#western metaphysics

[heteroglossia]

We would gradually limit [Derrida's] signature: "There is nothing outside the text." Which is more or less what we are going to do. But it cannot in principle suffice in Derrida's case, even supposing that it does in other cases. First, because almost the whole of what Derrida has written consists in "readings" (in a sense to be specified) of philosophical and literary texts from the tradition, rather than in a system of theses proper to him. One can imagine Derrida as very modest, entirely preoccupied by reading and re-reading his predecessors with minute attention, determined to spend the time it takes over the slightest detail, the slightest comma, guardian of the letter of the old texts, putting nothing forward that he has not already found written by an other, scarcely our contemporary--and this is true. But one can also imagine him, on the contrary, as immodesty itself, forcing these same old texts to say something quite different from what they had always seemed to say, constantly putting out theses or hypotheses on the totality of what he calls "Western Metaphysics," sure of having diagnosed the hidden and unthought of all the others, our most contemporary contemporary, the only one to have emerged from age-old philosophical blindness--and this is not false. [He] is the simultaneous adulation and denunciation on both sides of this.

Geoffrey Bennington, Jacques Derrida

[aywv]

Red Dead Redemption and Western Metaphysics

Red Dead Redemption delivered a number of surreal and unique gaming moments that expressed the Spaghetti Western ethos. In this blog series I’ll examine the character of John Marston, the settings, and the plot twists that illuminate the views held by the Cowboy/Outlaw. For some, this will help put the plot and its controversial ending into perspective and for others, it will reaffirm why the Western genre has remained popular for well over 140 years through depictions in literature, cinema, and television. If you enjoy our Post-Mortem game analysis, love Westerns, or want to talk philosophy – tag our blog and let’s ride!

What Is The West?

The West is depicted as a land of opportunity and freedom. A man can take things into his own hands (preferably with six-guns in each) and make of his life what he will. The typical protagonist is a man with a life put behind him by steady hoofprints west. A displaced southern Civil War rebel (The Outlaw Josey Wales), someone who has a past better left forgotten (Red Dead’s Marston), a vengeance seeker (Harmonica in Once Upon a Time in the West), or anti-hero are typical protagonists.

These Cowboy/Outlaws live by a different set of concerns which are set in conflict with each other and the Easterners. The “citified train folk” and settlers, typically Christian in background, are ever encroaching on the physical and spiritual solitude sought by the Westerners.

Let’s look at a few of the Red Dead Redemption moments that illustrate the East/West divide. During the games opening conversation aboard a westbound train, the Preacher says:

Father: What you must remember, my dear, is that we have been brought here to spread the word. And the word and civilization, they are the same thing. They are the gifts. It is the opportunity we have — the chance to live among people who are decent and who do not kill each other, and who let you worship in peace.

This solitude is also sought and cherished by true westerners, but they have a different view of what that means. As I played Marston during a ranch mission, a particular comment really struck me. Drew MacFarland offers the following:

Drew: I’ve seen strong men wither and die under that unforgiving sun. That whole herds of cattle take sick and die. But I’ve never once doubted my life here.

Marston: No, sir.

Drew: When I hear about this so-called Federal Government, sending out agents to covertly murder and control people, then I start to worry. I mean, alright, Williamson is a menace and men like him are the plague, but isn’t a government agent a worse menace? In all that symbolizes, I mean.

Governmental controls that reduce a person’s freedom is not something a Westerner abides with ease. In fact, living an unencroached life is at the heart of the Western ethos. Even though that life might be difficult, treacherous, or even unlucky, a Westerner seeks the freedom to make their own way and their own mistakes. In the Outlaw Josey Wales, Eastwood’s character simply replies, “I reckon so…” when he is told that he will be hounded to hell and back for not submitting to the Yankee forces.

When Marston describes his childhood, it becomes clear what drew him to the West, but once there he has no intentions of going East.

Marston: My father died when I was 8 years old. His eyes were…well, let’s just say he was blinded in a barfight south of Chicago. My mother died during childbirth. She was a prostitute and he was her, well I don’t know what he was. ‘Till I was sent off to an orphanage and ran away and fell in with a gang.

Bonnie: My word, what a difficult life you’ve lived.

Marston: The leader of the gang taught me how to read. Taught me how to see all that was good in the world. He was a great man in a way.

Bonnie: But you killed people?

Marston: Sure, and I’ve suffered for it. And that’s the life I left, or tried to leave. I’ve said too much, Bonnie. I’m an uneducated killer sent here to do all I can do well, kill a man in cold blood so that another man may do his part to cut crime in an area, and a rich man can be elected governor on the back of these promises.

Bonnie: Civilization is a truly beautiful thing, Mr. Marston.

As we begin to see, Marston is cut out of the right kind of cloth for a Western story.

Game script quotes excerpted from the Shotgunnova game script FAQ at http://www.gamefaqs.com/xbox360/957922-red-dead-redemption/faqs/60200