Manifest Destiny and Filmmaking By Logan Faust

Walker and The Last Movie take place more than 100 years apart, but their exploration of The United States’ impact on Latin America is strikingly similar and remains extremely relevant even today. The film’s directors, Alex Cox and Dennis Hopper, worked in the same Hollywood circles so it’s no surprise they would have the same ideas on their minds while making these films. Alex Cox was a protege of sorts to Dennis Hopper, even calling himself Dennis’s 4th henchmen who would rewrite scripts for him when called upon. Cox clearly had an admiration for Hopper, though he was surprised to find out that Hopper didn’t have any Harley motorcycles, only a Cadillac. Hopper was also a Republican, something Cox couldn’t be further from. Nonetheless, they both clearly had a fascination with Latin America and their films Walker and The Last Movie were passion projects that nearly ruined both of their careers, a fact that neither seem to regret.

The Last Movie tells the story of an unimportant man, Kansas (played by Hopper himself) who seems destined to fail. He has occasional ambitions but deep down he knows he will never be a rich or important man. He is able to find peace of mind for a bit when he stays behind in Peru after a film shoot to live with his prostitute girlfriend he met there. Kansas seems to enjoy the slow pace of life and the disconnect from modern society, but his girlfriend has a taste of the “American” way of living and is eager for more of it, something Kansas can’t exactly afford. This leads him to start looking for a big break and reconnecting with other Americans who draw him back into a life of sex and violence. Meanwhile, the natives have taken over the discarded film sets and are recreating the movies, but without understanding that the violence in the movies is all faked. They start killing each other and the local priest brings Kansas back into this world of filmmaking to try and stop them, turning his temporary easyliving into a waking nightmare.

Hopper seemed to want to explore the impact Americans have when they implant themselves in foreign countries, something that would’ve been constantly on his mind as The Vietnam War was still going on at the time. The American’s in The Last Movie come to Peru and build film sets for their western film, clearly with no regard of the lasting effect it’ll have on the natives who have probably never seen the technology they bring with them. As soon as the production ends, the Americans leave to go back home, film sets still fully intact and left to rot. This obviously brings to mind Vietnam, but it’s also a similar situation to past American filibusters, William Walker being one of them. Practically every American character in the film is made out to be an awful human, Kansas included. Kansas beats his girlfriend and uses her to advance his own career, his friend is only in Peru to try and find gold and make himself rich, and the American socialite tourists are there to party and use the natives for their own pleasure. In one particularly despicable scene, Kansas has his girlfriend set up a sex show between two prostitues for the rich American’s to watch, hoping that this will help raise his status

with them a bit. As one of the American women sits and laughs while watching, a picture of an extremely malnourished child hangs on the wall behind her. The contempt Hopper has for these types of people is shown here very clearly. He also shows how the Americans bring their violent culture to this previously peaceful society, corrupting it and turning the natives into a violent and unsatisfied group of people.

The Last Movie is a very experimental film and contains a disjointed narrative as well as many ambiguous moments. Many of the scenes never make it clear if they take place in reality or within the film the characters are making, creating a sense of confusion that feels like Hopper is exploiting the viewers just as the American characters exploit the Peruvians. Near the end of the film, Kansas is injured and starts going crazy, leaving it up to the viewer to determine how much of the plot is based in reality. These techniques and ideas Hopper explores make The Last Movie a very thought provoking film that puts a lot of trust in the viewer.

In Walker, Alex Cox takes a much more in-your-face and unambiguous approach to get his point across. Walker tells the true story of the American William Walker, a filibuster who took over Nicaragua and declared himself president in the mid 19th century. Cox filmed Walker on location in Nicaragua in the midst of the Nicaraguan Revolution in which The United States funded the Contras in an attempt to overthrow the Nicaraguan government. Cox uses many anachronisms to show that the story of William Walker is just as relevant as it was 100 years prior, and that nothing has really changed when it comes to America’s involvement in foreign affairs.

Walker begins with William Walker illegally trying to capture parts of Mexico to declare as his own. Things don’t go as well as he’d planned, and he and his men are almost defeated until a sandstorm seemingly sent as an act of God allows them to escape back to America. There he is tried for violating the Neutrality Act of 1974, but is easily acquitted as this is the time of Manifest Destiny and Walker has many supporters. Walker marries and plans to settle down in the United States, even after Cornelius Vanderbilt offers him the job of bringing peace to Nicaragua so that a canal can be built through the country. Unfortunately, Walker’s wife dies of cholera, causing him to have a change of heart and take up the job offer. When he and his men arrive in Nicaragua, Walker immediately makes it clear that he’s a Godly man of order and discipline, harshly punishing his own men when they misbehave. Walker believes a higher calling has sent him here and he is determined to turn the country into a “civilized” land. His method of doing this is of course to kill all the natives who oppose him and to bring about his own rule. The film’s plot is pretty straightforward, with Walker gaining and then slowly losing his control over the country, though the violence continues throughout the film. Walker acts like he’s doing a service to Nicaragua, but Cox makes it clear that he is just a power-hungry and delusional American.

Dennis Hopper in The Last Movie (1971)

The moments of anachronisms are Cox’s main way of helping modern audiences relate to the film. Characters use automatic rifles and Zippo lighters, and read modern newspapers, creating a feeling that the film could really take place at any time, even the present. Near the end of the film, Cox even has a helicopter appear as a Deus Ex Machina that saves Walker’s men from the raging war going on. Cox was highly criticized for these moments in the film, but it truly helps it feel like a timeless story. Even today this story rings close to home, being not far off from America’s involvement in Iraq.

Alex Cox made no attempt to hide his disgust with the United States, creating a scathing film that uses history to comment on present affairs. His goal for the film was to get as much money from American investors as possible, and then to take it to Nicaragua and use it all there to provide money to the natives. This as well as the themes he explored caused him to get permanently blacklisted from Hollywood, and he hasn’t made a high-budget film since. A large majority of the cast were natives, something Hopper also did with The Last Movie. Hopper was also effectively blacklisted from Hollywood after The Last Movie because they felt he was being too critical of filmmaking in general. Both directors clearly cared more about their art than about making money, and the films both remain highly relevant because of it.