Western Genre

The Western

Eda Aydin

• Late 19th Century in the American Old West(1865-1890)• First Western Film “The Great Train Robbery” - 1903

Theme

Civilization Wilderness

Law Enforcement Upstanding CitizensEstablished Railways

OutlawsReckless cowboysNative AmericansWide open setting

Theme• Action• Good vs. Bad (Clear)• Moral taleRight and wrong• The loner (comes to town)Ex. Brings CivilizationEx. Saves somebody• Cultural separation of the East and the West• Conflict- Cowboys and Indians• Outlaws

Iconography

• Indian tribal clothing• The Stereotypical “Cowboy”VestsJeansBig belt buckles Cowboy hatRevolver Rides a horse

Setting

• untamed frontier• an open landscape of mountain ranges• Small town (One main street, location)

Motif

• Isolation• Bad vs. GoodBad: “dirty look” – music Good: clean looking

Cinematic Style

• Long shots (From great distance)-> introduce setting-> isolated landscapes(set the mood)

Lighting

• ShadowsLow key- create shadows & long shadows• Lighting• Contrast of good and badEx.Good guy- gets all the light, not many shadowsBad guy- lighting is dim, many dark shadows

Sound

• Gun shots (key)• Silence- isolated setting• Entrance- Bad guyMusic- tension

Bibliography• "What Are the Characteristics of the Western Genre?" WiseGEEK. N.p.,

n.d. Web. 06 Dec. 2014. <http://www.wisegeek.org/what-are-the-characteristics-of-the-western-genre.htm>.

• "Film Genres - Overview 2.0." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 06 Dec. 2014. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Na8knLkdEAg>.

• "Westerns Films." Westerns Films. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Dec. 2014. <http://www.filmsite.org/westernfilms.html>.

• "Western." Genre:. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Dec. 2014. <http://thescriptlab.com/screenplay/genre/western>.

• "History Of The Western." History Of The Western. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Dec. 2014. <http://www.slideshare.net/RSJones/history-of-the-western?qid=7728a753-72fa-429e-9359-6419e90824cb&v=qf1&b=&from_search=3>.