Lone Star

In John Sayles' Lone Star we are treated to a murder mystery, as the skeletal remains of the town's long-ago and hated Sheriff, Charley Wade, are discovered by the current Sheriff, Sam Deeds, who believes his father, Buddy, the former Sheriff, may be responsible for the murder. Frontera is a Texas border town whose population consists of ninety-percent Mexicans and African Americans but is controlled and run by Whites. While partly a film about race relations and partly a murder mystery, the film also illustrates a number of love relationships, many of which represent taboos. This analysis of Lone Star will explore these sexual taboos.

Prejudice, racism, and rigidly divided lines between ethnic groups demarcate the town of Frontera. Teen sex, interracial marriages, adultery, and homosexuality are involved in the interactions of the townsfolk, despite these rigid boundaries constructed of prejudice. Sergeant Cliff and Pricilla Worth are an interracial couple who intend to marry. One of Cliff's friends, Sergeant Mikey, asks him if Priscilla's family will accept their daughter's wishes to marry a "white guy," (Sayles, 1996). Sergeant Cliff replies that unmarried woman over 30 in the military are often considered lesbians, so, according to Cliff, Pricilla's family will "be happy" that he's a "man," (Sayles, 1996). In this relationship we see that prejudice runs deep in Frontera, fueled by years of ongoing struggles among its white, black, and

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to demonstrate this large point that he is making about race relations and ethnic divisions in general. During his investigation into the possible murder of Charley Wade, Sam discovers his father is guilty of not only committing adultery, but he also diverted funds to establish his mistress, Pilar's mother Mercedes, in business. Pilar's mother refuses to permit her to date Sam. We do not know but it is possible that Pilar may be the product of the relationship between Sam's father and Mercedes. Pilar's mother's name, Mercedes, is significant, because now that she has money and prestige in town it makes her "Spanish," not "Mexican." As Pilar tells Sam, "All my mother does is work. That's how you get to be Spanish," (Sayles, 1996).The theme of Sayles' film is the arbitrary and artificial distinctions made due to race and ethnicity in society that more often than not are invalid. We see this exhibited in Mercedes' character. Mercedes is one of the biggest racists in Frontera, aside from the dead Charley Wade. Mercedes routinely calls the border patrol on immigrants illegally crossing the border into Frontera in their desperate search of the American Dream. She is quite willing to chastise Mexicans who refuse to assimilate

Category: Film - L