The Power Of Westerns (Part 2)
Manifest Destiny and American Exceptionalism The idea that Americans were destined (by God) to settle the west was in many, many early westerns considered a positive. Native Americans were demonized and the white, so-called civilized culture of the eastern states was shown to be beneficent to the land. That view changed slowly as westerns […]
The Power Of Westerns (Part 1)
From the late 1930s to the mid-60s westerns as movies and television ruled the box office and ratings ranks. Legends like directors Howard Hawks, John Ford, Sam Peckinpah, Sergio Leone, and actors Clint Eastwood, John Wayne, Gary Cooper, Barbara Stanwyck, and a raft of others became superstars. Then, depending on who you ask, genre-fatigue, changing […]
