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.