Would you say that the characters of the misfits represent the idea of individualism?
shareYes, especially the two leading male roles. I found MM's character harder to figure out, except for her passionate belief against the killing of animals for no good reason. Perhaps this view in the early 60s was more a mark of individualism than it is today.
shareNo good reason? Seriously? She opposed it because she had a heart, a conscience. What good reason do you need, anyways?
shareDefinitely. Look at where they say just about anything is better than wages. They would rather make their own way than to depend on wages from an employer who controlled them.
Nobody gets to be a cowboy forever.
There are many movies about individualism I would not call this the greatest example. In fact this movie is more about searching for someone with which to "fit in". That is why the title is so great. The characters are in a constant search to find who they can misfit-in with. Look how it progresses
--spoilers --
Isabelle's marriage fails so she spends her life as a "spinster" (a kind of misfit) caring for others who marriages have failed (misfits in a sense)
Roslyn's Marriage is over and she is lost not knowing where to fit.
Tuco, I mean Guido is trying to fit in by holding down a job in town but Gay is pressing him to chunk it in and hit the road with him since his latest fling has left town. Guido takes Roslyn to his house in an attempt to fight this and find something to keep him tied down.
When Gay links up with Roslyn, and they settle into their groove, Guido tries to take Gay back by tempting him with the mustangs.
We learn Pierce has left home because he is a misfit in his home with is mother and her new husband. He is trying to find a place to fit in the Rodeo circuit, but he too is tempted to leave it to fit-in with Roslyn.
Along the way Isabelle no longer fits since no one needs her care and she returns, ironically, to caring for her ex husband.
After the dust settles we see Roslyn and Gay now fit together and Guido and Pierce are the two left mis-fitting. (I get the feeling they did not team up after the mustang fiasco was done.)
So Roslyn was the whirlwind that un-fitted all the misfits
This screenplay is a skewed version of the classic "visiting angel" script, in which a stranger arrives on the scene and changes everyone's lives--usually for the better. Roslyn is the angel here, and she does force Gay to re-examine his lust for horse flesh--that's a good thing--but what will he do now instead especially with her at his side? I don't think her presence helped or hurt the Clift, Ritter and Wallach characters at all. Marilyn was upset that Miller chose this particular story as his screenplay tribute to her, and I don't blame her. She deserved a much better showcase. As with so many of her movies, she's not the central character. Maybe she was so much larger than life and yet ethereal at the same time, that even talented people couldn't decide how write for her.
shareSo many thought provoking answers from people in this thread - different ways of looking at the same story.
webmail - I like your analysis; even if I don't completely agree with it.
The OP:
"Would you say that the characters of the misfits represent the idea of individualism?
I guess someone can define "individualism" for us.
For me, the story takes place in the West (symbolically works better there) - because, I think, it draws upon the "cowboy spirit".
Oh boy, now somebody may need to define the cowboy spirit.
There are lots of ways of defining what a cowboy is. Many would say there are no cowboys anymore - not real ones. Others might suggest the whole cowboy thing is just a romanticized myth.
Still, I think - for me - the "cowboy" is his own person - an individual - an "individualist". He's not much of a "joiner", but that doesn't mean he lives like a hermit. He has buddies, a woman friend or several. He probably has an extended family - he may very well be part of a community.
But, when push comes to shove, he has a "code" the cowboy code and if he gets pushed hard enough he will push back - even if it means standing alone (Gary Cooper in High Noon).
Our four main characters got pushed around by society - in part because they were misfits; because they didn't fit in with regular folks, one way or another.
Some people, when pushed and shoved; crammed like square pegs into round holes - some people surrender to those quiet lives of desperation. But, those misfit "individualists", rather than suffer such indignities (not unknown to most of us) - they fight back - and get kicked out (fired, etc) - or they just leave.
Eastwood's High Plains Drifter was an individualist, but so was The Outlaw Josey Wales (with his rag-tag adopted family) - even Bronco Billy (head of a family of wild west show performers). We could, imo, also describe each of these leads as a misfit too (at least Bronco Billy).
It has been my experience - as an individualist - that it can be hard to "fit in".
As a "misfit" I can relate to the longing; to find a place and a people where I am respected despite my individualism and accepted - a place and people where I can fit in.
Not all misfits are individualists, but I think the four main characters, to a greater or lesser degree were both (sorry, haven't seen this in a few years).
An odd sheep, might be a misfit for the flock; even shunned by the others, but that wouldn't make her an individualist. That sheep would gladly get in line with all the rest - given the chance - marching lockstep with the rest.
An individualist, on the other hand, resists the status quo and, like those wild horses - would fight against being dominated by anyone. Individualists march to the beat of their own drum.
And if the truth be known - many people secretly wish they had the courage to do the same. But, they're not willing to pay the price (that comes in many forms) - which may include becoming a societal misfit.
Not at all. The film is about individualistic veneer. The main male characters all think they're free, but the point Miller was making in the screenplay is that they are NOT free, they are as limited and bound as those who earn 'wages'. This is pretty evident near the end of the film where Roslyn is scraming her lungs out at them, 'Murderers! I pity you! You're only happy when you're watching something die!' etc. They're bound to an ideal of the 'macho' life where they are basically the walking dead, without soul or sensitivity. They make a living out of capturing and killing wild things. Cutting the horses loose is symbolic of their (at least gay and Perce's) realisation that they are not living individual, free lives.
'If we don't, somebody else will' - they know deep down they are just part of a system.
"My car is outside."
"Naturally."