I think that the ending of Midnight Cowboy was meant to show that the outlandish dreams that Rico and Joe Buck lived for were never possible. Their dreams and each other were really the only reasons they had to live. Rico thinks constantly about Florida, and asks Joe to take him there when he really should be seeing a doctor. Everything about his fantasy of Miama and his future their are destroyed. Rico dreams of running alongside Joe Buck, but loses his ability to walk. He dreams of all these women calling to him, but none of the women on the bus even notice him until they realize that he has died and that they must ride the bus with his dead body until they reach Miami. Joe, on the other hand, abandons his wild dream and realizes what a more realistic goal would be. He becomes more happy than the audience sees him after he is swindled by the woman in New York. Joe's epiphany gives him hope for future happiness, and Rico's persistance condemns him.
This idea that fantastic dreams that will never come true, and the realization of this, is one of the more predominant themes of Midnight Cowboy in my opinion. Throughout the movie, Joe has several fantasies about what is going on or what he wants to happen. These things rarely are carried out as his mind imagines them, but they are his most desirable outcome. This leads me to believe that the film is trying to show us that the best possible thing will rarely happen, and that refusing to give up on our wildest dreams will only hurt us in the end. Rico never gave up, and probably died because he refused to see a doctor and insisted on going to Florida. Joe realized that his dream of becoming a New York cowboy/hustler would never work out, and his life probably ended much better than Rico's.
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Very nice thoughts Christina. Thought-provoking and probably true. I especially like your thoughts about the old women and Rico, and the fact of his inability to walk anymore. The way you put it makes it seem that people should do the realistic thing and abandon wild dreams, but that is somewhat depressing. Very good ideas, I did not think of all of them and they certainly are relevant to the film. Nice insight!
ReplyDeleteI agree that not having unrealistic dreams is a predominant theme of the movie, as depressing as it is. However, if Rico HAD stayed in New York and gone to a hospital, do you think he would've ever given up on his dream to go to Florida? Even if his life was saved, what would it's meaning be if he didn't have a dream to go after? And Joe, he created his entire image based on his dream to become a hustler. And yes, he will probably live a better life in Florida. But at what cost? He gave up his entire identity, once again. His dream was to come to New York and find success. By telling the lady at the diner he is FROM New York, I think it symbolizing him giving up on his dream for something less fulfilling, albeit more reasonable. But he isn't going to fit in in Florida either, since he was on a bus of old people. How is he going to find his place there?
ReplyDeleteI was thinking more about what I wrote and had a few more things to add...
ReplyDeleteJoe's dream of becoming a hustler WAS coming true. If he had stayed in New York, he was on his way to creating a customer base. He was finally achieving his dream and gave it all up to help Rasto. He helps Ratso achieve his dream and is then left with nothing. I thought that maybe this was more in line with the theme of alienation, because it shows that by trying to help someone else, Joe was left with nothing. So the message would be that you should put yourself first, which I think is pretty cold.
Very nice analysis. I was just reading the comments above as well which are so bleak! I recently learned of this quote by Nietzsche: "Hope is the worst of evils, for it prolongs the torment of man." So, to a certain degree, I think that all that has been said is true, but I actually had a different take on the ending of Midnight Cowboy. I didn't think Ratso and Joe experienced loss so much as fulfillment, it's just that their fulfillment came in an unexpected form. I wrote a post about this, touching on similar things, but I won't retype the whole thing here. I like how you noticed the contrast between Ratso's dream (running on the beach) and reality (he's a cripple). The thought didn't occur to me as I was watching the film.
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