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