Westerns are the most important genre of the American film industry, a reflective tribute to the early days of the grand, wild American frontier. They are one of the oldest, most prevailing and versatile genres and one of the classically American genres in their mythic origins. The popularity of westerns has changed over time. Their most productive period was in the 1930s to the 1960s, and most lately in the 90s, there was a restoration of the genre. This original American art form concentrates
They tell the story of a sheriff and three of his deputies, as they stand alone against adversity in the name of the law. Western movies like these two have forever left a memorable and lasting impressions in the memory of every viewer, with its gunfighters, action filled saloons and sardonic showdowns all in the name of masculinity, revenge and unlawful aggressive behavior. Featuring some of the most famous backdrops in the world ranging from the rustic Red Rock Mountains of Monument Valley in Utah
The Western as a Genre John Ford’s Stagecoach (United Artists) has been hailed as the official Western Classic. Released in 1939 after the lull in production of Westerns caused by the advent of sound and The Great Depression during the mid 1930’s, it is considered one of the key films that helped revived the A-Western in the 1940’s prior to WWII. Stagecoach has the classic Western recipe. The main staple of that recipe in Stagecoach were authentically dressed cowboys and town folk, the dress
Genre theory is the application of studying films in order to allow viewers to categorize the films into different groups before they even watch the film. Genre is a type or category of film that allows viewers to have certain expectations about what the movie will be like before actually watching it. For example, the Western genre is set in the American frontier often centering on the life of a cowboy armed with a rifle who rides a horse and fights a gunslinger or bandit. Western genre is one
Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven falls into the western genre because of its untamed frontier setting, hero and villain characters, and iconic climatic ending. Unforgiven tells the story of William Munny, a retired Old West outlaw who, with the help of an old friend and a young gunslinger, returns to his old ways with one last job. The movie starts with a group of prostitutes in Big Whiskey, Wyoming offering a reward for someone to kill two cowboys who assaulted one of their own when local authorities
In the beginning moving West was the majority of the barriers and obstructions that the setters had to face. Indian attacks, blizzards, tornadoes, flash floods and just being ill prepared among and numerous other hard ships took many settlers lives and were tough to over come. The journey was across a uniform, dusty, wind-swept, treeless nothingness. The temperatures would very a lot between 110 and below freezing. Not to mention that there was no trees for shade or cover from the storms. In this
what the movie is “about,” part of the meaning you are expected to take away from the work” (p. 61). There are multiple themes of The Wild Bunch. First is the awful, bloody violence and killing throughout the film. Second, the end of the outlaw gunfighter era and third the theme of betrayal when The Wild Bunch suffer from their knowledge of having betrayed a friend and left him to his fate, thus violating their own code of honor and conduct which are present throughout the film. This one of a kind
Somewhere out in the Old West wind kicks up dust off a lone road through a lawless town, a road once dominated by men with gun belts attached at the hip, boots upon their feet and spurs that clanged as they traversed the dusty road. The gunslinger hero, a man with a violent past and present, a man who eventually would succumb to the progress of the frontier, he is the embodiment of the values of freedom and the land the he defends with his gun. Inseparable is the iconography of the West in the imagination
The Wild, Wild West The central theme of Stephen Crane 's The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky is the West 's loss of its traditional rough-hewn character due to the steady encroachment of Eastern Culture (and soft Eastern attitudes). In that sense the most important aspects of setting are the train that is taking Jack and his new bride back to Yellow Sky, and the town itself, which itself has already begun to symbolizes those changes. The setting actually serves two purposes, initially to establish a
The Western Frontier As I sat thinking about what to write about the western frontier I started to realize that issues were the things that at least keep me going and I knew I could say a lot on both. I couldn't quite figure out how I was going to put them together until I did some research and other reading and started to remember their life and its purposes. I'm not the one to into history but I came across some very interesting information which I felt could bring my points of view out quite
The Wild West 9MGI The Wild West was a period of great change in North America. After 1775, the American Colonies began to expand westward in search of more land. This expansion was led mostly by cattle ranchers in need of new pastures for their herds. Over time, people gradually left their homes and friends on the East coast, and moved into little townships in the west. This would be a very difficult decision for them, since they generally didn’t know whether they would be able
Analyzing Satire and Parody in Blazing Saddles "No one is born a racist bigot. In other words, racial bigotry or racial prejudice is not genetically or biologically determined... Therefore, if most people spoke out about racism, it would be the first step towards a revolutionary change." -Dr. Charles Quist-Adade Mel Brooks’ Blazing Saddles, sheds light to the cultural problems of the Western era through satire with elements of parody within. John Vogel describes Blazing Saddles as “The Ultimate
Anglo-American perspective and had “little regard for chronological accuracy” (Altherr, 83), the show’s claim to authenticity and accuracy were rarely challenged, they were rather “received with some seriousness as exercises in public education” (Slotkin, Gunfighter 86). The ‘Wild West’ was considered to be a “living history lesson” (McVeigh, 32) and a serious attempt of telling the history of the West, people accepted the show’s version of the West as ‘history’. Because the version of the West ‘reenacted’
The re- enactments are well executed and the actors are extremely good as the gunfighters. I think this movie is a bit like documentary film but with some part of drama too and the show gives us plenty of information in a very entertaining manner. Bring the social issue this Billy the Kid can be educational movie for the people who watch
(Cawelti, 2) the genre is still important to include because of its history, influence, and effect on American culture and understanding of the West. As Slotkin notes, American culture “as a whole would remember the West in terms of movie images.” (Gunfighter 237) Because pop culture as previously noted reflects the culture in which it is produced, the Western and its portrayal of the West have changed over the
protagonist if he was “Pudgey McCabe. The Gunfighter” (McCabe and Mrs. Miller 11:30) which McCabe neither directly confirms nor denies. He only replies that he all he is is a businessman. So, by keeping the backstory of the main character hidden to the audience, the director, Robert Altman, as Engle argues, “follows conventions […] by giving him no specific history other than to suggest, through Sheehan’s suspicions, that he may be the infamous gunfighter Pudgy McCabe” (Engle
emphasizes the importance of their fortitude and endurance as the men that reveal their anxiety are the ones to lose the quickest. If a character doesn’t have both the skill and the mental toughness for a shootout, then they won’t succeed. 2. Gunfighters and shootouts seem to function as a show of character and a manifestation of conflicting motivations in the West. As I discussed above, shootouts
Heroes in Western Film In the genre of western films, the hero plays a key role. Humanity portrays civilization overcoming the hostile country (Miller 66). In many films the American civil war is over, and people have turned their attention to more constructive pursuits. Battling nature to progress America's future, rather than each other. In between this wild country, fraught with danger and corruption lies the role of the hero. A hero is an individual with exceptional skills and through his
simplifying features. In the frequently lawless country that the United States had become, a quicker solution for combat was deemed necessary. It did not take long for such handguns as the 1873 Colt Peacemaker to emerge as the weapon of choice for gunfighter, cowboy, sheriff or civilian. Fighting men everywhere considered the peacemaker’s balance and durability superior to that of other revolvers of the day, and they expressed their appreciation by clamoring for a variety of versions – some decorative
Week 1: Study Questions 1. Briefly (in several sentences or bullet points) define, compare and contrast the outlaw hero and the official hero as Ray defines them. • Outlaw Hero – “are the explorers, adventurers, loners, and gunfighters,” • They represented the “imagination of Americans who valued freedom from entanglements, and self-determination” • Official Hero – “are typically portrayed as lawyers, teachers, farmers, politicians...” • They stood for the “American trust in collective action, and