Love a Good Western

I love a good Western. These days it is fairly uncommon to hear that phrase amongst the youth demographic, but for me Westerns are my favorite genre of film. In fact, The Searchers tops my list of best Westerns. Recently there has been a resurgence of Western genre films, the Coen's remake of True Grit, which I thought was splendid, spurred the genre back to life. (Now others may consider some earlier Westerns to be the rejuvenator, but True Grit is where I will start my timeline.) The critical acclaim that this film had opened the doors to make Westerns relevant.

It was after this film that we began to see a callback to the times when Westerns were one of America's favorite genres. However, the Westerns that we see presently all seem to build on some edgier aspect, whether it's Cowboys And Aliens or Django Unchained, Westerns have become more sensationalistic. The use of shootouts is not new, but the action and pacing of these Westerns I think is noticeably stronger and faster than The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. These neo-Westerns seem to be less about the battle between the wilderness and civilization, and more about the protagonist and his side-arm.

I think that this approach to the Western genre has reignited our heros though. More than likely these films appeal to young men, and heros from these Westerns are being recognized as cool. From my own personal experience, though I really didn't care for Cowboys And Aliens, my young cousins loved it. At ages 11, 9, and 6, they played outside with their homemade Alien wristbands and six-shooters. This sensational approach seems to make cowboys other than Woody appeal to young kids again. I grew up playing Davy Crocket with my brothers and replaying his death at the Alamo over and over again. So Westerns hold a soft-spot in my heart and my a strong attachment to my identity. It may be nostalgia clouding my judgment, or the fact that I am 22, but it feels good to me that I can see a younger generation growing up with something that is of their time and still reflective of the genre that I love.

I'm interested to see where the Western genre will go next. A few shorts and feature films have been released or announced recently and I am excited to see how they approach it. I hope in the future that I will be able to make a film myself that is reminiscent of my love for Westerns. Overall I am just content with Westerns being back in the spotlight.