Embedded Files
The western is unique among contemporary genres for its reliance on its unique archetypes. These archetypes are so intrinsic to the genre that expectations still utilise these generic conventions to subvert them (Friedman et al. 257; Kitses 16).
There is a distinct array of stock characters present in Western films that function as much a part of the film's setting as they do characters. These include saloon owners, frontier doctors, prospectors, schoolteachers, veterans, gamblers and preachers (Friedman et al. 254, Altman 32)
The Western Hero
The Western Hero
The concept of the Western "hero" has been revisited and reinvented until there is no longer one clearly distinguishable archetype; instead, there are combinations of familiar generic expectations and tropes.
The western hero is often skilled at either gunfighting, horses or both (Friedman et al. 264; Warshow 37). Even anti-heroes that subvert almost all other expectations often still meet this criteria, such as McCabe in McCabe and Mrs Miller who's gunfighting skill is irrelevant to the plot.
He is a "figure of stillness and repose" with an air of "quiet authority" (Friedman et al. 263; Warshow 36). The protagonists of Shane and A Fistful of Dollars are both mysterious and quietly confident.
He is honourable, "reluctant to kill, and cool-headed when he must" because violence must happen "according to its special laws, or else it is valueless" (Friedman et al. 256; Warshow 47). For example, the quickdraws in Shane and Stagecoach are borne from the hero's honour. Alternatively, a protagonist like McCabe despite being dishonourable, is still reluctant to kill.
He lacks belonging because his violence and uncivilised values are unsuited for "settled life" (Altman 32; Friedman et al. 258; Warshow 36). Protagonists of Shane and The Searchers are introduced "emerging from the wilderness" and return at the end "because [their] own savagery renders [them] unfit for civilised life" (Friedman et al. 258; Warshow 39).
Women
Women
The roles women play in Western films are "invariably prescriptivist" and governed by sexism (Tuska 223, 235; Friedman et al. 261). Female characters fall into a few precisely defined roles, characterised by either their virtue, (schoolteachers, mothers, wives) or lack thereof (prostitutes) (Friedman et al. 261-2). The virtuous woman is a "value" to be protected (Warshow 37). Typically, the heroes love interest, she is important to the story only for the feelings she "provokes" in the men, rather than anything intrinsic (Tuska 224). For example, in Stagecoach, the pregnant Mrs Mallory is depicted as delicate and virtuous. The defining feature of the "un-virtuous" western woman is her "quasi-masculine" independence, allowing her to "share the heroes understanding of life" (Warshow 37). Stagecoach's only other female character is Dallas, a sex worker. She is an outcast due to her perceived lack of virtue, but this is what brings her together with the hero Ringo.
When Westerns do subvert expectations, women are still typically defined in relation to male protagonists (Tuska 224). Both Stagecoach and McCabe and Mrs Miller subvert expectations by making the unvirtuous woman the Western "hero's" love interest.
Revisionist or more contemporary westerns, such as Yellowstone and The Quick and the Dead afford female characters a greater variety of roles. This diversity relies on the expectations audiences have for female characters to truly subvert these tropes.
Native Americans
Native Americans
The Western's key theme of "wilderness vs civilisation" is personified by conflicts between the "civilised" white American towns and "savage" Native American villains, depicted as "purely violent and malevolent characters" (Friedman et al. 255, Tuska 237).
White American perceptions of Native American violence, whether real or imagined, are overemphasized, and stereotypes are further propped up by Natic characters' lack of depth. For example, in Broken Arrow Sonseeahray and Tom perform a fictional blood ritual for their wedding, and in Geronimo's Last Raid, Geronimo (an Apache man) is portrayed as "a savage killer of whites with no motivation whatsoever" (Tuska 241).
Summary
Characters
Narrative
Evolution
Structure
Bibliography:
Altman, Rick. "A Semantic/Syntactic Approach to Film Genres." 1984. Film Genre Reader, edited by Barry Keith Grant, University of Texas Press, 2003, pp. 27-41.
Friedman, Lester, et al. An Introduction to Film Genres, W. W. Norton, 2013.
Tuska, Jon. The American West in Fiction, Greenwood Press, 1985.
Warshow, Robert. "Movie Chronicle: The Western." 1954. The Western Reader, edited by Jim Kitses and Gregg Rickman, Limelight Editions, 1998, pp. 35-48.
Altman, Rick. "A Semantic/Syntactic Approach to Film Genres." 1984. Film Genre Reader, edited by Barry Keith Grant, University of Texas Press, 2003, pp. 27-41.
Friedman, Lester, et al. An Introduction to Film Genres, W. W. Norton, 2013.
Tuska, Jon. The American West in Fiction, Greenwood Press, 1985.
Warshow, Robert. "Movie Chronicle: The Western." 1954. The Western Reader, edited by Jim Kitses and Gregg Rickman, Limelight Editions, 1998, pp. 35-48.
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