The Legacy of the Civil War in Clint Eastwood’s Anti Westerns: A Case Study of "High Plains Drifter" and "The Outlaw Josey Wales"

Abstract

The article examines the motif of Civil War trauma as an element of the cultural heritage of the United States in Clint Eastwood’s work, combining formal and narratological approaches. It explores how the director employs the poetics of the anti western to reinterpret historical discourse and how memory of the past functions within the structure of his films. Through a deconstruction of classical genre conventions, Eastwood exposes repressed aspects of American collective trauma and challenges idealized narratives surrounding national identity. The study investigates his use of the avenger hero figure as a vehicle for unprocessed violence and considers how his films confront viewers with the consequences of historical myths. The analysis focuses on High Plains Drifter (1973) and The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976), examining character construction, thematic development, and visual strategies. Together with Hang ’Em High (1968), Pale Rider (1985), and Unforgiven (1992), these films form an informal revenge cycle that foregrounds motifs emblematic of Eastwood’s authorship and interrogates the moral and ethical losses of the postwar period. The article argues that both works participate in the broader tradition of the revisionist western while offering a nuanced reflection on the moral legacy of the Civil War. The analysis demonstrates that Eastwood not only reconstructs frontier mythology but also uses it as a framework for critical reflection on violence, guilt, and collective responsibility. His work emerges as a significant voice in discussions about the representation of traumatic events in American culture and their relevance to contemporary understandings of history.