Westerns
Westerns
The "Myth of the West" has provided the film industry with plenty of material, and Western films have probably become the genre most characteristic of American films. It is almost impossible to count the number of films which have been created since the beginning of the past century. When thinking of Westerns, names like John Wayne and movies like The Last of the Mohicans or High Noon come to mind. In the following, a short overview regarding the development of Western movies will be given.
The setting of the Western is an important feature and typical of the genre. Usually, Westerns take place in ragged mountains or gently sweeping landscapes, mostly - of course - far away from what we consider to be civilisation. Examples for a typical setting are the "monoliths of Monument valley" (in 2.) or the "treeless expansions of the prairie" (in 2.), where small farms or isolated ranch houses are located. Other characteristic settings include saloons, jails, and main streets in small frontier towns (in 1.).
The success of the genre is partially due to the comparative simplicity of the plots - usually "good vs. bad", "cowboys vs. Indians", "human vs. nature" (in 1.), to name but a few possibilities. This plain concept of law and order contributed to the myths and legends of the American West and to the success of the genre. An interesting point is the absence of African American Cowboys in most Westerns although "now, we know there were more than a few black cowboys in the West" (in 4.). This fact strongly suggests that an image like that did not fit into the myth and glorification of the American West and is prove of the attitude of a part of the American population towards race some decades ago - or even today. In more recent movies, this has changed and shows that racial issues are being dealt with with more care. Also, the way Native Americans used to be portrayed in Westerns changed at the end of the 20th century, as will be shown later. This again suggests that a lot has been achieved, even in Westerns, to abolish racism.
The first Cowboy film, Cripple Creek Bar Room, was a silent film created in 1898 (in 1.). What is considered to be the first movie of the Western genre is The Great Train Robbery, shot in 1903 (in 1.) and containing the classic elements of Westerns such as "good guys, bad guys, a robbery or wrong-doing, a chase or pursuit, and a final showdown, all in a natural setting" (in 1.).
In the 1920's, many Westerns were of relatively low quality (in 1.), but in the 1930's they started becoming more sophisticated, starring actors like Gene Autry or Roy Rogers (in 1.) who became "cultural icons" (in 1.). During that time, the so-called "singing cowboy films" developed, a non-violent form of the genre. It was also in the 1930's that John Wayne, who was "first known as Marion Michael Morrisson", became famous when he starred in The Big Trail in 1930 (in 1.). Barbara Stanwyck and Gary Cooper appeared on the screen in Annie Oakley (1935) and The Plainsman (1937) respectively (in 1.).
At the end of the 1930's, a film called Stagecoach had a profound impact on the genre, "raising the stature of Westerns for years to come" (http://www.filmsite.org/westernfilms.html ), e.g. by introducing intelligent dialogues and "an emphasis on character and mood" (in 1.). In the 1940's and 1950's, the classic Western reached its peak. My Darling Clementine was directed by John Ford in 1946, and although Ford had directed movies from other genres as well, he is said to have stated "My name is John Ford. I make Westerns" (in 2.) which shows that making Westerns was not disapproved of. The Searchers, starring John Wayne and also directed by John Ford, is one of the few Westerns which are regarded to be a piece of art (in 1.). Anthony Mann is another director who proved that Westerns did not necessarily have to be unintelligent films, as shown in "the sophisticated and excellent The Naked Spur (1956)" (in 1.).
Then, slowly, the Western started losing its positive image: "post-war cynicism ate away at the American psyche and we [the Americans] started doubting the heroes of the West" (in 2.). The so-called "Spaghetti Westerns of Italy" (in 2.) did not help to improve the image of the genre. In the 1980's, some efforts were made to polish and improve the damaged picture, but "audiences largely stayed away" despite movies like Pale Rider starring Clint Eastwood or Young Guns with Brad Pitt (in 2.). In the 1990's, when "it was definitely on the endangered species list" (in 3.), "the Western finally discovered salvation in the form of Kevin Costner's Dances With Wolves" (in 2.) which was awarded the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1990 (in 1.). It was the first Western to win the Best Picture honour since 1931, when Cimarron, a story about the Oklahoma land rush, was awarded the Best Picture (in 1.). Eastwood's Unforgiven followed in 1992 (3.) as the third Western ever to win the award, giving reason for hope regarding the genre's revival. It becomes apparent in Dances With Wolves that an attempt was made to reverse the traditional roles of Cowboys and Indians, at least to a certain degree, but "the role reversal is not complete" because the Pawnee are still depicted as the savage enemy (in 3.). Unlike before though, when all the Indians used to be the bad guys throughout the vast majority of Westerns, now "the Sioux tribe is portrayed with the kind of balance and sensitivity rarely accorded to Native Americans in any movie" (in 3.). This is a definite change of direction within the genre and "a conscious attempt to set the historical record straight" (in 3.).
Another example for recent Westerns which show life in the "Wild, Wild West" in a more romanticised and transfigured manner is Far and Away, shot in 1992 and starring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. The film tells the story of a young Irishman and his landlord's daughter who cross the Atlantic Ocean in order to join the wagon trains to the West and to take part in the big land race. Unlike Dances With Wolves, this film puts more emphasis on the dreams of the first settlers who came to the West to start a new and better life and depicts the euphemistic romantic side of the American myth.
The genre has had a great influence on American culture, keeping the myths and legends alive, but "we now see that the power of the gun (as shown in Unforgiven and Tombstone) could make lawmen just as dangerous as the outlaws" (in 2.). Times as well as the public awareness have changed, and the slow disappearance of the heroes of the West is turning the genre into "just another genre, a genre that becomes more remote with each passing year" (in 2.).
Sources:
- "Greatest
Films" by Tim Dirks.
<http://www.filmsite.org/westernfilms.html >
[Accessed on Jan 22, 2001]
- "The
Western: An Overview" by Gary Johnson.
<http://www.imagesjournal.com/issue06/infocus/western.htm>
[Accessed on Jan 22, 2001] - "Review:
Dances With Wolves" by James Berardinelli.
<http://movie-reviews.colossus.net/movies/d/dances.html>
[Accessed on Jan 22, 2001] - "Black
People as Scenery". The Ethical Spectacle, 1995.
<http://www.spectacle.org/1295/blacks.html>
[Accessed on Jan 23, 2001]
