Rules of a Western

[alanajoli]

coffeeem had an excellent entry yesterday about expanding the Western as a genre. It made me think about what I've been doing lately with Cowboys and Aliens and how I stumbled over the genre at the very beginning.

When I first started talking about the Cowboys and Aliens gig with Jeremy Mohler (who I also work with on Baeg Tobar), I got to thinking about what a Western is, and how adding aliens, in fact, breaks a lot of rules. The first volume of Cowboys and Aliens (which is still available on DrunkDuck as well s in print) does a really stellar opening comparing the invading aliens to the Euro-American "invaders" of the West, and while I loved that imagery, continuing too far along that path leads to potentially demonizing the heroes. So what does it mean to be in a Western that's also Sci-Fi (as opposed to a Space Western, which is a separate genre itself).

The first thing I did when I realized I was having trouble conceptualizing the new story was write to Jamie Hutchinson, my Literature of the American West professor. It had been maybe eight years since I took his class, and I needed a refresher. His e-mail was stunningly helpful.

"Is it meant to be satirical and parodic (can it help but be satirical and parodic?)? If I were you, I'd watch a bunch of classic western films to get a feel for the typical plots and characters. Is it cowboys and Indians you're after? Gunfighters? Settlers and pioneers? Coming of age? Tall in the saddle (moral courage)? The passing of the west? The quest for freedom and independence? Anti-heroes? Outsiders? Gamblers and reprobates? Land of opportunity? Wilderness as threatening? Morally uplifting? A MAN'S world? A white man's world? Don't fence me in?"

Suddenly, my notions of the Western, having condensed after eight years away from the course, expanded dramatically. The genre is important, of course--the West is a setting--but focusing on the tropes is less helpful than focusing on the themes and those aspects that clearly reveal those themes. When the themes--the core--of the genre are the focus, there's far more room to play with the tropes. I hope this means the genre still has a lot of life, whether in the Old West or in space, as I don't think I'll ever stop enjoying it.

Comments

[eriksdb.livejournal.com]

What an excellent entry.

So is Firefly/Serenity a Western that is also SciFi, or a Space Western?

On another point:

I fancy that Ghostwalker was a little like a western in fantasy's clothing.

Though perhaps the women were too prominent. Can't see Clint Eastwood getting all kissy-kiss with a hot redhead. :)

Cheers

[alanajoli.livejournal.com]

I could see John Wayne with one, though. He did play opposite Katherine Hepburn after all... ;)

Firefly/Serenity is typically classified as Space Western where I've seen such qualifications made. My supposition is that any Western-styled story that takes place in outer space will earn that classification from people who feel like narrowing that particular genre. There's a whole site dedicated to Space Westerns now, and they mostly feature Firefly, Cowboy Beebop, and Trigun from what I've seen thus far--along with new original work.

Actually, your telling me that Ghostwalker was a Western/Fantasy hybrid is what made me buy it. ;)

[eriksdb.livejournal.com]

Oh, John Wayne gets around--there's no contest there. ;)

I tell people that it's a fantasy western and they get all intrigued. Then I say "picture a young Clint Eastwood in a black cloak with a sword, and you've got the main character." Then they buy it.

Score!

Cheers

[jeff-duntemann.livejournal.com]

I don't recall where I read the definition, but the most concise way I could describe the Western is: "A tale of a new society coalescing in a sparsely populated land." Nothing in the society is routine, social hierarchies are still forming, opportunities are wide open, and the population front precedes the reach of centralized authority.

That said, I'm a bit of a strict constructionist on Westerns. The culture (and the metaphysics, if the story has any depth and you look closely) has a Celtic flavor and reflects a very particular level of technology. Machinery is scarce and expensive, and large animals are still an everyday part of life. (Today, most urbanites gasp when they see anything larger than a dog without bars in the way.)

What we may only be beginning to understand is that the American experience was special in some peculiar ways. North America may have been heavily populated by indigenous peoples before 1500, and by the time the English/Scots/Irish arrived in force circa 1620, a century of smallpox and other diseases brought by the Spanish had reduced the indigenous population by 90% or more. Had this not happened, the European settlement of North America would have been much slower-and a lot uglier.

An interesting question then becomes, What would European settlement have been like if there had been no indigenous people at all? I'm exploring that in the Drumlins universe, where there are no Indians and no (present) aliens, but leftover alien equipment that the unlettered settlers learn to use and quickly take for granted. My theory: The Indians were a unifying influence on the English-speaking Europeans, and in their absence the proto-Americans might have split into more factions and fought among themselves a great deal more.

"Western" is also code for "libertarian politics," and one way to avoid Trekkish political correctness.

Time's up tonight; must make dinner.

[alanajoli.livejournal.com]

I agree on all counts, though I don't think I'd have been as eloquent. ;) While I'm writing for C&A, despite the fact that the storyline is going to take us all over the place, I want it to *feel* like a Western--which I think is that sense of culture, "libertarian politics," and sense of what's important. coffeeem has been talking a lot about people finding their place in the world because the world where they lived before wouldn't have 'em. Now that they've gone West, they've made good. I think that's another great theme to work with.

I also think that the idea that Seven Samurai could become The Magnificent Seven and they both work as great movies bears some consideration. I'm not sure what it implies yet, but it strikes me as significant.