Sam Elliott supports the American cowboy tradition while criticizing the film “Woke.”
Sam Elliott, best known for his roles in westerns, described a cowboy movie as a “piece of s—.” Elliott launched into a diatribe in defense of cowboy culture, claiming that the foreign director “knew nothing” about the American West.
On Marc Maron’s “WTF Podcast,” Sam Elliott discussed anything and everything. Many people were astonished when the veteran actor made disparaging remarks about a popular female foreign filmmaker in Hollywood. Elliott is one of the most influential people in the western genre, although he didn’t enjoy Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog.
In the much-lauded The Power of the Dog, Benedict Cumberbatch plays a closeted gay rancher in 1925 Montana who is violent to his new sister-in-law and her children.
Elliott was upset by the characters in the film, comparing them to Chippendales dancers “who wear bowties and not much else.” “The’s what all the f—ing cowboys in that movie looked like,” he continued. They’re all rushing around in chaps and without shirts. There are references to homosexuality throughout the f—ing film.
“I think that’s what it’s about,” Maron said of the film. It’s more than a strong suggestion that Benedict Cumberbatch’s character, fictional rancher Phil Burbank, is a gay man who suppresses his sentiments. Elliott was not pleased with what he heard, so he mentioned the New Zealand-born director Jane Campion. When she attempted to write in this genre, he thought she was out of her element.
“I enjoy her other stuff, but what does a New Zealander know about the American West?”
Elliott became enraged, claiming that Campion was wrong to film the Western in her home country. What really “chapped” Elliott’s hide was the film’s depiction of the American West and cowboy culture in general. “Why the hell does she shoot this movie in New Zealand and call it Montana and say, ‘This is how it was?'” said the star of “We Were Soldiers.”
The gruff actor, best known for playing cowboys, was likewise dissatisfied with the portrayal of the main character, a Montana rancher. “What happened to the Western in this Western?” Elliott inquired. “I mean, Cumberbatch never got out of his f—ing. He wore two pairs of chaps, one of wool and one of leather. “Every time he got home from somewhere—he never rode a horse, maybe once—he’d rush up the stairs, lay down in his chaps on his bed, and play his banjo,” the man explained.
Many people, including Shelby County Commissioner Tami Sawyer, misinterpreted Elliott’s severe comments. “I mean, most films about the American West, particularly those starring Sam Elliott, don’t know anything about the American West.” “They downplay the presence of anyone who isn’t white or male, despite the fact that the west was largely founded by Indigenous, Black, Mexican, and Chinese people,” she tweeted.
Some people on social media were offended by Elliott’s remarks. “Holy s—, I don’t enjoy Sam Elliott nearly as much as I used to,” someone tweeted. “This is some homophobic, misogynistic, and xenophobic s— that makes no attempt to conceal it,” they claimed. “Just in!” wrote another. Inadvertently, Sam Elliott supports the entire point of the film when he says, “Power of the Dog is a good movie.” This means that cowboy culture has not changed and remains rife with homophobia and toxic masculinity.”
On the other hand, most Americans appear to dislike the new “woke” themes that have recently appeared in films and television series. In fact, the number of individuals who watch Hollywood’s award events has decreased in recent years. In 2021, for example, only 9.85 million viewers watched the Academy Awards. This is down nearly 59% from 2020, when 23.6 million people tuned in. The American people have sent a strong message to Hollywood and those who create films.
