| Description |
xvi, 331 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm |
| Contents |
1. Popular Appeal -- 2. Still Landscapes and Moral Restraint -- 3. Falling Short -- 4. Sexual Equality -- 5. White Slaves in Purple Sage -- 6. A Man Being Beaten -- 7. Sentimental Educations -- 8. Violence Begets -- 9. Last Rites |
| Summary |
The most extensive study of Westerns to appear in twenty-five years, Mitchell's book will be essential reading for anyone interested in the genre as well as for students of film, masculinity, and American Studies |
|
Ranging from the novels of James Fenimore Cooper to Louis L'Amour, and from classic films like Stagecoach to spaghetti Westerns like A Fistful of Dollars, Mitchell shows how Westerns helped assuage a series of crises in American culture, including debates and nationalism, suffragetism, the White Slave Trade, liberal social policy, even Dr. Spock. At the same time, Westerns have addressed issues of masculinity by setting them against various backdrops: gender (women), maturation (sons), honor (violence, restraint), and self-transformation (the West itself). Mitchell argues, for instance, that Westerns repeatedly depict men being punished as pretext for allowing them to recover, restoring themselves once again to full manhood. In Westerns, a man must continually work at being a man |
| Analysis |
American fiction 20th century History and criticism |
|
American fiction History and criticism 20th century |
|
Masculinity in literature |
|
Masculinity History United States |
|
Masculinity United States History |
|
Men in literature |
|
Men in motion pictures |
|
Motion pictures and literature West (U.S.) |
|
West (U.S.) In literature |
|
Western films History and criticism |
|
Western stories History and criticism |
| Notes |
Includes bibliographical references (p. [266] and index |
|
Ranging from the novels of James Fenimore Cooper to Louis L'Amour, and from classic films like Stagecoach to spaghetti Westerns like A Fistful of Dollars, Mitchell shows how Westerns helped assuage a series of crises in American culture, including debates and nationalism, suffragetism, the White Slave Trade, liberal social policy, even Dr. Spock. At the same time, Westerns have addressed issues of masculinity by setting them against various backdrops: gender (women), maturation (sons), honor (violence, restraint), and self-transformation (the West itself). Mitchell argues, for instance, that Westerns repeatedly depict men being punished as pretext for allowing them to recover, restoring themselves once again to full manhood. In Westerns, a man must continually work at being a man |
|
The most extensive study of Westerns to appear in twenty-five years, Mitchell's book will be essential reading for anyone interested in the genre as well as for students of film, masculinity, and American Studies |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages [266]-317) and index |
| Notes |
Also available online (Table of contents) |
| Subject |
American fiction -- 20th century -- History and criticism.
|
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Masculinity in literature.
|
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Men in literature.
|
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Men in motion pictures.
|
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Motion pictures and literature -- West (U.S.)
|
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Masculinity -- United States -- History.
|
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Western films -- History and criticism.
|
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Western stories -- History and criticism.
|
| SUBJECT |
West (U.S.) http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85146140 -- In literature.
http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh2002011414
|
|
West (U.S.) -- In literature.
http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh2008113453
|
| LC no. |
96013216 |
| ISBN |
0226532348 (cloth : alk. paper) |
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