When, or if a movie genre gets popular enough, it has the authority to change and transform itself into something different. For over a hundred years the “Western” style of film has cemented itself as a hollywood staple, but has the exhaustion of its content pushed the limits of what it means to be a western?
To accurately depict what it means to be considered a true Western, we first must reference the most notorious movies it has to offer; Shane, and The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. These movies amongst many others follow a series of elements that fits them into the Western Genre.
Takes place in the “Wild West”
Male protagonist considered an outsider
Guns, typically revolvers and old rifles
Good vs Evil,
Requires the protagonist to either …show more content…
Taking this Genre and attempting to change the physical meaning of a Western, while keeping the metaphorical vision of contemporary Westerns. One of the first films to attempt this was Star Wars. Broken down into its story arc, Star Wars follows the same metaphorical ideals of a Western with physical differences that directly parallels with the style of western. Traditional westerns take place in the wild west with vast stretches of deserts. In Star wars, we don't see the wild west, but we see the vast expansiveness of space in which our protagonist goes through his journey. In many ways, Star Wars follows the metaphorical guidelines to attribute to it being a western. Multiple characters share traits that are shown in the Majority of Western films. Han solo, an outsider, wielding a laser pistol (instead of a revolver) plays a crucial role in supporting the narrative and helping the main protagonist, Luke Skywalker. Luke follows what is commonly referred to as the “Hero’s Journey.” Throughout the course of the trilogy, we see his character development through the use of supporting characters. Much like in The Good the Bad and the Ugly, we have a final scene that decides the fate of the main character. This ends in either his demise, or his eventual retreat from the …show more content…
Show us something more complicated.” We see this Genre shift in the 2017 movie production of Logan. Capping off the legendary wolverine franchise, Logan shows an exhaustion with the superhero genre and makes it clear that it strives to be different; in this case, a Western. Showing us both a physical, and metaphorical representation of a classical Western, while keeping its “superhero” charm. Logan takes place in the desert of southern Mexico which is meant to be this version of the “wild west.” He is an outsider, living only with two other supporting characters, Professor X and Caliban. These two subtle details play into the Western theme. We are shown his decay as a super human as the movie sets out to show his final quest. Through the use of supporting characters we focus the story on the main character “Logan”. His character is given a large amount of screen time to show us his development throughout his travels. But how does this play into the Western theme? A direct reference is used during the middle half of the film as the movie Western movie Shane is playing. The last scene is showed as we are shown the movies main characters final moments. He rides off into the sunset after telling one of the supporting characters, “There is no living
To accurately depict what it means to be considered a true Western, we first must reference the most notorious movies it has to offer; Shane, and The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. These movies amongst many others follow a series of elements that fits them into the Western Genre.
Takes place in the “Wild West”
Male protagonist considered an outsider
Guns, typically revolvers and old rifles
Good vs Evil,
Requires the protagonist to either …show more content…
Taking this Genre and attempting to change the physical meaning of a Western, while keeping the metaphorical vision of contemporary Westerns. One of the first films to attempt this was Star Wars. Broken down into its story arc, Star Wars follows the same metaphorical ideals of a Western with physical differences that directly parallels with the style of western. Traditional westerns take place in the wild west with vast stretches of deserts. In Star wars, we don't see the wild west, but we see the vast expansiveness of space in which our protagonist goes through his journey. In many ways, Star Wars follows the metaphorical guidelines to attribute to it being a western. Multiple characters share traits that are shown in the Majority of Western films. Han solo, an outsider, wielding a laser pistol (instead of a revolver) plays a crucial role in supporting the narrative and helping the main protagonist, Luke Skywalker. Luke follows what is commonly referred to as the “Hero’s Journey.” Throughout the course of the trilogy, we see his character development through the use of supporting characters. Much like in The Good the Bad and the Ugly, we have a final scene that decides the fate of the main character. This ends in either his demise, or his eventual retreat from the …show more content…
Show us something more complicated.” We see this Genre shift in the 2017 movie production of Logan. Capping off the legendary wolverine franchise, Logan shows an exhaustion with the superhero genre and makes it clear that it strives to be different; in this case, a Western. Showing us both a physical, and metaphorical representation of a classical Western, while keeping its “superhero” charm. Logan takes place in the desert of southern Mexico which is meant to be this version of the “wild west.” He is an outsider, living only with two other supporting characters, Professor X and Caliban. These two subtle details play into the Western theme. We are shown his decay as a super human as the movie sets out to show his final quest. Through the use of supporting characters we focus the story on the main character “Logan”. His character is given a large amount of screen time to show us his development throughout his travels. But how does this play into the Western theme? A direct reference is used during the middle half of the film as the movie Western movie Shane is playing. The last scene is showed as we are shown the movies main characters final moments. He rides off into the sunset after telling one of the supporting characters, “There is no living