Poll: Are Westerns Still Relevant?

[harknesssimm]

Okay, so me and my friend had an arguement about the relevancy of westerns in modern cinema
His arguement is that westerns are irrelevant in cinema and not worth the effort. i am going to quote him to show you what i mean

"i hate horses, people get killed in loads of films and in more realistic ways, they do have terrible special effect (people being pulled on a wire through a window from a single gun shot)"

"westerns are boring and one of the most famous cowboy films is brokeback mountain"

" saw some documentary last week, part of it was why arnt westerns a large part of the film industy anymore, the conclusion being that not nearly as many people are interested in them anymore"

Though the first two come down to him being a homophobic, america hating "insert bad word here", but the last point got me thinking, do you think westerns are no longer relevant?

P.S. this discussion started after he said that its too bad cowboys and aliens will have cowboys in it (just for those who were wondering how such a discuaaion could arise)

 

[mindlesspuppet]

Westerns is a broad 'genre', sounds like he's thinking of spaghetti westerns. And yes, they are still relevant; No Country for Old Men comes to mind. If the question of relevance was more about social importance, of course, westerns can have themes that cover pretty much anything.

 

[theonlyblaze2]

Westerns are some of the better films to come out of Hollywood. They have character development, realistic action, and an actual good story, which is like the Golden Fleece in movies today. But, his third comment is correct. Westerns simply don't make the money like they used to. They have a slower build up to the climax, which is VERY rare in the MTV generation of film. And in response to the second comment, Brokeback Mountain wasn't a western or the most famous cowboy movie. It was a gay-drama film.(Not bad gay, just the plot follows two homosexuals.) The most famous western, I think, is probably Unforgiven.

P.S. Cowboys and Aliens looks like the shit!

 

[Jim Grim]

I think there are lots of people out there who still enjoy a good western. Hell, now that I think about so long as it's a good movie why should the genre matter? A good film is a good film, most people recognise that.

 

[DefunctTheory]

The most famous western, I think, is probably Unforgiven.

The most famous is probably either Tombstone or A fist Full of Dollars (Along with A Few more Dollars and 'The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.'). The BEST is Unforgiven. God bless Clint Eastwood.

 

[Rylot]

While the hay days of the Spaghetti Westerns are gone and the genre is no where near as prevalent as it once was, every now and then a western comes out that is good and worth watching.

Also as a side note I'm pretty sure Brokeback isn't the most famous western and more of an outlier in the genre seeing as it has a contemporary setting and deals directly with contemporary issues.

 

[Bobic]

I haven't seen it but isn't true grit a western? Isn't it also massively oscar nominated.

 

[Calcium]

Well, although I don't understand what would make them relevant/irrelevant, I wouldn't predict a film to be bad because of it's genre... okay, except a romcom.

 

[TriggerHappyAngel]

No film maker can achieve the epicness that Sergio Leone created, so maybe that's why there is not much interest in westerns nowadays?

 

[Therumancer]

I said yes to answer the question literally. I think in earlier generations the issues they raised could be seen as being relevent to what was going on at the time. As things have moved on, it becomes harder and harder to insert modern themes into these kinds of movies without really stretching credability. Simply put including the morals of an ultra-liberal 21st century democrat into a western just doesn't work. That means those attitudes can't be seriously promoted or questioned. Westerns being more of a "period piece" nowadays than something that can be seen as having much in the way of relevency while still be taken seriously.

I enjoy a good Western, but I can also see why things have moved away from them. Perhaps times will change and they will become a little more relevent again.

Also I'd like to say that "The Searchers" is probably the most famous western of all time, and probably the most critically acclaimed. Movies like "Unforgiven" are simply well known to the younger generation being a bit more recent, and promoted due to Clint Eastwood using it to gain his directing chops. "Brokeback Mountain" was more or less a piece of gay rights propaganda, and was using the western backdrop as an intentional invasion of what is seen as quintessentially macho heterosexual territory, a lot has been written about it. If it wasn't for the political angle nobody would even remotely care about that movie.

 

[enzilewulf]

Westerns aren't really my cup of tea. I like a few, like True Grit. (I think thats the name) I would like it if it was more like Faction vs Faction. Yet most westerns that I have seen are about the "Lone wolf". Wow I was stupid and didn't even answer the question. I personally think that westerns can still be good and are still Relevant, they will just never be as good as they were. Besides they will always glorify a piece of Americana.

 

[Gralian]

Maybe a broader, better question would be "are westerns relevant to those outside the USA?"

The way i see it, westerns are like comic books. It's big in the USA, not so much here, but it's still a cultural push - it's meant to be a globalised trend (or something that has inadvertently tried to be) and i think Europeans look at things like westerns and comic books and 'just don't get it' the way Americans do. I personally don't see the appeal of westerns (or comic books for that matter) and i'm European. Are westerns relevant to modern cinema? Sure, why not. It's pretty much its own genre now. Since it is or has become its own genre, it's still relevant in modern cinema.

 

[supermariner]

still relevant? no
still enjoyable? yes

they just havent aged well as a genre and haven't moved on with the evolution of cinema
maybe one will be made to change my mind
but as it stands i don't think so

 

[Cowabungaa]

snip

It's not like the only story a movie van convey is about politics. There are a lot of things that are universal, one that I think works particulary well with Westerns and is relevant to modern-day society is the difference between generations, how the old guard has to cope with the rising of a new kind of world. This message is as applicable now, with the rising of the globalised digital age, as it is in a Western setting, with the slow vanishing of the old frontier and civilisation creeping up everywhere.

So yeah, I think Westerns can still be relevant if you choose the right story for it.

 

[HandsomeJack]

I would argue that they are more relevant than 25 years ago with the gang scene in most major cities. People just arent drawing the parallel. On a side note, Brokeback Mountain was a drama and a social commentary, not a western.

I would argue also that the current target audience is the least likely group to appreciate a western. Most people who grew up in more recent times dont have the appreciation for desperation or truely difficult times/decisions. We've lived too well to connect with the heart of a western: Struggling to overcome the overwhelming while trying to hold on to a either civility or, in more dire tales, our humanity. It is about how TRUE adversity tests not just our ability, but our moral fiber.

Look at the true greats of the genre, all of them sacrifice something of themselves to become "That guy" (or lady in rare stories) who can manage the threat, but they also tent to struggle to keep something of what they gave up about themselves.

Going back to my analogy. Think of police in the modern world. Thier hands often tied by rules of engagement that the criminal element doesnt have. Every work day for them has the potential to temp them to act outside those rules, either to vent frustration or to achieve a "true" justice that is often not attained. Gangs now do a lot of the despicable things they did in the western movies: burn houses, take hostages, rape women...often targeting those such as police (specifically families or police) to ensure they arent messed with.

Westerns are still very relevant if you use them as analogy instead of literal examples. Look a particularly famous (and my favorite all time) anime: Vampire Hunter D. Hideyuki Kikuchi wrote them using the model of the western and the same was done with the direction of the animes.

 

[harknesssimm]

i did bring up stuff like the broadness of the western genre and the sheer number of western films that have been made but the main crux of the arguement was that westerns were a sort of starting point for cinema and thats why they are relevant

 

[Mr. Doe]

The good, the bad and the ugly 'nuff said.

 

[Carboncrown]

A part of their attraction, at least for me, comes from the fact that they're old, kinda like proper bonds... But more importantly I just can't see someone making a new good western mo-

And yes, they are still relevant; No Country for Old Men comes to mind.

That's a western? Oh, everyone just ignore what I said above.

Westerns are some of the better films to come out of Hollywood. They have character development, realistic action, and an actual good story, which is like the Golden Fleece in movies today.

Um, like the Mexican standoff? Now maybe you refer to something else, but the that's the first thing that comes to my mind when mentioning action in westerns, along with just rapidly shooting a revolver from that era and the ending of The Wild Bunch.

 

[harknesssimm]

i hate to comment a lot on my own tread but i have to say western really have spawned some of the greatest moments in film, indianna jones was pretty much a cowboy (especially the last crusade), the mexican standoff at the end of reservoir dogs, and so many more

incidentally i'm british and though westerns arent the big thing here as much as in america i can still appreciate the relevance to cinema as a whole. also how awesome they are