Genre Research

Institutional conventions – how is genre marketed
Film sample #1 – include analysis of how this film embodies your genre
Film sample #2 – include analysis of how this film embodies your genre
List of 5-7 other film examples within the genre (with links or images of these examples)

A remnant of a bygone era "Westerns".


The Western genre is one that has seemingly fallen out of favor with modern audiences unlike other genres such as horror or drama it seems it did not manage to stay relevant with audiences and get new productions constantly made. There is however some directors still continuing the genre most notably Queintin Tarantino.


The Western genre is normally targeted toward the male audience. Before in the 40s 50s and 60s, it was targeted to young men but due to the genre's lack of ability to appeal to younger audiences, Westerners now tend to target older audiences who remember growing up in the genre. However a good example of a modern western would be Django Unchained by Quentin Tarantino as it won 2 out of five Academy Award nominations and made 425.4 million dollars of a 100 million dollar budget at the box office.


The western conventions when it comes to content are very present. With there are about seven basic plots to all Western films according to Frank Guber. There are Union Pacific stories that center around the construction of some sort of modern technology, Ranch stories with the plot usually following a Ranch as it risks it being bought, Empire stories that follow a Rag to Riches story with the start of some sort of oil or ranch business, Revenge stories, stories following outlaws, stories following law Marshals and Calvary and Indian stories which is now discredited as offensive as it depicts a 'taming' of the wilderness.


The production techniques used in westerns are key to getting the feel of the genre right. Key elements include Mis-en-Scene factors such as the wardrobe trying to look and feel from within the historical period and then locations in actual deserts and plains. Also very important is the set design with most western films having the facade of one or multiple western outpost cities where most of the scenes are shot. The typical color palette for a western is very warm earth tones to match the usually dry every moment where these films are typically shot. Finally, there is the cinematography with them using lots of medium shots and for depicting duels usually close up of the character's faces than their guns before any shootout scene happens.


The Western sought to be marketed as capturing the American mythos. Most western movies where advertise real American epics that not only entertained their male target audience but manged to capture the soul of that specific time period in a film. A lot of the advertising surrounding western productions would use phrases such as "American Legends".


A classic example of a western movie would be The Good the Bad and the Ugly. Starring clint eastwood The Good the Bad and the ugly truly does embody the western Genre almost perfectly with it being an outlaw story which is of course one of the 7 discussed plots. Then also visually the entire film's color pallet is very much in the warm earth tones category. All elements of costume design and elaborate sets are also to be seen within this movie.


A more modern example of a western film would be Django Unchained. While at first, it might seem unconventional that it follows a former slave turned bounty hunter it very much has a lot of the common aspects of this genre. It is a revenge story with Django wanting to take revenge n those who took his wife from him, and the elaborate costume and set design are very much so to the standard of the genre. It also does embody a sort of "American Mythos" it tells an inspiring tale of a former slave getting revenge.


Other examples of western movies would be: Fistful of Dollars, Once Upon a time in the West, For a Few Dollars More, Hateful Eight, Django, The Big Gundown

 Hello,

My name is Marcello and I am creating this blog as a part of my Aice media studies course, the purpose to document m process for my Cambridge portfolio. Personally, as a big fan of the arts in general I am excited to be able to write down my thought in a blog format. I'm a big fan of media that tries to convey messages and perspectives to the audience for them to think about especially those which discuss the subject which reflects on specific aspects of our own society such as Alan Moore's Watchmen, Kendrick Lamar's Good Kid M.A.D City, or Donald Glover's Atlanta.