Marija Dalbello Western (fiction, film, etc.) Rutgers School of Communication, Information, and Library Studies Image credit: Victor GAD

Western _______________________________________ “The appeal of this genre is worldwide, based in a dream of freedom in a world of unspoiled nature, a world independent of the trammels of restraining society. The hero dominates the western: competent, self-reliant and self-sufficient, whether in conflict with nature, with man, or with himself. This most enduring of genres appeals to readers of all cultures, even those far removed geographically from the West of the United States, even those to whom its history and life modes are alien. For example, there is a Wild West in Asia in the nineteenth century. Not content with translations of US westerns, the Germans (Karl May in the nineteenth century), Scandinavians, and Britons write their own. Why this universal appeal?” (Rosenberg, in Herald 2000, 267)

Western _______________________________________ “When a man with a 45 meets a man with a rifle you sait that a man with a pistol is a dead man. Let’s see if that’s true. Go ahead, load up and shoot.” “When a man has money in his pocket he begins to appreciate peace.” (Clint Eastwood, in For a Fistful of Dollars)

Western _______________________________________ The literature of “gigantic coming-of age-plot” Western expresses a need to be reunited with nature, and a drive to subdue and often kill around an analogue to the child within; suffering of the hero (materialistic, antifeminist, secular, represents conflict in the public sphere; problems brought by industrialization & modernization historical or frontier fiction 19th century dime novels debates surround the survival of this genre Western bestsellers are dominated by “dead guys”: 25% on current lists by Louis L’Amour Larry McMurtrie the only living author in 2000 other authors: Zane Grey, Max Brand still published today Forge imprints for classic westerns soft porn series like Lone Star and Long Arm YA and juvenile categories most active category university presses becoming active in publishing Westerns (set in their respective states) evangelical publishers: the West as fertile setting for their historicals (Bethany House, Crosway, Multinomah) access: problem for finding the titles if shelved in YA and juvenile sections; problems when shelved with the general fiction