Reconstruction of the frontier myth in witness

Abstract

As the frontier myth is a powerful myth that shapes American consciousness, it is important for rhetorical critics to identify ephemeral points of evolution in the myth. This examination of the film Witness examines changes from an Old West to a New West characterized by technologically less‐advanced cultures. This analysis shows that the change in scene does not subvert the myth because the values of individualism and community inherent in the myth are reaffirmed; but the myth nevertheless remains a patriarchal one in which women are dominated by men and the quest of the archetypal hero in the New West remains outer‐ rather than inner‐directed.