Contemporary Western

Contemporary Western is a sub-genre of the Western genre that includes contemporary settings and use Old West themes, archetypes, and motifs, such as a rebellious antihero, open plains and desert landscapes, or gunfights. This sub-genre also includes the Post-Western, neo-Western, Urban Western genres with modern settings and "the cowboy cult" that involve the audience's feelings and understanding of Western movies.[1] The contemporary Western "partly involves attempting to combine or reconcile the conventions of an older popular form with those of contemporary cinema."[2]: 127  A neo-Western can be said to use Western themes set in the present day.[2]: 62  According to Stephen Teo in Eastern Westerns: Film and Genre Outside and Inside Hollywood, there is little difference between the Neo-Western and Post-Western, and the terms may often be used interchangeably.[3]: 96 

Setting

Some neo-Westerns still take place in the American West and reveal the progression of the Old West mentality into the late 20th and early 21st centuries. This subgenre often features Old West-type characters struggling with displacement in a "civilized" world that rejects their outdated brand of justice. However, the Contemporary Western need not be limited to the traditional American West setting. Coogan's Bluff and Midnight Cowboy are examples of Urban Westerns set in New York City.[1]: 148–149  The Neo-Western television series Justified is set in Eastern Kentucky.[4]

Motif and themes

Taylor Sheridan's filmography can be used as a template to identify what being a neo-Western means, with three identifying themes. First is the lack of rules, with morals guided by the character's or audience's instincts of right and wrong rather than by governance. The second is characters searching for justice. The third theme, characters feeling remorse, connects the neo-Western to the broader Western genre, reinforcing a universal theme that consequences come with actions.[5] Other conventions of the genre include "virility and thus patriarchal rights... secured through public performances of competence; and competence, in turn, is measured and proven in (successful) acts of violence."[6]

Development

Beginning in the postwar era, radio dramas such as Tales of the Texas Rangers (1950–1952), with Joel McCrea, a contemporary detective drama set in Texas, featured many of the characteristics of traditional Westerns.[7] In this period, Post-Western precursors to the modern neo-Western films began to appear. This includes films such as Nicholas Ray's The Lusty Men (1952) and John Sturges's Bad Day at Black Rock (1955).[8]: 56  Examples of the modern "first phase" of neo-Westerns include films such as Lonely Are the Brave (1962) and Hud (1963).[8]: 324  The popularity of the subgenre has been resurgent since the release of Joel and Ethan Coen's No Country for Old Men (2007).[5]

The subgenre can also be seen in television in shows such as Breaking Bad. According to Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan, "After the first Breaking Bad episode, it started to dawn on me that we could be making a contemporary Western. So you see scenes that are like gunfighters squaring off, like Clint Eastwood and Lee van Cleef—we have Walt and others like that."[9]

Many so-called "space Westerns" can be classed within the neo-Western genre, as well, particularly if the science fiction elements are of secondary importance to the Western characteristics of the plotlines. Some well-known examples include the original TV series Star Trek (1966–1969), the film Mad Max (1979), and the Joss Whedon TV series Firefly (2002).[10]

List of Contemporary Westerns
This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

This list is not exhaustive. It includes major films and television labelled contemporary Western, neo-Western, Post-Western, or Urban Western. The list highlights the media released to illustrate the development of the concept over time.

Films

Television

References
  1. French, Philip (2005). Westerns : aspects of a movie genre ; and, Westerns revisited. Manchester: Carcanet. p. 84. ISBN 1-85754-747-0. OCLC 57484960.
  2. Broughton, Lee (2016-09-19). Critical Perspectives on the Western: From A Fistful of Dollars to Django Unchained. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-4422-7243-9.
  3. Teo, Stephen (2017). Eastern westerns : film and genre outside and inside Hollywood. Abingdon, Oxon. ISBN 978-1-317-59226-6. OCLC 968926905.
  4. Hale, Mike (January 19, 2015). "A Wry Comedy of Manners in Kentucky Coal Country". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 13, 2023. another gun-happy neo-western, 'Justified' has been true to its Elmore Leonard roots
  5. Teti, Julia (January 2, 2018). "How Taylor Sheridan's Films Define The Neo-Western". The Playlist. Archived from the original on 2020-04-12. Retrieved 2020-04-12.
  6. Redding, Aurthur (2016-02-16). "Built Ford Tough: The Sincerity of John Ford and the Persistence of the American Western". In Stoddart, Scott F. (ed.). The New Western: Critical Essays on the Genre Since 9/11. McFarland & Company. p. 17. ISBN 978-0-7864-7928-3.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  7. Dunning, John (1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio. Oxford University Press. pp. 652–653. ISBN 0-19-507678-8.
  8. Campbell, Neil (2013). Post-westerns : cinema, region, West. Lincoln. ISBN 978-1-4619-3720-3. OCLC 856584709.
  9. "Contemporary Western: An interview with Vince Gilligan". News. United States: Local iQ. 2013-03-27. Archived from the original on 2013-04-03. Retrieved 2013-05-31.
  10. Lynley (May 11, 2017). "Westerns, Anti-Westerns, and Neo-Westerns". Slap Happy Larry. Retrieved 2022-11-10.
  11. McVeigh, Stephen (2007). The American Western. Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 978-0-7486-2140-8.
  12. Umland, Rebecca (2016). Outlaw Heroes as Liminal Figures of Film. McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-1-4766-2351-1.
  13. Hughes, Howard (2007-10-24). Stagecoach to Tombstone: The Filmgoers' Guide to the Great Westerns. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-0-85773-046-6.
  14. Sherlock, Ben (November 10, 2019). "10 Smartest Neo-Westerns To Watch If You Like No Country For Old Men". Screen Rant. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
  15. Pierce-Bohen, Kayleena (January 12, 2023). "The Old Way Is Nicolas Cage's First Western". Screen Rant.
  16. Murray, Noel (December 17, 2021). "With '1883,' Taylor Sheridan Expands His Western Empire". New York Times. Retrieved January 31, 2023. Before Taylor Sheridan became the Academy Award-nominated screenwriter of the 2016 neo-western "Hell or High Water"...
  17. Matheson, Sue (2020-07-31). Women in the Western. Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 978-1-4744-4416-3.
  18. Cotter, Padraig (January 7, 2023). "Clint Eastwood's Movie Wish Could Break An Incredible Director Record". Screen Rant.
  19. Young, Kai (January 29, 2023). "Nope's Oscar Snub Makes The Movie's Plot Mirror A Real-Life Issue". Screen Rant.
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