>Department of English, University of Louisville >Phone: (502)852-6770 or (502)852-6801. Fax: (502)852-4182. >I, for one, would not be inclined to suggest that STAGECOACH, THE SEARCHERS, >and THE WILD BUNCH give much insight into the history--as opposed to the >myth--of the west. But of course the myth IS a key element of our history, and >one of the values of this film is in their embodiment (and variation) on the >myth. The other value, for me, is that each of them says a great deal about >the time in which it was PRODUCED. STAGECOACH is both a myth of the west and a >perfect manifestation of 1930s populism--largely a movie about class. THE >SEARCHERS is both a re-examination of the myth--with great ambivalence toward >it--and a manifestation of fifties-era attempts to deal w/ race and w/ issues >of community and non-conformity. I've never taught THE WILD BUNCH, so I don't >have as clear a sense of it, but it has always seemed to me very much part of >its era as well, partly, as I recall, in its celebration of the outsiders and >critique of the establishment. I agree that it's hard to defend the western as >a genre that mirrors the history of the American west. But it seems to me >extremely important as a measure of our cultural life in other ways. > >bitnet tbbyer01@ulkyvm; internet [log in to unmask] >Thomas B. Byers >Department of English/University of Louisville >Louisville KY 40292 I AGRE WITH MUCH OF THE ABOVE. But, again, time does not permit a full disquisition. However, I would say re: THE WILD BUNCH not to overlook the "Vietmnam" connection--quite in support of the notion that films can tell us much about the times in which they were produced. DD _____________________________________ David Desser,UIUC Cinema Studies 2109 FLB/707 S. Mathews, Urbana, IL 61801 217/244-2705