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June 1994

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Subject:
From:
Guy Rosefelt <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Film and TV Studies Discussion List <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Mon, 6 Jun 1994 10:16:19 U
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Mail*Link(r) SMTP               RE>>lawyer genres & Maverick
>>    Not to make an "academic" issue out of all this (a temptation that as
>>the editor of _Cinema Journal_ I find hard to resist!) but the best
>>Westerns say something about American history and culture through the
>>mythical-historical period of the taming of the frontier.  What does
>>_Maverick_ have to offer>
>>    Mostly, I take the film to be part of a genre usually called "the
>>Caper film" of which _The Sting_ is a prime example.  A look at Maverick
>>will reveal more in common with _The Sting_ than say, virtually any
>>Western of the classic era (1946-1975).
 
First and foremost, any fan of the series knows that MAVERICK has always been
and shall always be a satire of the Western form.  It pokes fun at a serious
institution.  How well it succeeds is a matter of opinion.  As for "..the
best westerns say something about American history and culture through the
mythical-historical period of the taming of the frontier..."  What movie are
you referring to?  The ones that portray Indians as stereotypical savages?
The ones were the good guys go after the gunslinging  bad guys?  The one with
the masked man and his Indian sidekick?  The ones with the Chinese cook,
laundryman, or railroad worker?  BLAZING SADDLES?
 
 
Guy Rosefelt

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