Screen History and Research the Western Genre
Introduction
The purpose of this essay is to analyse the western genre within a set of selected frameworks, to do so I will be comparing and contrasting two films that come under the western genre category and were released nearly seventy years apart, the 1939 classic Stagecoach, from director John Ford and the 2005 hybrid western Serenity, from director Joss Whedon. The frameworks that will be used to compare and contrast both films within consist of technology, gender and audience.
The Western Genre
‘The western is the only genre whose origins are almost identical with those of the cinema itself and which is as alive as ever after almost half a century of uninterrupted success’ (Bazin 1971, p.140). A classic western will adhere to ideals of the American frontier as drawn from a ‘fertile tradition of Wild West literature that had dominated the mass taste of nineteenth century America (Kitses 1969, p.14). Where civilisation and wilderness must ultimately clash, there is more likely to be breathtakingly beautiful scenery, residing in a vastly treacherous landscape that is fighting against impending civilisation.
‘The western formula emerged as American trends toward the frontier gradually underwent significant change’ (Cawelti 1974, p.57) resulting in the formation of recognisable set of iconic criteria such as the saloon, the jail and brothel and also costumes consisting of wide-brimmed hats, leather chaps, spurs and the Indians feathered head pieces. There is usually a plethora of weapons to be displayed throughout a classic western and the weapon of choice would generally be a gun or shot gun then there are knives, whips and a native’s bow and arrow (Buscombe 1986, pp.13-15).
Why Films Are Westerns
Both films are considered westerns, they depict their own version of the western frontier as ‘the meeting point between savagery and civilisation’ (Turner 2008, p.14), they each follow a similar plot progression, utilising classic genre iconography
The purpose of this essay is to analyse the western genre within a set of selected frameworks, to do so I will be comparing and contrasting two films that come under the western genre category and were released nearly seventy years apart, the 1939 classic Stagecoach, from director John Ford and the 2005 hybrid western Serenity, from director Joss Whedon. The frameworks that will be used to compare and contrast both films within consist of technology, gender and audience.
The Western Genre
‘The western is the only genre whose origins are almost identical with those of the cinema itself and which is as alive as ever after almost half a century of uninterrupted success’ (Bazin 1971, p.140). A classic western will adhere to ideals of the American frontier as drawn from a ‘fertile tradition of Wild West literature that had dominated the mass taste of nineteenth century America (Kitses 1969, p.14). Where civilisation and wilderness must ultimately clash, there is more likely to be breathtakingly beautiful scenery, residing in a vastly treacherous landscape that is fighting against impending civilisation.
‘The western formula emerged as American trends toward the frontier gradually underwent significant change’ (Cawelti 1974, p.57) resulting in the formation of recognisable set of iconic criteria such as the saloon, the jail and brothel and also costumes consisting of wide-brimmed hats, leather chaps, spurs and the Indians feathered head pieces. There is usually a plethora of weapons to be displayed throughout a classic western and the weapon of choice would generally be a gun or shot gun then there are knives, whips and a native’s bow and arrow (Buscombe 1986, pp.13-15).
Why Films Are Westerns
Both films are considered westerns, they depict their own version of the western frontier as ‘the meeting point between savagery and civilisation’ (Turner 2008, p.14), they each follow a similar plot progression, utilising classic genre iconography