Science Fiction, Melodrama and Western Intersect in David Lynch’s Dune A genre is a grouping of works, in this context a grouping of films, that are somehow similar or related in content or style. Genres are not strictly uniform over a period of time and do allow for growth and adaptation of their definitive characteristics. As the film industry has developed through the past century, various genres of films have emerged and are still evolving. Aspects of genres have been redefined and intermingled
thought is the recent history immediately preceding that time. Westerns and science fiction are two genres employed by popular culture that are, in that order, chronologically consecutive in history in terms of their popularity. When analyzed, they show themselves to be also extremely similar to one another, both thematically and structurally. Yet the shift in desirability from the dominant trend of western works to those of science fiction did occur, and I would argue is still occurring today. The reason
old Tascosa, The Day the Cowboys Quit is a historical fictional phenomenon written by the award-winning western novelist, Elmer Kelton. Born in a place called Horse Camp of the Five Well Ranch and being a native Texas, Kelton was an American journalist and writer is widely regarded as the Greatest Western Writer of all time by the Western Writers of America, Inc. He has written over 50 western novels and this being one of them. The Day the Cowboys Quit is based on the true events of cowboy strikes
The Virginian The cowboy hero, The Virginian, as portrayed in Owen Wister’s novel was the first of his kind and today is known as the stereotypical mythic cowboy figure which our view of the western frontier are based from. The Virginian was the first full length western novel apart from the short dime novels which marked the final stage in the evolution of the cowboy hero to a national icon. The Virginian was published in 1902 and at that time was wildly popular because of the settlement of
The Impossible American Dream in Anzia Yezierska's “America and I,” Uncle and Jayanti from Chitra Divakaruni's “Silver Pavements, Golden Roofs,” and Leon from Fae Myenne Ng's Bone. America has always been characterized
would continuously happen about 70 years ago in cookie cutter Western films in which Indians would often be represented as barbaric, savage, and non-human. With time, these films became bland and repetitive; as a result of this, less and less money was profited with every passing Western film made. Propitiously enough we have abandoned this form of filmmaking and although Native Americans still don’t receive the ideal representation in Western movies, they are no longer presented as the villain all the
Summary Of Beyond Formula: American Film Genres The passage taken from the book, “Beyond Formula: American Film Genres” by Stanley Solomon, focuses specifically on Western films. Solomon suggests that, “the Western is primarily a genre of location,” (56) which not only suggests the plot of the movie but the characters portrayed in the film as well. If the location is based in a harsh or rugged environment, the viewers automatically assume that the characters in the film will be just as rugged
The Matrix, The “Western” Never Known As stated by the title, there is great reason why the Matrix should be treated in the same context, although not identified, as a western. This film genre is steeped in tradition and lore. There are many definitions abound as to what may constitute a “Western film.” The main goal is to see whether or not this paper can illustrate the genre be pushed towards the future. Whether it means the 20th century, the 21st century or the distant future. This genre can
what he wants to right all wrong—and with the shift in American culture came a reciprocal shift in the Western genre. The Weird West incorporates elements unfamiliar to the West, whether they be originally from this Earth or otherwise. In some cases, weird comes in the form of atypical choice of the protagonist’s species; in other cases, it comes in the form of an invading alien race. Weird Westerns are incredibly diverse and malleable, so the elements of their stories that qualify them as weird
The Western as a Genre John Ford’s Stagecoach (United Artists) has been hailed as the official Western Classic. Released in 1939 after the lull in production of Westerns caused by the advent of sound and The Great Depression during the mid 1930’s, it is considered one of the key films that helped revived the A-Western in the 1940’s prior to WWII. Stagecoach has the classic Western recipe. The main staple of that recipe in Stagecoach were authentically dressed cowboys and town folk, the dress
predictable and formulaic', looking at the Western genre, and using the example films of, 'The Searchers' and 'Unforgiven'. Genre is a fundamental means by which we communicate especially in storytelling. If looking at genre in terms of Thomas Shatz, he puts forward the theory of similarity and overlap. He adopts a thematic and ideological approach, which identifies only two genres; the genre of order and the genre of integration. In this case the Western would be categorised into the genre of
The Western Revisited in Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver One need only peruse his impressive filmography to realize that Martin Scorsese's corpus spans several decades and extends across as many genres. As a veteran filmmaker (and self professed cinephile) Scorsese must understand that the Western is the oldest Hollywood genre which, like all genres, is defined according to specific motifs, iconography, conventions and themes (Mast, 468). In fact, by deliberately invoking the codes and conventions
The Metamorphosis of Paul Baumer in All Quiet on the Western Front Erich Maria Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front, a novel set in World War I, centers around the changes wrought by the war on one young German soldier. During his time in the war, Remarque's protagonist, Paul Baumer, changes from a rather innocent Romantic to a hardened and somewhat caustic veteran. More importantly, during the course of this metamorphosis, Baumer disaffiliates himself from those societal icons-parents
Traditional Western and Disney Ideals as Seen in Mulan Fairy tales have been a long tradition in almost all cultures, starting as oral traditions to and gradually evolving into written texts intended for future generations to enjoy. Today, a common medium for relaying these ancient stories is through animation. The Walt Disney Company is probably the most well known for its animated portrayals of many classic fairy tales. These fairy tales are considered, by fairy tale researcher Justyna Deszcz
the Western Wing One of China’s most popular love comedies, The Story of the Western Wing (Xixiang Ji) by Wang Shifu (1250-1300) dramatizes a scholar-and-beauty romance. Zhang Sheng, a promising student, and Cui Yingying, a beautiful maiden, meet in a temple, fall in love at first sight and after a series of thwarted attempts, they end up happily marrying each other, after the student has passed the civil exam as the top one, of course. Among the five books of The Story of the Western Wing
Traditions in Chinese culture are long-rooted and are taken very seriously from generation to generation. However, there must always be room for modern change in order for society to grow and strive across the globe. In Bound Feet and Western Dress the conflict between Chinese traditions and modern change arises. With this conflict it is important to discuss the different meanings of liberation for men and women and they way in which Chang Yu-I was able to obtain liberation throughout her life
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly Western films are the major defining genre of the American film industry, a eulogy to the early days of the expansive American frontier. They are one of the oldest, most enduring and flexible genres and one of the most characteristically American genres in their mythic origins - they focus on the West - in North America. Western films have also been called the horse opera, the oater (quickly-made, short western films which became as common place as oats for horses)
Spaghetti Westerns in the 1960’s. Eastwood iconic Man with No Name in the “Dollar Trilogies” made him an international star, and it is only fitting that he would resurrect his career in a film of this genre. “Unforgiven” was directed, produced, and stared in by Clint Eastwood and received an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, Best Director, Best Film Editing, and Best Picture in 1993. It is often credited as the best western made in the last twenty years, and for reinvigorating the western genre. Clint
America’s Wild West history as depicted in the movies, Rio Bravo and El Dorado. Most Western movies had fairly simple but very similar plots, including personal conflicts, land rights, crimes and of course, failed romances that typically led to drinking more alcoholic beverages than could respectfully be consumed by any one person, as they attempted to drown their sorrows away. The 1958 Rio Bravo and 1967 El Dorado Western movies directed by Howard Hawks, and starring John Wayne have a similar theme and
The Western Subjectivity Thought Since modern times subjectivity thought has been one of the fundamental contents and the significant achievements of western philosophy. It is faced with many difficulties in its development process and has been declared to "have died", but I think that it indeed still has bright prospects of development. 1. Historical Development of Western Subjectivity Thought The word "subject" comes from the Latin word " subjectum ", which means something in front,