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Genres: The Western

Genres: The Western. A category of artistic composition, as in music, film, or literature, characterized by similarities in form, style, or subject matter – New Oxford American Dictionary Organized categories of texts Exist in academic, popular and industry discourse Put into categories by:

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Genres: The Western

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  1. Genres: The Western

  2. A category of artistic composition, as in music, film, or literature, characterized by similarities in form, style, or subject matter – New Oxford American Dictionary • Organized categories of texts • Exist in academic, popular and industry discourse • Put into categories by: • Subject matter • Conventions • Themes • Narrative What is Genre?

  3. Leads the audience to interpret texts in particular ways • Lets viewers know what to expect • Gives creators ideas about how to put pieces together • Industry strategy of appealing to specific audiences Functions of Genres

  4. Science Fiction Horror War Epics/Historical Action/Adventure Drama Comedy Crime/Gangster Musicals Examples of genre • Sub genres: • Biopics • Detective/Mystery • Disaster • Fantasy • Film Noir • Melodramas • Sports • Supernatural • Thriller/Suspense

  5. Western Genre Conventions • Historical Basis • Plot Elements/Themes • Iconography The Western Genre

  6. The Western is an American genre, which interprets and represents its history to itself • Set approximately between 1860 – 1910 • Period of American western expansion • Popular characters based on actual individuals: Wyatt Earp, Jesse James, Wild Bill Hickok Historical basis

  7. Central Theme: The Binary of Civilization and Savagery/Lawlessness • East vs. West • Culture vs. Nature • Community vs. Individual • Settlers vs. “Indians” • Train vs. Horse • Westerns as American mythology • Foundational myth – the forging of a nation The Western’s Plot elements/themes

  8. Patterns of action • The nomadic Westerner comes to a town, purges it of its savage elements, and leaves • A group of gunmen are hired to defend villagers from bandits • Revenge Plots • Narrative Tropes • The climactic gunfight • Indian attacks • The cavalry rescue Western plot elements/themes

  9. In between position: mediates between civilization and the lawless frontier • Marginalized figure outside of the community • Commonly motivated by revenge and/or sense of justice • Adheres to a code The traditional Western Hero Stagecoach

  10. Geography • An actual place: the American West • The landscape: deserts, mountains, rivers, Monument Valley • Symbolic: wilderness as a site of savagery • The frontier: the border of civilization and lawlessness Western Iconography: mise-en-scene

  11. Western Iconography: Mise-en-scene

  12. Western iconography/mise-en-scene

  13. Western iconography/Mise-en-scene

  14. Genres are neither static nor fixed; they undergo change over time with each new film either adding to the tradition or modifying it. • Western a popular genre of B movie fare since 1903 • Classical Phase: • Stagecoach (John Ford, 1939) • Elevates the Western to A status • Solidifies conventional tropes Genre cycles

  15. Post-war Phase • High Noon (Frank Zinnemann, 1952) • Plot takes place in “real time” • Denies the usual generic pleasures • Kane as an individual with a code • Film editing/framing emphasizes the isolation of the hero Genre cycles

  16. Widescreen Westerns • The Searchers (John Ford, 1956) • Emphasizes the widescreen landscape • More complex protagonist • The salient techniques of style: cinematography Genre Cycles

  17. The Revisionist Western • The Wild Bunch (Sam Peckinpah, 1969) Genre cycles

  18. ‘Spaghetti’ Westerns • A Fistful of Dollars (Sergio Leone, 1964) • For A Few Dollars More (Leone, 1965) • The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (Leone, 1966) Genre cycles

  19. Yojimbo(Akira Kurosawa, 1961) • Jidaigekigenre • Influenced by the films of John Ford • Loosely based on Dashiell Hammet’sRed Harvest (1929) • Basis for A Fistful of Dollars & Last Man Standing (Walter Hill, 1996) Genre Mixing

  20. Star Wars (George Lucas, 1977) • Influenced by the films of John Ford and Akira Kurosawa: The Searchers & The Hidden Fortress • Westworld(Michael Crichton, 1973) • Outland (Peter Hyams, 1981) • Based on High Noon • Star Trek (1966-1969) • “Wagon train to the stars” • Firefly (Whedon, 2002) Genre mixing: Science Fiction & the Western

  21. Post-apocalyptic Western • Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (George Miller, 1981) Genre mixing

  22. Science Fiction/Horror • Alien (Ridley Scott, 1979) • Science Fiction/Film Noir • Blade Runner (Scott, 1982) • Science Fiction/War • Starship Troopers (Paul Verhoeven, 1997) Genre mixing

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