Emanuel Levy
Cinema 24/7
Research in progress, Aug 23, 2023.
How to study Westerns, the uniquely American genre?
Some suggest to ho by major actors who contributed to the genre, such as Gary Cooper, John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart, Henry Fonda, and Clint Eastwood.
Other scholars take the auteurist approach by focusing on the major directors of the genre, such as John Ford, Howard Hawks, and Anthony Mann.
Homoeroticism
Various scholars, such as Dennis Bingham, have commented on the homoeroticism that is often sub-textual and sometimes textual in this popular genre.
First, many Westerns celebrate men as men–without any women in their life.
Second, many Westerns pose women as manifest or latent threats to the very independence (masculinity) of men.
Third, some Westerns depict the relationships between men as defined by bonds of deep affection and intimacy, which could be spoken or unspoken.
Issues: Male Camaraderie
In many Westerns, the narrative centers on the friendship-camaraderie-rivalry of two mature men:
Warshow: Westerner, man of leisure, the last gentleman who defends his honor with guns.
Appaloosa
Red River
Ride the High Country
The Searchers
They Rode Together
French, Philip. Westerns, Viking, 1974.
French, Philip. Westerns: Aspects of a Movie Genre. Revised edition. Oxford Univ. Press, 1977.
Martin, Russell. Cowboy: The Enduring Myth of the American West. NY: Stewart, Tabori, Chang, 1973. 432pp.
Meyer, William: The Making of the Great Westerns, Arlington Publishers, 1979
Tuska, Jon. 100 Finest Westerns. Doubleday, 1975
Tuska, Jon. The Filming of the West. Doubleday, 1976.
Warshow, Robert. “The Westerner.” In his, The Immediate Experience. Doubleday, 1962, 135-154. Atheneum, 1970.
Wichter, Dixon: The Hero in America: A Chronicle of Hero Worship, Univ Michigan Press, 1963.
Wilburn, W. A. The Western Hero: A Study in Myth and American Values. Addison-Wesley,1973.
Wright, Will. Sixguns and Society: A Structural Study of the Western. Berkeley: Univ of CA Press, 1976.
Movie Genres: Westerns–Studies? Directors, Actors, Issues, Biblio
Research in progress, Aug 23, 2023.
How to study Westerns, the uniquely American genre?
Some suggest to ho by major actors who contributed to the genre, such as Gary Cooper, John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart, Henry Fonda, and Clint Eastwood.
Other scholars take the auteurist approach by focusing on the major directors of the genre, such as John Ford, Howard Hawks, and Anthony Mann.
Homoeroticism
Various scholars, such as Dennis Bingham, have commented on the homoeroticism that is often sub-textual and sometimes textual in this popular genre.
First, many Westerns celebrate men as men–without any women in their life.
Second, many Westerns pose women as manifest or latent threats to the very independence (masculinity) of men.
Third, some Westerns depict the relationships between men as defined by bonds of deep affection and intimacy, which could be spoken or unspoken.
Issues: Male Camaraderie
In many Westerns, the narrative centers on the friendship-camaraderie-rivalry of two mature men:
Warshow: Westerner, man of leisure, the last gentleman who defends his honor with guns.
Appaloosa
Red River
Ride the High Country
The Searchers
They Rode Together
Biblio:
French, Philip. Westerns, Viking, 1974.
French, Philip. Westerns: Aspects of a Movie Genre. Revised edition. Oxford Univ. Press, 1977.
Martin, Russell. Cowboy: The Enduring Myth of the American West. NY: Stewart, Tabori, Chang, 1973. 432pp.
Meyer, William: The Making of the Great Westerns, Arlington Publishers, 1979
Tuska, Jon. 100 Finest Westerns. Doubleday, 1975
Tuska, Jon. The Filming of the West. Doubleday, 1976.
Warshow, Robert. “The Westerner.” In his, The Immediate Experience. Doubleday, 1962, 135-154. Atheneum, 1970.
Wichter, Dixon: The Hero in America: A Chronicle of Hero Worship, Univ Michigan Press, 1963.
Wilburn, W. A. The Western Hero: A Study in Myth and American Values. Addison-Wesley,1973.
Wright, Will. Sixguns and Society: A Structural Study of the Western. Berkeley: Univ of CA Press, 1976.