Feudalism in Men With Guns Essay -- Men With Guns Essays

Men With Guns contains in it many of the essential ingredients for a feudalist economy, some being more explicitly demonstrated than others, but important and evident all the same. In a feudalist society, distinction between private rights and public authority oftentimes disappeared and local control tended to become a personal matter. Feudal leaders often took over the responsibility for the economic security of "their" territories and dictated how resources were to be produced and used. There was also generally a contract of some sort between the workers and the bosses, such that the bosses could then more easily count on the "faithfulness" and obedience of the workers. Under a feudalist system, the bosses are able to exhibit hegemonic power over the workers as the workers have few options or choices. As this film demonstrates, workers can either work, starve, and or be killed. There are really no other good alternatives, and thus the bosses can extract all monopoly rent and continue to exercise feudal exploitation. This absence of "free choice" is one of the most essential ingredients in separating feudalism from other types of systems, such as capitalism. Another characteristic of feudalism is that those in charge often hired other individuals to enforce their established rules and to keep the workers under control (for example Knights). Many of the above stated characteristics are present in Men With Guns. However, it must be mentioned that Sayles chose to focus less on the actual production processes involved in feudalism (as he did in Matewan), and instead give the viewer a more in-depth sense of the conditions that push people into the feudalist system and how it can be perpetuated. Through the viewing of the... ...er their conditions, as workers. Furthermore, unfortunately even with the formation of the union nothing is guaranteed. We see this in Matewan where the union was apparently unsuccessful in its mission. In Norma Rae we, as the viewers, can only hope that the established union would in the end prove to be successful. From all of this, therefore, we can assume that with nothing whatsoever in place, and thus the lack of information for the workers in Men With Guns, the workers would instead have to continue living a life without much choice under the feudalist system that was in place. Their choices being: starvation, being murdered, or living alone in the wilderness deprived of any of their traditional commodities, accustomed standard of living, or cherished culture. Unfortunately, many conditions presented in this film are still occurring and evident today.