Western - Conventions, History and Examples

7/30/2019 Western - Conventions, History and Examples

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Western Movies

Conventions, History and Examples


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An OverviewKey Points

Telling stories set in the American West

Often portray films in a romanticised light

Nostalgic historical feel

Genre has been popular throughout the

history of the movies

Has diminished in importance as the

United States moves further away from

the period depicted in these movies.


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Setting and Time

Set in the American West Almost always in the 19th Century

Incorporate the Civil War into the film

directly, or the background May extend further back into the colonial

period

Or forward into the mid-twentieth century May range geographically from Mexico to

Canada


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The Hero

Semi nomadic characters Sole possessions consist of clothing, a

gun and maybe a horse

Some high technology of the era present,e.g. telegraph, printing press, railroad

Occasionally these referred to as adevelopment just arriving, symbolising theend of frontier lifestyle and the march ofcivilisation


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Some general conventions

Each movie is a morality tale

Usually set against stunning American

landscapes

In some movies the landscapes are morethe stars than the actors

Stress the harshness of the landscape, or

juxtapose the beauty of it with thedirtiness of a town


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Some possible locations

Isolated forts

Ranch houses

Isolated homestead

Saloon

Jail


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Iconography

Stetsons Spurs

Colt. 45s

Prostitutes Saloon

Sheriff

Faithful Steed Indians


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Common themes

Conquest of the wilderness and thesubordination of nature, or the capture ofterritory from the natives.

Depicts a society based on a code of honour

rather than law. Social status is only achieved through acts of

violence, or generosity.

These themes are forefront, as in the western,

the arrival of the law is often seen asregrettable.


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Evolution

Structure drawn from 19th Century melodramaticliterature involving virtuous hero and a wickedvillain who menaces a virginal heroine

Action story, composed of violence, chases and

crimes Introduction of the history of migration

westwards and opening of frontier films likeThe Covered Wagon(1924)

Revenge structure, present in films like Billy theKid(1930)


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Sub-genres

Classical Western

Epic Western

Shoot em up

Singing Cowboy Westerns

Spaghetti Westerns

Revisionist Western


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Classic Westerns

The Great Train Robbery(1903) was the firstnarrative film produced in US

Starred Bronco Billy Anderson

He then starred in hundreds of western shorts Genre epitomised by work of two directors

John Ford who used John Wayne as his lead

directed Stagecoach(1939), which is

considered one of the best westerns ever made.


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Spaghetti Westerns

Revival of the western genre in Italy Low budget affairs

Locations chosen for their cheapness, andsimilarity to mid-West (southern Spain was often

chosen) More action and violence than Hollywood

westerns.

Sergio Leones contributions were the mostnotableOnce Upon A Time in the West.

Clint Eastwood started his career in these


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Revisionist Westerns

Questioned the role of native as a savage Questioned the hero versus villain theme

Some gave women much larger roles


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Clint Eastwood
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Critical Thinking

Long derided for simplicity Later came to be seen as a series of

linked films which convey meaning this

links with Todorovs theories ofconventions of genre.

Worked on the principle of semiotics as

well e.g. a white hat represented thegood guy


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Influences

After 1960, heavily influenced by JapaneseSamurai movies

Magnificent Seven was remake of SevenSamurai (Dir. Akira)

Western was a strong influence on Eastern bloccinema

Superheroes like Spiderman are modern, urbanrepresentations of the western hero

Star Wars films use many codes andconventions of the western


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And Finally

As far as Im concerned, Americans dont

have any original art except westernmovies and jazz

Clint Eastwood

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Western - Conventions, History and Examples