It is a common assertion that the history of America is written in its Westerns, but how true is this?
In this guidebook John White discusses the evolution of the Western through history and looks at theoretical and critical approaches to Westerns such as genre analysis, semiotics, representation, ideology, discourse analysis, narrative, realism, auteur and star theory, psychoanalytical theory, postmodernism and audience response. The book includes case studies of 8 key westerns:
Stagecoach
My Darling Clementine
Shane
The Good, The Bad and the Ugly
McCabe and Mrs Miller
Unforgiven
Brokeback Mountain
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Including a chronology of significant events for the Western genre, a glossary and further reading, this introduction to an important genre in film studies is a great guide for students.
