Myth and Established Genre...'Western'

The 'Western' was the earliest established genre known to the world of film. Its has had some infamous directors and titles such as Clint Eastwood with his classic 'Unforgiven' (1992), John Ford with 'The Searchers' (1956) and Sergio Leone with 'Once Upon a Time in the West' (1968). These men greatly influenced the world and most definitely the media of today. The history of the Western derives solely from America's history and its development in the early ages of the cowboys and red Indians in the 16th century onwards. When the original white men discovered the Native Americans they became known over time as 'The Founding Fathers' who were puritan in belief. They settled in the East and in the 17th century developed the train. This enabled them to travel West over the Rocky Mountains and further discover the world of the Native Americans. This area became known as 'The Wild West' due to the confrontation between the Founders and the Natives. It became known as the 'Promised Land' with the dream of 'freedom under one God'. This myth inspired directors and writers into making and producing films that formed the category 'The Western' that re-lives classic moments of history or simply portrays the day to day life and excitement of the Wild West. More Western films were made from 1910 - 1960 than any other genre of films to this day. Therefore, although the Western was the first established genre of all times, it is now thought of as an exhausted genre and not many new Westerns are made in the current film industry.

The opening of 'Once Upon A Time In The West' - Sergio Leone (1969)

• 'Once Upon A Time In The West' intertextualises other Westerns, the writers took lines out of other films and put them into 'Once Upon...' in places that had maximum focus of the audience and usually in ironic situations to ensure fully that the viewer would realise.
• It is a very post-modern film as at the time it was made, it upset mainstream conventions of traditional narrative structure and characterisation.
• The power of the western characters is purely mythical as the original strength and fear that the settlers had over the natives has been exaggerated in time and the connotations of cowboys and their power now stand as far superior to the actual power they originally possessed.
• The shot at approximately ... through the doorway looking out to the wild west is one of the most famous shots out of all western films. It is testament to John Ford, he's a director that follows the Auteur theory whereby the film reflects the directors creative vision.
• The juxtaposition of extreme close-ups and long shots used quickly within the same scene increases tension and apprehension in the mind of the viewer and intensifies the meaning behind the actions of the characters.
• The opening of the film is mostly complete silence which portrays the barren landscape and also creates suspicion and apprehension. When the fly lands on the man's face, this silence is exaggerated, furthermore this moment contrasts sharply to the arrival of the train which represents civilisation: a completely different emphasis to the barren, lifeless landscape previously shown.