MovieChat Forums > High Plains Drifter (1973) Discussion > The Rape *Spoilers*

The Rape Spoilers

posted 9 years ago by BrickNash
12 replies | jump to latest

I know there are other threads about this bit I thought Id weigh in with my own theory.

The western was all about the good guy being the good guy through and through and while a nice thought it was heavily overdone and I'm sure Clint Eastwood himself knew that the old west probably wasn't so cut and dry.

A lone stranger who had no qualms about shooting any man in cold blood would probably not be the nicest person and would more than likely have other bad traits to his character. I think the rape does the job of removing the glamorisation of what these films were really about and that is killing people for if you remove the respect for the protagonist then you see all the other things he does in a different light.

Just to add yes it was a rape, this was cemented in the fact that she tried to shoot him in tears and it's not something that should ever be swept under the carpet so I'm glad it was included because I guarantee it will disgust more people than it will excite.

The fact that the stranger left town at the end exactly the same as when he came in with no change of heart or resolution hit home again that just because someone has the power to help you it doesn't mean they are a good person.

Clint Eastwood is no idiot and he likes to turn a concept on it's head and making the good guy a bad guy is one of the simplest ways to do that. It certainly made me view the film differently than any other western I've seen due to that awkward feeling of "Errmmm who do I root for?" and I have the feeling that was the intention all along.

[–] sfmar 9 years ago

With the exception of one or two specific individuals, he wasn't there to do good or help the town - he was there to punish the town, and that's exactly what he did.

[–] 9 years ago

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[–] 9 years ago

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[–] strntz 9 years ago

Just to add yes it was a rape, this was cemented in the fact that she tried to shoot him in tears...

After repeated watching, I agree that it was a rape, but the day-after scene doesn't prove it. It's clear that Callie, at least initially, resisted The Stranger quite vehemently as he dragged her into the barn, but seemed at some point to enjoy it. Proof of *that* comes later in the film when she decides to have sex with The Stranger after dining with him. That she apparently suffered remorse the next day for enjoying at least part of the rape would explain the attempted murder of The Stranger.

Is very bad to steal Jobu's rum. Is very bad.

[–] Sook-Yongsheng 9 years ago

A lone stranger who had no qualms about shooting any man in cold blood

No qualms?

Not even if they were on the point of killing him?

I don't think they had any qualms.

Love & Mercy: 9
It Follows: 8.5
Whiplash: 9

[–] 9 years ago

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[–] dominicd 9 years ago

... I think the rape does the job of removing the glamorisation of what these films were really about and that is killing people for if you remove the respect for the protagonist then you see all the other things he does in a different light ...

IMO this is the (sic) genius of Eastwood's art. It's gritty. Raw. It's surreal, but at the same time what he portrayed, and exhibited in the most repugnant illustration possible. Sure the Stranger was of question and no one in the town knew just who he was, but it was the mystery that captivated the audience in offering a spectrum of emotions and personifications (Good, Bad and Ugly?) that punctuated the term "greed."

On a side note, some say he was a ghost, or a relative of the slain marshall ... But over the years, and recently, I think he was the metaphysical epitome of what those people of Lago were, but never ever had the gumption to realize, or act upon.

Yeah, the Stranger raped, but at the same time offered hope and salvation? Wow.

- DominicD

"Always make the audience suffer as much as possible." - A. Hitchcock

[–] doubl3 8 years ago

A woman shooting or being in tears doesn't prove anything. All the time they consent to things that they later regret and want to blame everyone else for them agreeing to.

[–] gd5150 8 years ago

It wasn't rape. She wanted and enjoyed it. Nuff said.

[–] strntz 7 years ago

She wanted and enjoyed it.

You could be right on both counts, but if you watch that scene again, it's clear from her violent protestations that while she might have wanted it, she didn't want *him* to get it, at least not then and most certainly not without her consent. IMO it was her plan to insult and humiliate the stranger, and leave him emasculated.

Of course, he ruins that plan when he drags her to the barn with no one in town to come to her aid. If she could have escaped, she would have. That she might have stopped resisting and perhaps even joined midway through isn't the point.

Is very bad to steal Jobu's rum. Is very bad.

[–] I_Luv_Apple 7 years ago

You are just trying to justify the rape. the stranger is evil. He does not care who he hurts. He is not above rape. He raped her.

[–] strntz 7 years ago

*Please* don't ever respond to any of my posts again. I'm asking this in all sincerity. Thanks.

It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men ~ F Douglass