Continuing the discussion of film genres as outlined in chapter 9 of Bordwell & Thompson’s Film Art: An Introduction, I became fascinated by their inclusion of “The Western” as one of the four genres that illustrate “conventions and their change across history” (339). Specifically, what has made the Western genre seemingly disappear from mainstream Hollywood’s focus, relegated to simply a relic of the past rather than a modern source of entertainment. During my search, I found a video essay published by the Museum of Modern Art, exploring the question “Is the Western genre dead?”
Narrated by Dave Kehr, curator at the museum, the video first explores the intrigue known as the “Western landscape”, a blank canvas on which stock characters, settings, themes, and plots can be placed. Thematically, Bordwell & Thompson, and Kehr identify that Westerns typically address the tensions between individualism and society, the same tension observed during the westward expansion of the United States. The lack of law and protection is articulated through the hero, who, according to Kehr, “sacrifices himself for the law”. The hero’s use of violence exists to create new laws and new societies. This rugged American Dream individualism mirrored the societal and political landscape of the early to mid-1900s United States. Following the conclusion of both world wars, many found themselves seemingly occupying this middle ground that both the reading and the video examine. The thousands of veterans who were now unable to reintegrate into society that they left found solace in these films.
In the 60s, Westerns began to undergo a transformation as public sentiment about “government” and society began to erode. The hero is now solely independent and one who thinks society is not worth saving. In the 70s, however, experimentation in the genre began to redefine its appearance. Films like Star Wars and Indiana Jones evoke iconography and retellings of classic Westerns, breathing life into the genre as a whole. However, the classic Western movie is likely never going to be recreated. Instead, films since the 80s seemingly don’t expand the genre of Westerns, but rather, use the Western genre as a mechanism to change the notions of heroism, shifting the appearance and feel of the films drastically. To Kehr, Western movies have been parodied, critiqued, and incorporated into modern genres due to a change in moral and social values, making them functionally a thing of the past.
However, do you think this is actually the case? We have begun to see the development of modern Westerns like Django Unchained, The Hateful Eight, and True Grit which seemingly embrace the Western tradition. However, do you consider these modern films as a transformation of the Western drama or a nostalgic, one-off retelling?