Really enjoying these film reviews, thanks muchly! I don't have much time for watching movies, but this one seems intriguing.
This is kind of meta, but . . . what are your thoughts on why the Western genre has captivated American artists, writers, and audiences the way it has? Is it just a holdover from when there was an untamed west left to explore and settle? Or is the West in ideal venue for exhibiting qualities that our national psyche finds virtuous, i.e. toughness, fortitude, courage, etc., that aren't typically thought of as "city" virtues? I notice that romcoms, which are usually set in cities, don't often portray a character having to exhibit courageousness. On the other hand, superhero movies often do, and they are frequently set in cities. What do you think?
I know that early western movies dazzled audiences with panoramas of America's west. Remember, this was a time when travel was difficult and expensive. Commercial flights were not a thing yet. Outside of pictures in a book, a movie theater was the only way many people could see these vistas. And what a sight it must have been on that huge screen! John Ford made excellent use of panoramas.
Without doing more research, I would guess Americans are infatuated with the romantic mythology of the west. This mythology was created by dime novelists who exaggerated or lied about what really happened. But that doesn't matter; the lie is too delicious.
I am reminded of my favorite John Wayne film, The Cowboys (1972). Wayne is standing off with a cattle rustler. He says, "I'm thirty years older than you are. I had my back broke once, and my hip twice. And on my worst day I could beat the hell out of you." Who doesn't love that, melodramatic or not?
The comparison to superhero movies is a smart one. Both are myths told and retold ad nauseum. The Magnificent Seven, for example, has many iterations including a Japanese film called (I think) The Seven Samurai. Like Hercules and Prometheus before them, Superman and Rooster Cogburn will live on forever albeit in new guises.
As for city versus country, I can only say the untamed west may symbolize the border (or frontier) of order and chaos. Jordan Peterson conceptualizes chaos and order as freedom and responsibility, or anarchy and tyranny respectively. He says the best place to be is with one foot in each mode of being. The frontier is exactly that kind of place.
Really enjoying these film reviews, thanks muchly! I don't have much time for watching movies, but this one seems intriguing.
This is kind of meta, but . . . what are your thoughts on why the Western genre has captivated American artists, writers, and audiences the way it has? Is it just a holdover from when there was an untamed west left to explore and settle? Or is the West in ideal venue for exhibiting qualities that our national psyche finds virtuous, i.e. toughness, fortitude, courage, etc., that aren't typically thought of as "city" virtues? I notice that romcoms, which are usually set in cities, don't often portray a character having to exhibit courageousness. On the other hand, superhero movies often do, and they are frequently set in cities. What do you think?
I know that early western movies dazzled audiences with panoramas of America's west. Remember, this was a time when travel was difficult and expensive. Commercial flights were not a thing yet. Outside of pictures in a book, a movie theater was the only way many people could see these vistas. And what a sight it must have been on that huge screen! John Ford made excellent use of panoramas.
Without doing more research, I would guess Americans are infatuated with the romantic mythology of the west. This mythology was created by dime novelists who exaggerated or lied about what really happened. But that doesn't matter; the lie is too delicious.
I am reminded of my favorite John Wayne film, The Cowboys (1972). Wayne is standing off with a cattle rustler. He says, "I'm thirty years older than you are. I had my back broke once, and my hip twice. And on my worst day I could beat the hell out of you." Who doesn't love that, melodramatic or not?
The comparison to superhero movies is a smart one. Both are myths told and retold ad nauseum. The Magnificent Seven, for example, has many iterations including a Japanese film called (I think) The Seven Samurai. Like Hercules and Prometheus before them, Superman and Rooster Cogburn will live on forever albeit in new guises.
As for city versus country, I can only say the untamed west may symbolize the border (or frontier) of order and chaos. Jordan Peterson conceptualizes chaos and order as freedom and responsibility, or anarchy and tyranny respectively. He says the best place to be is with one foot in each mode of being. The frontier is exactly that kind of place.