Compare And Contrast Hollywood Vs The Wild West

Duke Lee once said, “This town ain’t big enough for the two of us.” and it became one of the most iconic western saying of all time. The old west was full of outlaws, gangs, murderers, thieves, and lawmen who either broke the rules, or enforced them. Outlaws of the wild west influenced American culture in numerous ways. The three outlaws listed below are the most notorious and gruesome of them all. Take a journey through history and look at what these outlaws did for American society.

John Ford built a standard that many future directors would follow with his classic 1939 film “Stagecoach”. Although there were a plethora of western films made before 1939, the film “Stagecoach” revolutionized the western genre by elevating the genre from a “B” film into a more serious genre. The film challenged not only western stereotypes but also class divisions in society. Utilizing specific aspects of mise-en-scène and cinematography, John Ford displays his views of society.

The American western frontier, still arguably existent today, has presented a standard of living and characteristics which, for a time, where all its own. Several authors of various works regarding these characteristics and the obvious border set up along the western and eastern sections have discussed their opinions of the west. In addition to these literary works by renowned authors, one rather convenient cinematic reference has also been influenced by these well-known, well-discussed practices of this American frontier. “True Grit”, a film recently remade in 2010 by the Cohen Brothers, crosses the boundaries of the west allowing all movie-goers to capture one idea of the western world. The movie, along with a few scholarly sources

Many a time has Hollywood skewed the difference between reality and fantasy, exaggerating the truth and placing heavy importance on the myths. A recent historical movie was made about the Alamo. This movie though very historically accurate was different from the documentary; I will compare the two and show the differences. The movie was

According to the film critic, Phillip French, “The Western has always been about America rewriting and reinterpreting her own past,” if this is indeed the case, then the two most popular Westerns of the early 1990s reveal that many Americans had rejected the traditional interpretation of the Old West. The critically and commercially successful, Dances with Wolves and Unforgiven, repudiated the patriotic frontier myth that had characterised the Western when it was the preeminent genre in American cinema. Informed by new Western historiography, itself an expression of political concerns that had been moving into the American mainstream since the 1960s, the movies display a complex and nuanced understanding of the frontier experience. Dances with Wolves rejected the traditional narrative of the inherent superiority of the Anglo-American hero conquering both Native Americans and the wilderness, and also focused on the environmental destruction that accompanied the ideology of Manifest Destiny. Unforgiven would similarly reject the frontier myth, replacing the democratic, civilised frontier town, with a brutal regime in which white men’s property rights prevail over any sense of justice. The film is noted for its self-reflexive nature, with a writer documenting and embellishing the tales of the Old West before the viewer’s eyes. This self-reflexion indicates that Americans were re-evaluating the myths of the frontier, and seeing them for what they were, creations by the

Hollywood has been making movies about many people throughout the begining. One of the most popular types of these movies is old westerns with cowboys and Indigenous people. Hollywood has not always represented an accurate portrayal of Indigenous peoples in the portrayal of all Indigenous Peoples as Plains Peoples, savages, and constantly warring against other tribes.

Christine Bold’s article, “The Rough Riders at Home and Abroad: Cody, Roosevelt, Remington, and the Imperialist Hero,” tracks the contributions of three important historical figures: William Cody, Theodore Roosevelt, and Frederic Remington, to the image of the Rough Riders and the “packaged version of the American West” and its influence during the Spanish-American War (Bold, 324). After offering background on the conflict, she first considers the contributions of William Cody and his Wild West Show to the Rough Riders. She details how Cody constructed a narrative

The Old West was settled in many different ways. People from all different backgrounds came in hopes of striking gold, finding rich soil to farm on and for a fresh start. While many found what they were looking for, some weren’t so lucky. However, these factors shaped the West as we know it

The southwest is a region of the United States that makes our country unique. Without the southwest, we would undoubtedly lack the spirit, hope, beauty, and truth that this vast region brings to the rest of the United States as a whole. The southwest represents many things, such as journeying, racism, violence, the clashing and cooperation of cultures, and spirituality, as well as primitivism and pastoralism. All of these elements that the Southwest is comprised of is perhaps the reason why the rest of the country feels so captivated by it; why the southwest is considered a place to “find yourself” or to “regenerate”; and why literature and film regarding the Southwest has been and continues to be of the most popular genres. The western film was one of the most popular during the first half of the twentieth century. Audiences far and wide were mesmerized by actors such as John Wayne and Roy Rogers, and their roles as heroes who fought to tame the American frontier. This very concept, ‘taming the frontier’, gives way to a larger theme that was prevalent in many western films and literature of the southwest: ubi sunt, or rather “where are those who came before us?”. Director Sam Peckinpah’s The Ballad of Cable Hogue portrays this idea better than any other western film; the concept of ubi sunt is undeniably the film’s overarching theme, clearly seen through its components.

Western, a genre of short stories that are set in the American west, primarily in the late of the 19th century (“Western” 598), and still being told until today by films, televisions, radio, and other art works. The major of moving to the west was because of the Homestead Act, 1862 (“U.S. Statues at Large” 392) which would give lands to people who stayed there for five years. This lead to a huge wave of immigrants moved to the West, and they had to face to many hardships and conflicts such as Indian attacks, tornadoes, blizzards, and illnesses.

Typically referred to as ‘Indians’ in popular culture, Native Americans were traditionally seen in Westerns as the antagonists. The Western genre typically tells the story of the colonisation and discovery of America, which saw the major Hollywood studios revive the interest in the Western. Westerns draw on “historical actuality, a romantic philosophy of nature, and the concept of the […] savage” (Saunders, 2001, p. 3). Westerns often split the “depiction of the Indian, with the cruel and treacherous [Indian] balanced by the faithful [Indian]” (Saunders, 2001, p. 3) which resulted in the portrayals of Native Americans witnessed in films today.

The American Frontier, or as it was also known, the Wild West was a time between the 1770s and the late 1900s. The Wild West consisted of the and west of the Mississippi river. This time period lasted for about thirty years, and during this time there were a variety of people that roamed around the towns such as outlaws, lawmen, Native Americans, townspeople, and cowboys. Out in the Wild West the towns were small but, for the size of them, they were called 'home' for many people.

The movie True Grit is set in a chaotic time period of the American Frontier known as the “Old West,” or the “Wild West.” The American Frontier describes the “edge of a settled area.” Throughout the 18th and 19th century, the frontier continued to expand westward. In the mid-1800s, the frontier had been pushed into Nebraska and Kansas. Gold mines were attractive sources of wealth for many to move West. Eventually, railroads were built that connected the Western states and the East.(“American”). Throughout the West, many towns began to flourish in population due to the attraction of mines. Gambling also became a prominent source of entertainment. Although the West holds many opportunities, it also holds its fair share of difficulties. The climate was dry, the land was difficult to farm. Money was often short. As people struggled for their opportunities, chaotic violence became a telling point of the Old West (“The Western”). The task of controlling the violence of the West often fell into the hands of U.S. Marshals. They became renowned in the latter half of the 19th century for their heroics acts of punishing the lawlessness of the frontier towns (“U.S.”).

American history teaches us that, going west has always been a regarded as progression. From the earliest settlers to the “new land” to the idea of Manifest Destiny, progressive movement and thinking has always traveled west. The west is always thought of as being more liberal more free. “True West” A compelling play written by Sam Shepard, developed characters that “struggle to define and assert their identities.” <1702> By using the idea of going west Shepard’s play’s “ present a picture of America torn between its idealistic values and the painful realties of frontier paved over for a parking lot, and cowboys enclosed in a move and television screen.”<1702> By comparing and contrasting the lead characters Austin and Lee, Shepard shows the reader that “going west” does not always mean a change in the right direction.

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.