several attempts and experimentation in creating a new genre of cinema known as the Western. The first well-known Western movie The Great Train Robbery (1903), while not necessarily being the first ever Western, it is by both film historians and theorists definitely considered the pinnacle of the genre, that got it all started and that would be the first step in creating others similar to it, but also very different. Because it was still an unknown genre in film, there had not yet been established a set
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
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
The film genre of the Western has long since proven to be more about the conflict and showdowns that occur in the storyline. Usually the western genre incorporates traditional western motifs and icons and adheres to those common plot structures of the genre, but Brokeback Mountain is different from what is to be normally expected because it does not seem like a traditional and conventional Western film at all. Brokeback Mountain has several different twists to it, like the more modern take on it
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
The Western film genre Extending from paintings and illustrations, the Western film genre constitutes another kind of visual representation that also has had a profound impact on the mythic West. Although it no longer occupies the “central position in the system of popular genres that it held throughout most of the twentieth century,” (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
violence in Western films and uses two films from the Western genre to illustrate various uses of violence. According to Scott (2007), the Western has been a popular genre since films were first produced. Their character and depth of meaning have evolved and matured. There are less of them than in earlier decades but they have influenced other genres. Violence as well as other eventual clichés of the genre has been part of the Western and other genres from earliest times. Westerns feature strong
Untypical Western Genre in Jim Jarmusch’s Film Deadman In the film Deadman by Jim Jarmusch we follow the character of William Blake, who shares his name with a nineteenth century British poet, as he travels on a train to the town of Machine where he has promise of work. Upon arriving Blake finds that his accounting job is already occupied and when he tries to confront the boss he is greeted with a shotgun. Deciding that leaving with his life is more important than leaving with a job, he quickly
what he wants to right all wrong—and with the shift in American culture came a reciprocal shift in the Western genre. The Weird West incorporates elements unfamiliar to the West, whether they be originally from this Earth or otherwise. In some cases, weird comes in the form of atypical choice of the protagonist’s species; in other cases, it comes in the form of an invading alien race. Weird Westerns are incredibly diverse and malleable, so the elements of their stories that qualify them as weird
When people hear the phrase “Howdy, Partner!” they often will associate that phrase with the sublime Western genre. Along with similar settings and themes in all writings of the Western genre, there is also a similar language that stories share. Common themes of the stories include remote western American towns with the cattle culture, plots with a simple hero versus villain conflict, or a protagonist’s encounters with different cultures like the Indians or Mormons. These heroes often will have to
execution of classical narrative and stylistic genre conventions. In the classical Western and Noir films, narrative is driven by the action of a male protagonist towards a clearly defined, relatable goal. Any lack of motivation or action on the part of the protagonist problematizes the classical association between masculinity and action. Due to inherent genre expectations, this crisis of action is equivalent to a crisis of masculinity. Because these genres are structured around male action, the crises
The Western film genre is typically set in a secluded village in the middle of the desert, normally in the American West. The setting includes wooden buildings, tumble weed, cacti, trains, horses and carriages. The storyline for western films is usually the same, namely, a hero travels to a remote village, usually on a horse, and brings peace to the warring villagers. In a traditional Western film the clothing for the hero is usually a white hat, (this is to show purity). The hero would also
The Classic Western genre is dead. Western films created now are not considered Classic Western, but are instead categorized in the Post-Western form. This happened because the overuse of filmic codes in the Western genre eventually led to predictability in the films. These “genre film cycles” occur because of the overuse of predictability. Film cycles are when a genre and its conventions become overused to the point of death to that specific genre. For example, if the film The Good, The Bad, and
The main object of the movie is to make fun of the western genre of films. Mel Brooks is notorious for his satires of many different films and film genres, and Blazing Saddles follows true to form. Many of the film’s ideas and problems are common in most westerns, although Mel Brooks has added a twist. In addition, the movie pokes fun at a more modern theme, racism. Many westerns contain some of the same elements. For instance, almost every western ever made involves a sheriff. He is usually the
Codes and Conventions of Genres A genre is a particular type of commodity . It has characteristic features that are known to and recognised by the audiences because the same formula is reproduced many times. Genre is a French word meaning that refers to types or categories of media products. Soap operas, situation comedies, police series, quiz shows and news programmes are just some of the genres to be found in television. Genres are identified by the particular conventions they use which
Genres are categories of type of films, categorized in specific styles or subject maters, some genre stay single in a movie and other movies have a mixed range of genres. Uncovering the genre of a movie before viewing would reveal the movies subject matter and suitability. For example a crime/drama movie may start with a drama start but because the movie displays its genre the viewers will know eventually later on the movie will begin to involve crime scenes, what also defines the what genre it is
McCabe and Mrs Miller and Blade Runner Subvert Their Genres and Defy Audience Expectations Two genres which have always been Hollywood staples are science-fiction and the western. The genres can be seen in films made as early as Le Voyage Dans la lune (Georges Melies 1902) and The Great Train Robbery (Edwin S. Porter 1903). On the surface the two genres are very different, however if one looks closely at them they are similar in many ways. Both genres usually feature uncharted frontiers, strong silent
setting and the happy ending” (Braudy 435). The genre film has long history of being regarded as classless or unintelligent cinema as clearly seen in Braudy’s previous comment. A genre films draws on different tropes and similar plots and subplots which results in the categorization of them into a wide term known as the ‘genre’. Romantic comedy or “rom-coms”, as they are more informally called, are films which are borrow concepts from two different genres – comedies and romance. When combined, they create
Deadman, as a Manipulated Western Director Jim Jarmusch’s film Deadman displays many of the accepted conventions for Western genre films, but manipulated in such a way as to create a revisionist, rather than a classical, western. The most obvious example of this manipulation are the characterizations of the hero, William Blake, and his Native American partner, Nobody. Blake is an awkward easterner who travels westward unaware of the different rules governing western life, instead of the rugged
Closing the Final Frontier: Genre Analysis of Outland (1981) Are all films that are set in space necessarily science fiction films? There are a few films that are labelled as science fiction regardless of the fact that the science aspect of the fiction is minimal. One such film is the 1981 film Outland, directed by Peter Hyams, which belongs to the Western genre more than it belongs to the science fiction genre, even though the setting of the film happens to be one of Jupiter’s moons. According to