> From: Murray Pomerance <[log in to unmask]> > Subject: Re: Innovations in Seven Samurai/Westerns > > Can a film or book be a Western if it's not set in the West? Around > > On 10/29/96, Lang Thompson wrote: > > >****** This may be the most interesting point: can a film (or book) > >be a Western if it's not set in the West? It sounds pretty trivial but > >it goes right to the heart of what we mean by "Western." Is Outland an > >honorary Western because it's modelled after High Noon or because the I found the previous postings on this topic to be most interesting and insightful, and additional issues of a very practical nature come to mind. The questions posed in the above quotes go to the heart of genre studies. On the one hand, all genres can be argued as reducible to a few basic forms: western, gangster, musical, etc. And these will tend to be the same ones discussed over and over again. By contrast, I would argue this is a reductive reading, failing to discern the rich panoply of genres--some admittedly more developed than others, some simply more fully studied. For instance, when writing on historical adventure, I was trying to set out the parameters and underlying myths of a genre that had been little studied (and was often referred to as simply a sort of western offshoot). I have been involved in a similar project more recently here at the Library of Congress, establishing a comprehensive taxonomy of moving image genres. Yes, OUTLAND has been discussed as a sort of HIGH NOON, and STAR WARS as a western (so too, I could argue it as a swashbuckler with as much validity--but I won't). And we've had films like THE LOST PATROL remade as a western, a war film, etc. Does this mean all versions of LOST PATROL are adventure? No; I believe *the context and setting* are some of the dominating factors determining genre. Place the same plot structure in the American west, and it takes on different implications entirely, and the same for WWII. Similarly, although science fiction may adopt plot structures, iconography, conventions, or other elements from other genres, it is unique by virtue of its context. Placing old motifs in combination with science fiction's concern with futuristic speculation and advanced technology transforms whatever is borrowed into an entirely new context unique to sf. Yes, one can talk about western elements in whatever work that is not in the western setting. Similarly, we can discuss their relation to other conventions of storytelling, going back to Homer's Iliad and Odyssey and earlier. However, we should not lose track of the overall differences among the various genres and how they will treat various conventions differently. The place and importance of law in society is treated, for instance, in many genres, not only westerns, but historical adventure, and many types of crime films. Each approaches the topic in its own unique way. Genre helps us recognize these differences and similarities. And if "the western" (or other particular genres) is treated as a great overarching form, that can tend to absorb other types, we are in danger of losing track of these very palpable and vital distinctions among different genres. Brian Taves Motion Picture/Broadcasting/Recorded Sound Division Library of Congress Washington, D.C. 20540 202-707-9930 202-707-2371 (fax) Internet: [log in to unmask] ---- To signoff SCREEN-L, e-mail [log in to unmask] and put SIGNOFF SCREEN-L in the message. Problems? Contact [log in to unmask]