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The Western: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
[[File:
{{quote|''"Westerns. A period gone by, the pioneer, the loner operating by himself, without benefit of society. It usually has something to do with some sort of vengeance; he takes care of the vengeance himself, doesn't call the police. Like [[Robin Hood]]. It's the last masculine frontier. Romantic myth. I guess, though it's hard to think about anything romantic today. In a Western you can think, Jesus, there was a time when man was alone, on horseback, out there where man hasn't spoiled the land yet."''|'''[[Clint Eastwood]]''', on the genre that helped shape his career.}}
Any story set in [[The Wild West|the American West]] during the frontier
Perhaps surprisingly, the Western genre is [[Older Than They Think]]; in fact, it ''predates'' the classic Western era. It has its roots in the early 19th century novels of James Fenimore Cooper (set in the then-frontier, which was well east of the Mississippi at the time) and his imitators, as well as 19th century "dime novels"
Westerns made a very early leap to film with ''[[The Great Train Robbery]]'' in 1903, and remained popular throughout the next few decades, though their golden age truly arrived in the 1930s.
Enormously popular on TV and in the [[Movies]] in the 1950s and 1960s: ''[[Gunsmoke]]'', ''[[Bonanza]]'', ''[[Wagon Train]]'', ''[[Rawhide]]'', ''[[Branded]]'', ''[[The Wild Wild West (TV series)|The Wild Wild West]]'', ''[[Have Gun — Will Travel]]'', ''[[The Rifleman]]'', ''[[The Big Valley]]''...
Some of the more recent successful TV examples were ''[[Grizzly Adams]]'' and ''[[Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman]]''.
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There's a [[Wanted Poster]] on every wall and it's [[The Savage South|more savage the further south you go]].
There's an important distinction between the "classic" Western (''[[The Lone Ranger]]''-type stuff) and the "[[Deconstruction|revisionist]]" Western (''[[High Noon]]'', ''[[The Searchers]]'', the ''[[Dollars Trilogy|Dollars]]'' trilogy, ''[[The Wild Bunch]]'', ''[[McCabe and Mrs. Miller]]'', ''[[Unforgiven]]''). The former is shiny and heroic. The latter is [[Darker and Edgier]], and often embodies a paradox: "Civilization can only be defended from barbarians by men with guns, but once you pick up a gun, you are a barbarian." In the 21st century, the distinction seems fuzzy, as most of the "best" (or at least, most fondly-remembered) Westerns are the revisionist
In recent decades the genre was only seen on TV in the form of its hybrid child the [[Space Western]], but it is now enjoying something of a revival with the success of ''[[Deadwood]]'' in 2004. Two networks, according to the British ''[[Radio Times]],'' have new series in development.
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A subtrope of [[Period Piece]]. See also [[Western Characters]] and [[Spaghetti Western]]. Also a reason why [[Small Reference Pools|most people believe]] [[All Deserts Have Cacti]] - the majority of Westerns were filmed at [[Kirk's Rock]].
When a series that isn't
'''Western subgenres'''
* [[Cattle Punk]] =
* [[Space Western]] or [[Wagon Train to the Stars]] =
* [[Weird West]] =
* [[New Old West]] =
* [[Samurai Cowboy]] =
* [[Twilight of the Old West]] =
{{examples}}
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== [[Film]] ==
* See [[
* ''[[The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly]]'', perhaps the best and best-known of the [[Spaghetti Western
** [[A Fistful of Dollars]]
** [[For a Few Dollars More]]
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* [[John Ford]] is perhaps the most important director in the genre, responsible for must-watch films like:
** ''[[Stagecoach]]''
** ''[[Drums Along
** ''[[My Darling Clementine]]''
** ''[[Fort Apache]]''
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* ''[[The Proposition]]'', a western set in Australia
* ''[[Quigley Down Under]]'', another western [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|set in Australia]].
* ''[[Back to
* ''[[An American Tail]]: Fievel Goes West''
* ''[[Young Guns]]'' and sequels
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** Both of them.
* ''[[The Wild Bunch]]''
* ''[[White Sun of the Desert]]''
* ''[[True Grit]]''
* Anthony Mann directed a series of excellent '50s films, starring [[Jimmy Stewart]], that employed elements of [[Film Noir]] in an Old West setting.
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** ''The Far Country''
** ''The Man from Laramie''
* Deconstructions such as ''[[McCabe and Mrs. Miller]]'' and ''[[
* ''[[Tombstone]]''
* Known for epitomizing the hero of the modern [[Western]], [[Clint Eastwood]] directed quite a few of them as well:
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** ''[[High Plains Drifter]]''
* ''[[The Treasure of the Sierra Madre]]''. Unfortunately, most modern audiences only know it for the line "We don't need no [[Beam Me Up, Scotty|stinking]] badges!" as relayed through ''[[Blazing Saddles]]''.
* [[The Bonn Republic|West German]] movies based upon the work of author Karl May, like ''[[
** The German comedy ''[[Der Schuh des Manitu]]'' is a grand spoof of these movies.
** The [[DEFA Westerns]], their [[East Germany|East German]] counterparts.
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* ''[[Crush Proof]]'' is a dark western set in 1980s Ireland.
* ''[[The Burrowers]]''
* ''[[The Warrior's
* ''[[Maverick (film)|Maverick]]'', a rare example of a western comedy.
* ''[[3:10 to Yuma]]'' was a 1957 western film which was remade in 2007.
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* ''[[Posse (film)|Posse]]'', a 1993 western directed by Mario Van Peebles.
* ''[[Django]]''
== [[Literature]] ==
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* ''[[Justified (TV series)|Justified]]'' - A modern day Western of sorts set in Kentucky.
* ''[[Little House on the Prairie (TV series)|Little House On the Prairie]]'', a classic Western [[Family Drama]]
* ''[[The Adventures of Brisco County Jr]]'' :
* ''[[The Dakotas]]''
* ''[[The Wild Wild West (TV series)|The Wild Wild West]]'': The western meets [[James Bond]].
* ''[[Branded]]'' :
* ''[[The Lone Ranger]]'' : The TV show is the Ranger's best-known incarnation, but he had previously appeared in novels and on radio, and has since appeared in comics, film, and animation.
* ''[[Have Gun — Will Travel]]''
* ''[[Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman]]'', another rare example of a Western [[Family Drama]] [[X Meets Y|slash]] [[Nineties Adventure Show]]
* ''[[Lonesome Dove]]'', an adaptation of the book.
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* ''Frontier Town''
* ''[[Gunsmoke]]''
* ''[[Have Gun — Will Travel]]''
* ''Hopalong Cassidy''
* ''[[The Lone Ranger]]''
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* ''[[Champions]]'' supplement ''Western Hero''
* ''[[GURPS]] Old West''
* ''[[wikipedia:Aces
* TSR's ''[[wikipedia:Boot Hill (role-playing game)|Boot Hill]]''
* ''Sidewinder: Wild West Adventures'' (d20) by Citizen Games
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* ''[[Outlaws (1997 video game)]]''
* ''[[Sunset Riders]]''
* the ''Desperados'' series of ''[[Commandos]]''-
* the ''1866'' [[Game Mod]] for ''[[Mount & Blade]]''
* the earliest example is probably the 1975 [[Midway Games]] arcade game ''Gun Fight''
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* The ''Westward'' series by Sandlot Interactive, excluding ''Westward Kingdoms''(set in medieval times)
* ''Gun.Smoke'' (Capcom game unrelated to the TV series)
* ''Smokin'Guns'' - [[Quake]] 3 mod [http://www.smokin-guns.org/ ].
== [[Western Animation]] ==
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[[Category:The Wild West]]
[[Category:The Great Depression]]
[[Category:
[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
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