that they won't drink cider? At least one woman stopped at beer deliberately. I think it is a good contrast to put the temperance union right next to the shoot out in the beginning of the movie because none of the men in either the group of outlaws or guns hired by the railroad are in the least inclined to abstain from any sort of vice. Also, it is very difficult to tell the difference between the outlaws and the bounty hunters at all.

The Wild Bunch

The theme of violence in the American West was shown in this film to an extreme. The 'wild bunch' who was a train robbing gang, was killing numerous amounts of people as the enforcements were after them. The bounty hunters were almost like security to their outrage. There was a sense of belonging to a group which would be the 'wild bunch'. We spoke in class how it was not just individual fights, but rather group fights. The idea of siding with someone and sticking to it was shown in this film. There was deaths in this group, but they continued to kill. They would rob trains as well as the bank. This gory film was the idea of how the 'wild bunch' turned the west into violence and their surrondings.

Wild Bunch

Here's a story about noble bandits. These people reject the system and live by their own way. Though their time is coming to an end, which is apparently a sad thing. There is a theme here that is common not just in American Westerns, but was also popular in Europe during for a time. The movie reminds me a little bit of the Robbers by Schiller, though that had a lot to with the reality of things and a disenchantment from the romantic legends. The similarity is in the notion of being a Highwayman or a Bandit is the only real form of freedom. These people go where they want, do what they want and take what they want. The movie also seems to claim that this is a life that is to be desired.

The Real Wild Bunch

Here is a photo of the real Wild Bunch, composed of Butch Cassidy, Ben Kilpatrick, The Sundance Kid, Kid Curry, and News Carver. Sam Peckinpah's Wild Bunch portrays the lifestyle of these real outlaws, who committed their most famous heist on June 2, 1899 when they held up a Union Pacific train at Wilcox, Wyoming. They stole anywhere between $30,000 and $60,000 while wearing makeshift masks made out of napkins. haha. They went on to rob a few more trains and banks and eventually split up around 1901, when the annoyance of the lawmen became too burdensome.

I think some of the fine detail in the beginning of the "Wild Bunch" movie is particularly interesting. Unbeknownst to the viewer at the beginning, the film is set in the early 1900's, a time when increasing pressure was being put on outlaw gangs by the law, and some kind of social reform may have been taking place. When I first saw this movie, I did not understand the significance of the religious group that was pledging to abstain from alcohol, or the significance of the children burning the scorpion. Now I believe these events are a depiction of the time period of the film. The society seems to want to extinguish all things dangerous, bad, or unknown. This mindset is summed up nicely by Pike, the gang leader, just after they realize their loot is fake. He says, "We gotta start thinking beyond our guns, those days are closing fast."

Wild Bunch Response

Having the opening scene of The Wild Bunch as a bank robbery, while bounty hunters assume the position for the awaited shootout, demonstrates that the movie is about this group of aging outlaws who are nearing their end in a world as they once knew it; the shootout symbolizes "their West" is over. A definite distinction is presented between the Old West, displayed by the Wild Bunch, and the New West, displayed by the congregation of towns people and permanent town they preside in.
Beyond the message set by the opening scene, I found many elements of the movie so far to be frivolous. The image of the little boy and girl hugging in the midst of the shootout was just dumb. In real life, those little children would have ran and joined their other friends hiding behind the building, not just stand in the middle of the street holding each other. Another scene that I found silly was when the Mexican in the Wild Bunch shoots his ex-girlfriend for kissing another man. The fact that shooting the girl was the ice breaker to getting invited inside for dinner was unreal.
I'm anxious to see where the movie is going, plot wise, because I've had trouble following all the jumping around and mumbling. Hopefully it gets better.

The Wild Bunch

My favorite scene in this movie is the one where Pike is talking to Earnest Borgnign's character while they are sitting around a fire at there hideout in Mexico after the first robbery. I think that it greatly exemplifies so much of the imagined west. The men substitute bad whiskey for bad coffee and talk about the foolish pride that takes the lives of so many men. angel, the mexican sings a peaceful ballad as they discuss getting out of crime, until they realize that there is nowhere for them to go from here, "back off to what?" As Pike tells Earnest about his plan to get one last score for them all before they quit, he mentions garrisons of army troops all along the border that they could rob...
They'll be waiting for us.
I wouldn't have it any other way.
Pike... I wouldn't have it any other way either.
Death looms as the soft ballad carries through the night.

The Wild Bunch Pt. 1

I thought the movie started out with a lot of action and it grabbed my attention. It started out with a group of outlaws robbing a bank, and the railroad company hired convicts to stop the outlaws. There was a lot of gun shooting and many people died including civilians. Then the movie went on with less action and lots of talking. This first half of the movie reminded me of bandits and social bandits that we discussed in class. The thieves stole for their own reasons, such as for their own selfishness or to fight for their beliefs. This movie also gave me a perspective on how cowboys acted and what they were like. It showed that they liked to drink a lot, spend time and money on women, and they all had guns. It also seemed that some of the outlaws had a code of the West, for example, when the Mexican outlaw shot his lover because she was all over an officer. The outlaws could have just left him to be hung or shot, but he was a part of their team and they took care of him and did not leave him to die. Another example is when they are about to split the money they stole from the bank. A couple of the outlaws wanted to split the profit unevenly, but the leader was not having any of that, and he threatened to end the group if they did not split the profits evenly. I thought this first part of the movie clarified some of the social conflicts from the old West.

Movie Response: Day 1

The Wild Bunch certainly started off with a "bang," eh? I think the very first scene goes along well with what we read about in It's Your Misfortune. White was explaining how people think of the West as a place where gunfights will randomly break out and all hell will break loose. The gunfight at the very beginning shows this. I'm liking how the group of men who are supposed to be the "bad guys" are seemingly portrayed in a good light. They are constantly talking about doing what's "right," sticking together, learning from their errors. The "good guys," the railroad company, prove to be after the "Wild Bunch" only because there's a reward out for them. The head man of the railroad group says something close to "The railroad IS the law." This is very interesting when considering justice during this time. It's my opinion that the railroad group is more of the "bad guys" than the Wild Bunch.

Chigurh and Bell

As I was reading today, it struck me that Chigurh and Bell are complete opposites, not just in their personalities, but also in what they represent in the story. Now obviously every story has a good guy and a bad guy, but what makes these two interesting is that they are sort of in the same situation and they both respond differently. They're in a position where they can do almost anything they want, Bell because being a county sheriff in Texas apparently as no restrictions, rules or guidelines, not only that but there is apparently no official county law so there's really nothing official to uphold. Chigurh is completely free simply because he's smart enough and bad enough to get away with it. So they both live in a lawless world, Bell decides to do what is right, he opposes criminals and protects the citizens, and Chigurh just does what he wants, which for a psychopath like him tends to be evil. He kills people like it's a bodily function, and in some cases he may believe that he is right to do so. In the scene with Chigurh and the gas station proprietor, Chigurh seems annoyed at the fact that the other man owns the gas station because he married into it, rather that earning it properly. He felt that he had to test this man's luck further with the coin toss. He refuses to call the out-come for the man claiming that it wouldn't unfair and even a moral wrong, indicating that Chigurh has some twisted sense of right and wrong. That really is what makes Chigurh a dangerous and interesting villain, because he thinks that he is in the right.