Myth of the Western: New Perspectives on Hollywood's Frontier Narrative by Matthew Carter

by Matthew Carter

Myth of the Western re-invigorates the debate surrounding the relationship between the Western and frontier mythology, arguing for the importance of the genres socio-cultural, historical and political dimensions.

Hardcover

First published January 1, 2014

Reviews

[Drew Powell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quite simply one of the best critical studies of the western I have ever read, maybe even the best. Matthew Carter challenges the rigid, simplistic categorizations that have defined the majority of western genre scholarship. Traditionally it has been thought that westerns made before 1960 were simple and naive; promoting and celebrating the myth of the west. Meanwhile, in the 60s and onward westerns became more complex and actively critiqued the myth. Through formal analysis of films and genre scholarship, Carter offers the alternative thesis that numerous westerns before 1960 were actually critical of the western. If they weren't full on revisionist, they were at the very least complex, ambivalent texts that held contradictory feelings towards the myth (both celebratory and critical). The myth of the west and western history are often thought of as being completely separate but in fact they are intertwined. Carter argues that western films are about historiography as well as myth. Carter also contends that certain westerns lauded as "revisionist" may not be as complex and revisionist as their critical reputation suggests.

Be warned, this is not a comprehensive history of the genre and it doesn't shed light on underrated or underrepresented films. Instead it offers alternative interpretations of well known texts: Shane, The Searchers, Unforgiven etc. It's scholarly and pretty theory heavy but Carter writes in such an accessible manner and includes lots of textual analysis.