Quoting
baby doll (view post)
I think there are a couple issues here that are being conflated. First, I think we both agree that it's generally a good thing for filmmakers to counter-point big moments (comic or otherwise) with moments of understatement, and this is something that studio-era directors knew and that contemporary Hollywood filmmakers have either forgotten or never learned in the first place. The second issue is why this contrast is necessary. I would argue that variation is a good thing in itself, irrespective of a film's subject matter, as it keeps films from lapsing into monotony. With regard to The Searchers in particular, I think the film is fairly clear on what happened to Lucy and her sister (and Martha), even if it's not explicitly stated (remember Wayne's line, "What do you want me to do? Draw you a picture? Spell it out? Don't ever ask me. As long as you live, don't ever ask me"). Rape is a major theme in the film as it provides the motivation for Wayne's wanting to kill Natalie Wood, and I don't think the presence of comic relief in the film in any way obscures this or diminishes its gravity. The third issue, and where I think we disagree mostly strongly, is the question of how broad is too broad. In this particular case, the problem I have with the film's comic relief is that I don't find it funny, and the scenes with Look especially strike me as cruel in their humiliation and dehumanization of indigenous women, making them painful to watch.