Independent Spirits

 I could have not picked two more disparate movies than:

 “Sand Pebbles” w/ Steve McQueen, 1966, and

 “The Far Country” w/ James Stewart, 1954, to watch, these last two nights.

Different historical eras. 1926 vs. 1896; different themes,

  power versus lust;

or are they that different?

A key dialogue line in both films, tying them together was,

 “Prepare Ship to Repel Boarders.!”

It was a standard Hollywood line to raise audience apprehension.

For the Scriptwriters, it was a shift to the “Rebel Force”.  The American patrol boat was now morally led by Steve McQueen; the steamer to Dawson by Jimmy Stewart.  “Don’t Tread on me” is the rebel’s motto.

The underdog wins against all odds.  It’s the American Way.

The generational gap between film production merely signifies,

the public’s coming to grips with the reality of death accompanying moral conviction more often than the miraculous escapes, repeatedly, of Jimmy Stewart.

Realism.