Western Film Research Paper

In chapter two of The Cultures of American Film, the main focus is the establishment of studios. As demand for films rose in the early 1900’s, production companies needed to expand; this lead to the creation of large scale studios.

The most serious Native American stereotypes are clearly visible in films of the early twentieth century in Hollywood westerns. The big screen stories about western cowboys defeating Native tribes proved to be extremely popular and lucrative. Hollywood then started producing western tales in incredible quantities . In most Westerns, white cowboys represent courageous, brave, and quick witted men while the Indians are the dimming past. Cowboys are logical. “Indians” are irrational. Together, cowboys and Indians are the ego and the heart of the Anglo-Saxon identity. Native American characters in twentieth century films have ranged from stereotypes including the bloodthirsty, raging beast to the noble savage. Still other Indian characters, whether they are heroes, bad guys, or neutral, were the characters with little to no character development or range in their personalities. These stereotypes have their origins in popular American literature dating as far back as the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Jacquelyn Kilpatrick, author of Celluloid Indians, notes that popular stories “centered on Native American savagery served as outlets for violence and pent up aggression in an early American society that prided manners and respectability.” (Kilpatrick 2) In these stories, the Native American population was seen as bad, though individual members could be represented as good. These stereotypes continued for years. One author, James Fenimore Cooper, began publishing a series of stories titled The Leatherstocking Tales in 1841. Kilpatrick emphasizes that Cooper

During the course of this essay it is my intention to discuss the differences between Classical Hollywood and post-Classical Hollywood. Although these terms refer to theoretical movements of which they are not definitive it is my goal to show that they are applicable in a broad way to a cinema tradition that dominated Hollywood production between 1916 and 1960 and which also pervaded Western Mainstream Cinema (Classical Hollywood or Classic Narrative Cinema) and to the movement and changes that came about following this time period (Post-Classical or New Hollywood). I intend to do this by first analysing and defining aspects of Classical Hollywood and having done that,

In 1939 John Ford masterminded a classical western film by the name of Stagecoach. This film has the integrity of a fine work of art. Being that it could be considered a work of art, the impression left on a viewing audience could differ relying on the audience's demographics. However, it is conceivable to all audiences that Ford delivers a cast of characters that are built on stereotypes and perceptions conjured from 'B' westerns that preceded this film's time. Each character is introduced to the audience in a stereotypical genre, as the film progresses, these stereotypes are broken down and the characters become more humanized. This is apparent with a handful of characters being

This paper was prepared for Introduction to Film History, Module 1 Homework Assignment, taught by Professor Stephanie Sandifer.

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.

Stagecoach – a movie that is widely accepted as the most damaging movie for the Native identity – helped to illustrate this image to viewers at the time. As a result, many Americans believed Natives were all uncivilized and violent, leading to nationwide stereotyping and prejudice. The Indian was the enemy of America as a result. Stagecoach also shows Natives being hunted like animals, which sends the image of them being non-human and thus they should be treated as such. Stagecoach and movies like it mispresented Natives for decades and caused a loss-of-identity amongst the Native community because Natives were dressed the same throughout various films. It was not until the 1970s and 1980s where Natives were properly represented on

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

Ford’s Stagecoach is an epic and revolutionary approach that displays the desert terrain and western inhabitant’s struggles. Stagecoach follows the lives of seven strangers in their attempt to arrive to Lordsburg, New Mexico. Each of these characters reflects the various types of people found in the western world. The film is laced with many American ideals of the time such as xenophobia, chivalry, the conventional standards of women, and much more. Stagecoach defies the conventional western film because it is no longer just men in a desert terrain with rifles.

The story formula for Stagecoach structures around characters in the Tonto and introducing the characters, traveling to Lordsburg, stopping at Dry Fork way station for food and unforgettable dinner table scene, traveling towards Apache Wells in the snow, Mrs. Mallory’s baby born in Apache Wells, finally getting to Lordsburg but got attacked by the Indians, and ended with Ringo Kid in a shooting conflict. Stagecoach did a great job in the characters types. There are the protagonists, prostitute, gambler, schoolmarm. These are the specific character types in Western movies. The setting of the movie is on point. It’s in the American West and takes place in the 1880s. The location of Monument Valley is a favorite location for John Ford. The presentation of Stagecoach has many great exterior shots that collocate the characters with the environment they occupy. The stars in Stagecoach does fit in a Western movie. Like John Wayne, he stars in many Western movies. What makes Stagecoach a western is the traditional western theme. Like the fight between whites and Native Americans. There is a good use of the American West’s open plains and mountains.

Movies were becoming one of the biggest businesses during the 1920s and most people would spend their leisure time going to the theatre to watch the silent films. They were becoming huge in the popular culture and Hollywood was the place to be. Roughly by 1922, 40 million people a year in attendance over the entire country for the movie theatres and in 1930 over 100 million people would attend the movies every year. By 1927, the movie industry became the fourth largest industry in the country. “The Great Train Robbery” which was released in 1903 was the beginning of the film industry and would eventually change everything. “Jazz Singer” was the first movie that had synchronized sounds throughout the entire film. The popular genres during this decade were western,

American western movies were a thing of the 1950’s but they were no longer captivating in the 1970’s. It was apparent that guns, cowboys, and American heroes were no longer seen as a point of interest for the viewing public. Mel Gibson’s film entitled, Blazing Saddles, debuted in 1974 and seemed to fit the bill of the post-1960’s western. Blazing Saddles is a film that is able to take on racism and utilize it as an important reflection of the time. The film goes where no film has gone before in terms of discussing race and Hollywood. Blazing Saddles was able to seemingly integrate elements of Blaxploitation and introduce the film industry’s first interracial buddy comedy.

Another example of a corrupt black cowboy was Cranford Goldsby. Known as Cherokee Bill, he was the black counterpart to Billy the Kid. He was born Cranford Goldsby into a law abiding family; his father was a Buffalo soldier in the West (Katz 155). One of the most famous cowgirls was Belle Starr, she was called the 'Bandit Queen'–a lovely lady who ruled outlaw gangs with her guns, her will and her personal favors. She has been credited with stealing from the rich and giving to the poor, cleaning out crooked poker games with her six-shooters, and galloping down city streets with pistols blazing (Arnott). These evidences tell us that there were really some famous black cowboys and cowgirls in the real West but they weren’t romanticized in western arts as much as the white cowboys. Comparing to the book Shane, homesteaders and ranchers were taking the lands of Native Americans, so there definitely was a conflict between these people. However, Schaefer never mentioned about Native, African, or Asian Americans in the book. It can be seen as a case of discrimination.

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 – traditionally, characters in Western films were riding horses, but because Brokeback Mountain is a more modern movie, the two characters Jack and Ennis are seen traveling in cars and trucks most of the time. This alteration is very

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 Ugly (1966) were shown in a theater today people wonder why they were watching it, because they already knew what to expect from the typical western codes, such as good guys versus bad guys, gunfights, horse chases, Indians, frontier land,