Absolving the American guilt: forgiveness and purification in Clint Eastwood’s cinema

The guilt-ridden character archetype is a recurring premise in Clint Eastwood’s cinema, recognizable in the inner conflicts of the protagonists of iconic titles, such as Unforgiven (1992), Mystic River (2003), Million Dollar Baby (2004) and Gran Torino (2008). According to Scott, Unforgiven marks th...

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Autor principal:	Antonio Sánchez-Escalonilla
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN ES
Publicado:	Taylor & Francis Group 2021
Materias:	clint eastwood cinema tragedy guilt purification american dream Christianity BR1-1725
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/779b49b5dc974f00a38bf80e51d30391
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id	oai:doaj.org-article:779b49b5dc974f00a38bf80e51d30391
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:779b49b5dc974f00a38bf80e51d303912021-11-11T14:23:43ZAbsolving the American guilt: forgiveness and purification in Clint Eastwood’s cinema2375-32342375-324210.1080/23753234.2021.1960874https://doaj.org/article/779b49b5dc974f00a38bf80e51d303912021-07-01T00:00:00Zhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1080/23753234.2021.1960874https://doaj.org/toc/2375-3234https://doaj.org/toc/2375-3242The guilt-ridden character archetype is a recurring premise in Clint Eastwood’s cinema, recognizable in the inner conflicts of the protagonists of iconic titles, such as Unforgiven (1992), Mystic River (2003), Million Dollar Baby (2004) and Gran Torino (2008). According to Scott, Unforgiven marks the beginning of the filmmaker's authorship stage, where scenarios of diverse genres, such as road movie, war cinema or gangster plots introduce protagonists who coincide in their need for purification. This paper aims to explore the construction of characters carried out in the four titles aforementioned, by means of a script analysis methodology based on the dynamics of conflicts and on the classic concepts of hybris, hamartia and catharsis. This analysis points to a double purpose. On the one hand, it highlights the purification sought by the protagonists of Clint Eastwood and its relationship with the Christian moral context in which the characters arise, as Roche & Hösle notice. On the other hand the analysis points out the social extension of the concept of catharsis addressed by the filmmaker, especially critical when exposing the fragility of the American Dream and its modern traumas.Antonio Sánchez-EscalonillaTaylor & Francis Grouparticleclint eastwoodcinematragedyguiltpurificationamerican dreamChristianityBR1-1725ENESChurch, Communication and Culture, Vol 6, Iss 2, Pp 157-174 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN ES
topic	clint eastwood cinema tragedy guilt purification american dream Christianity BR1-1725
spellingShingle	clint eastwood cinema tragedy guilt purification american dream Christianity BR1-1725 Antonio Sánchez-Escalonilla Absolving the American guilt: forgiveness and purification in Clint Eastwood’s cinema
description	The guilt-ridden character archetype is a recurring premise in Clint Eastwood’s cinema, recognizable in the inner conflicts of the protagonists of iconic titles, such as Unforgiven (1992), Mystic River (2003), Million Dollar Baby (2004) and Gran Torino (2008). According to Scott, Unforgiven marks the beginning of the filmmaker's authorship stage, where scenarios of diverse genres, such as road movie, war cinema or gangster plots introduce protagonists who coincide in their need for purification. This paper aims to explore the construction of characters carried out in the four titles aforementioned, by means of a script analysis methodology based on the dynamics of conflicts and on the classic concepts of hybris, hamartia and catharsis. This analysis points to a double purpose. On the one hand, it highlights the purification sought by the protagonists of Clint Eastwood and its relationship with the Christian moral context in which the characters arise, as Roche & Hösle notice. On the other hand the analysis points out the social extension of the concept of catharsis addressed by the filmmaker, especially critical when exposing the fragility of the American Dream and its modern traumas.
format	article
author	Antonio Sánchez-Escalonilla
author_facet	Antonio Sánchez-Escalonilla
author_sort	Antonio Sánchez-Escalonilla
title	Absolving the American guilt: forgiveness and purification in Clint Eastwood’s cinema
title_short	Absolving the American guilt: forgiveness and purification in Clint Eastwood’s cinema
title_full	Absolving the American guilt: forgiveness and purification in Clint Eastwood’s cinema
title_fullStr	Absolving the American guilt: forgiveness and purification in Clint Eastwood’s cinema
title_full_unstemmed	Absolving the American guilt: forgiveness and purification in Clint Eastwood’s cinema
title_sort	absolving the american guilt: forgiveness and purification in clint eastwood’s cinema
publisher	Taylor & Francis Group
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/779b49b5dc974f00a38bf80e51d30391
work_keys_str_mv	AT antoniosanchezescalonilla absolvingtheamericanguiltforgivenessandpurificationinclinteastwoodscinema
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Absolving the American guilt: forgiveness and purification in Clint Eastwood’s cinema

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