The Western Genre Did Not Stop Hollywood In The 1970s

There are two main factors in which the traditional endings of western genre films; first, they ride into sunset, it means they will leave and stay away from society; second, they hang up the guns, it means they will stay in the society. In the film Shane, even though the Joe Sttarret’s family asked him to stay longer after he killed Ryker’s men, but he decided to leave the village by giving peace in the village. The ending scene of Shane is not traditional ending as like western genre films, Shane from the film Shane rides into dead of night, not sunset when he stayed away from the society. In addition, Shane should have hung up the guns if he want to stay in the village, yet he hangs up the gun at start of the film when Shane and Joe Sttarret

     The Wild West's great success began on nostalgia for the passing frontier that swept the nation in the late 1800's. However, Buffalo Bill never looked backward. Towards the end of his life, a famous quote of his was 'All my interests are still with the west- the modern west';.

Dances With Wolves, directed by Kevin Costner, and The Searchers, directed by John Ford, looks into the fabric of this country's past. The media has created a false image of the relationship between Native Americans and White men to suppress the cruel and unfortunate reality. Both directors wanted to contradict these stereotypes, but due to the time period the films were created, only one film was successful. Unlike The Searchers, Dancing With Wolves presents a truly realistic representation of Native Americans.

The phenomenal success of the Wild West was founded on a nostalgia for the passing frontier which swept the nation in the late 19th Century. But Buffalo Bill himself never looked backward. "All my interests are still with the west - the modern west," he wrote near the end of his life.

In Matthew Bernstein’s essay, The Classical Hollywood Western Par Excellence, he states that while Stagecoach (John Ford, 1939) “appears to glorify American history, particularly its expansion westward at the expense of Native Americans” (299) it also develops an “acute social observation” of life on the Frontier and it challenges elements of the myth constructed around this history (316). The film Stagecoach depicts not only the struggles faced by pioneers traveling through Indian territory, but the belief among people during this time period that anyone can go to the West to get a “fresh start” and live a completely new life without social prejudice. However, Stagecoach proves this myth to be false for various reasons. One example of this would be when Mr. Hatfield offers Mrs. Mallory water from the water canteen on the stagecoach. Once she accepts his offer, Mr. Hatfield pours it into a silver cup for her and does not offer anyone else in the stage coach water. Ringo then makes a comment to Mr. Hatfield that he should give the other lady in the stagecoach, Dallas, water as well. However, Dallas has a reputation of being a prostitute. So, Mr. Hatfield decides to give her some water but refuses to lend her the silver cup to drink out of, he makes her drink it out of the canteen instead. This example proves that these people were not getting a “fresh start” and only the upper class can share such luxuries as a silver cup with only other upper class people, social

Stagecoach came out in 1939 and could have been influenced by people who lived in the 19th century. These influence could have gave some ideas to director John Ford as he created the film. Films that revolved around the 19th century usually were about cowboys and the American old west. Because of this John Ford could have had some of his ideas inspired and had his characters revolve around a Western theme. The Western culture is demonstrated by looking specifically at the characters as they resemble cowboys due to their hats, clothing, and having certain guns. Western films usually takes place in the dessert or mountains relatable to Stagecoach.

During the 1950s “Golden Age” of the genre, more Western movies were produced in the United States than films of all other genres combined. Such was the immense appeal of the form that by 1959, the small screen too had become dominated by the image of the cowboy, with twenty-four Westerns being broadcast on prime time television in America each week. Just as television companies had sought to cash-in on the enduring popularity of the Western movie, so too did directors and production companies across the Atlantic attempt to diversify the genre further with their own brand of “Euro-Westerns”. For example, in Germany, the nineteenth century adventure novels of Karl May were adapted for the screen, with Winnetou (released internationally as

Filmmakers at the time may not have understood what they were doing by making their films so heavily fixated on connecting men to violence, war and being successfully fighters. Granted, these gender norms had already been established long before the inception of film as a mass medium, but films were able to enforce these stereotypes nationally and globally in a way society had never seen before. Films about American society during the Second World War did not just define what masculinity was, but they also led men to internalize these stereotypes as the only way to be and to conduct themselves. Men were taught unattainable ideals of strength, capability and invulnerability, and this made them believe that if they were not determined to be

After comparing and contrasting observations, the discussion could then shift to trying to critically understand the film as a cultural reflection of the period by discussing the historical context. Examining why the American western was so popular to film audiences and producers during the mid-to-late 20th century may help explore whether these films reflected a certain zeitgeist. Some questions that the movies raise are: How does the western reflect 20th century politics? Which 20th century values are portrayed within these films? Do these films help contribute to a consensus of support around America’s status as a

The characteristics, features and conventions of Stagecoach (John Ford, 1939) allow this film to fit directly under the title of Classical Hollywood cinema. The film uses a few main characters that the audience members get to know well and create their own feelings for. In Stagecoach, there are nine main characters that the audience gets to know well, Dallas, Ringo Kid, Buck, Hatfield, Doc Boone, Lucy Mallory, Curley, Gatewood and the lieutenant. These characters are consistent throughout the story and the audience members begin to understand them as the story develops.

Even though the novel had already been adapted into a film once, in 2010, the Coen brothers decided to take a swing at their own version of Charles Portis’ classic western, True Grit. Comparatively to the book and even Henry Hathaway’s 1969 film adaptation, however, the Coens have crafted the story into their own. Mattie’s bildungsroman is more uncompromising and realistic, the relationships Mattie forms with Cogburn and LeBeouf become more complex, and the almost separated ending paints a different picture regarding this film’s genre. The film no longer follows the traditional recipe of what a classic western is but instead blends the praxes

Permissiveness and conceptual incongruity in Blaxploitation films concerning the shaping and portrayal of the female character exemplified in the works of Pam Grier.

It’s hard to imagine that not too long ago 1940’ and 50’s western were considered high entertainment. I personally am not a fan of western movies due to the fact that most of them are elongated with senseless and overstretched scenes for the satisfaction of the audience having a two hour film. Such lengthened films can turn an award winning film into a long boring movie. “Seven Men From Now” directed by Budd Boetticher, is not one of those movies, as it shows enough to keep you interested and hooked throughout the movie, and has not been loaded with long scenes of eye staring, long horse rides, and 20 minute shooting scenes. I believe the plot of the story was very well thought out, as its true purpose is not given at the beginning of the

A core element of the film western is the struggle between the civilizing forces of society and the resistance of the wilderness. This has been used as a common thematic element in the narrative structure of Westerns, and can be seen in the films’ portrayal of society’s expansion to the west. In these films, this expansion, which is a part of the movement to tame the Wild West, is a conflict that is played out as a battle of oppositions on the American frontier. In director John Ford’s My Darling Clementine, this fundamental aspect of the genre comes across in the main character, Wyatt Earp’s, conflict with the Clanton family, whom the audience ultimately finds out are the ones who shot and killed the youngest Earp brother. While Wyatt Earp’s status as the town marshal symbolizes the civility and order of society, the Clantons—a violent, uncivilized family in which the father uses primitive methods of discipline, such as whipping, against his own four sons—represent the wilderness of the untamed West. The symbolic importance of the characters in My Darling Clementine is also connected to Ford’s use of setting and locale. Given the manner in which Wyatt Earp enters the town and sets about bringing justice to it, his character can be seen as the embodiment of the process of civilization of the West. From a cinematographic standpoint, the shots of locations within the town differ from those of the wilderness beyond the town site. The film makes use of its visual style to

I think that western film from the 1950s and 1960s reject the modernism film making movement. It does this because instead of moving on with a new form