Unit+Four+Key+Concepts

=Key Concepts as They Apply to the Western Genre of Film= ===**You will need to relate these concepts to western films, not just give a dictionary definition.**===


 * Landscape as Character:** Classic Western directors like John Ford tried to give the settings of their stories specific traits, to give the viewer a feeling directly related to the setting. An example is in "The Searchers"; Ethan's family lived in a barren, dangerous, alien place that was far away from cities. Many Westerns choose this kind of setting in an attempt to exaggerate the danger and insecurity held between the settlers, soldiers, natives, and outlaws of Western mythology.


 * Monument Valley:** Located on the northern border of Arizona with southern Utah. The location was used to film the movie "Stagecoach". Was used in many of John Fords films one being "The Searchers". This location was often used in movies set outside of the states it was actually in largely for the purpose of giving the landscape character and a sense of insurmountable vastness.


 * Depiction of Native Americans:** Natives who attack anybody who goes through their territory, any member of the peoples living in North or South America before the Europeans arrived. In the movie, "The Searchers", the Indians capture a young girl because she went through their territory. They ended up raising her to be a young Indian.


 * Storytelling with Images:** Often referred to as digital storytelling, is a short form of digital film making that allows everyday people to share aspects of their life story.


 * Morality Play-** A type of drama written between the 14th and 16th centuries concerned with the conflict between personified virtues and vices. It exhibits a struggle between good and evil and offers a moral lesson. Was found in Stagecoach as it explored social classes and how people looked down upon others just for their occupation.


 * Rugged Individualism:** Individualism in social and economical affairs. Used by Herbert Hoover during his time as President. An individual should be able to help themselves out without government interfering in people's economic lives. Hoover emphizes that it is not a form of laissez-faire.


 * The Loner-** An American western series that barely ran for a year on CBS from 1965 to 1966. It was created by Rod Serling under the sponsorship of Phillip Morris and Procter & Gamble. It was set directly after the American Civil war. Lloyd Bridges plays as William Colton, a former Union Calvary officer who travels to the west to start over. A Western archetype in which the hero stands up for himself and does not rely on anyone else. Clint Eastwood often played this role in his movies.


 * The Reluctant Hero-** The hero may refuse the adventure or deny the ability to move beyond the status quo. In the movie "High Noon", Gary Cooper refuses to leave his town, even when he knows 3 peoples are coming to kill him in that town.


 * Westward Expansion-** United States acquired new territory in the west and Americans began heading westward to settle these undeveloped lands. Western films often show characters traveling across the west and settling in the new territory.


 * Outlaws-**The bad people in the western movies that want to hurt or stop the good guys. A person who has broken the law, esp. one who remains at large or is a fugitive.


 * Freedom-** You don't owe any time or money to any one, and you can do what ever you want that is legal. Freedom is a right in the US and it cannot be taken from you from the moment your life begins till death.


 * Violence-** Anything that relates to evil or bad is violence. There is a lot of violence in some of these movies, including "The Magnificent 7" and "High Noon".


 * Western Archetypes-** Buildings that are old and rusitc looking. Western archetypes are reoccurring themes in films such as the sheriff versus the bandit or a heroic cowboy who saves a town.


 * Frontier Justice:** A form of punishment motivated by dissatisfaction of justice. Lynching and gunfighting are forms of Frontier Justice. Also means taking the law to your own hands, evangelizing.


 * Racism in Westerns:** Many cowboys in the hollywood movies were very racist towards African Americas and especially Native Americans. Even if they were only partially Native American they were very racist.


 * Spaghetti Westerns:** It is a nickname for a broad sub-genre of western films that emerged in the 1960s. themes of spaghetti westerns were in the Mexican revolution.


 * Western Fiction:** Is a genre of literature set in older western movies where the stories are fake and made to glorify the west into a heroirc atmosphere and to exemplify good and bad.