Film Studies 1020E Lecture Notes - William Wyler, Wagon Train, Socalled
29 Apr 2014
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In his famous treatise, the significance of the frontier in american history (1894), American historian frederick jackson turner claimed that the western frontier was the essential influence on the shaping of the distinctive american national character. French critic andre bazin described the western as. The typical western narrative, set on the precarious border between civilization and lawlessness, is perfectly suited from dramatizing what john g. cawelti calls the epic moment" of american history (1985) The genres binary opposition of wilderness and civilization has allowed for a richness of interpretation about the nature of american society. The term binary opposition is drawn from structuralism criticism to describe tow conflicting aspects of a culture as expressed in cultural myths and texts. The western commonly deals with the tension between individualism and social responsibility. The western hero is a tragic figure who often operates by his own moral code which transcends the more pragmatic values of the townsfolk, whom he must protect.
