Conventions of a Western
The Western is a typically American genre that is based off of its own historical context. The films are usually set in the late 18th century and are in the Western area of North America. They are usually filmed here too. This is because there is a lot of space here and it is cheap. More modern westerns sometimes break this trend by going into more urban areas. This is visible in No Country for Old Men.
Western films tend to follow the trend of Cowboys vs Indians or West vs East. Although it has become a lot more complex than that now with more rivalries in motion. Some of which include Train vs Horse, community vs individual and culture vs nature. Most westerns include some sort of a revenge plot which usually leads up to a conclusive gunfight between the protagonist characters. One of the most popular movie scenes of all time is the ending of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly which is a showdown between three men.
There is a sense of irony to American Western films, the same kind of irony that occurs on thanksgiving in the USA. This is because most western films usually portray the American cowboys as the heroes and the Indians as the villains, when in reality it was the cowboys who took the Indians' land in history.
The main area in the West for the movie are usually a new and undeveloped town which is very basic. There are usually wooden living areas and it has a very old fashioned feel to it even for the 18th century. Furthermore, there are usually some reoccurring features of mis-en-scene in western films. These include items such as guns (which are very popular) and clothing items such as hats and boots.
Western films tend to follow the trend of Cowboys vs Indians or West vs East. Although it has become a lot more complex than that now with more rivalries in motion. Some of which include Train vs Horse, community vs individual and culture vs nature. Most westerns include some sort of a revenge plot which usually leads up to a conclusive gunfight between the protagonist characters. One of the most popular movie scenes of all time is the ending of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly which is a showdown between three men.
There is a sense of irony to American Western films, the same kind of irony that occurs on thanksgiving in the USA. This is because most western films usually portray the American cowboys as the heroes and the Indians as the villains, when in reality it was the cowboys who took the Indians' land in history.
The main area in the West for the movie are usually a new and undeveloped town which is very basic. There are usually wooden living areas and it has a very old fashioned feel to it even for the 18th century. Furthermore, there are usually some reoccurring features of mis-en-scene in western films. These include items such as guns (which are very popular) and clothing items such as hats and boots.
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