Westerns: Why Are People Drawn to Them?

[Coír Draoi Ceítien]

This post was originally going to be titled "The Enduring Appeal of the Western", but I felt that came across as more of a statement than a question, and this is definitely more of a question. Also, you might remember that I made a post a long time ago asking a similar question about horror (and I EVENTUALLY want to return to that post), and this post is deliberately meant to mimic that.

So, to get right to the point, I want to talk about Westerns. Comparatively speaking, in the long history of literature, the Western - by which I mean stories set primarily in the Western United States in the general years of 1865-1910 - is rather new and, dare I say it, distinctly American in the sense that it's regionally and topically American, although I guess that other countries have their own frontier literature as well. Much like contemporary fantasy, science fiction, and horror, Westerns are tied to cheap pulp fiction and "dime novels" as opposed to "serious" literature, and the writers of Westerns have subsequently spent a good deal of effort in justifying their existence, although there has been a good number of authors who have managed to turn out Westerns that have received serious critical attention.

However, while speculative fiction has risen in popularity and turned a corner in its public perception, you could make a case that the great days of the Western are behind it. From the end of the 1970's onward, Westerns have been steadily declining to the point where one would assume that they are pretty much obsolete and burned out. Yet there is still a sizeable authorship and complementary readership for the Western today, and I would say that the lack of quantity has subsequently led to a rise in quality.

Still, the genre has some historically recurring problematic elements with regards to representation and politics, at least in regards to the portrayals of Native Americans and women as well as a perceived glorification of violence, toxic masculinity, and "Manifest Destiny." So, in this day and age, why is there still such a fascination with the American West? Why do these stories keep coming up again and again?

I ask this slightly rhetorically because, personally, I love Westerns. I didn't use to, of course. Back in my teenage years, soaked in fantasy and video games, Westerns were reserved for something that the old people watched on Turner Classic Movies in the nursing homes but never really held my interest. Then, in my community college years, as part of a project in one of my English classes, I saw Clint Eastwood's final Western film, 1992's Best Picture winner Unforgiven, and I can only say that I was blown away with how good it was (subsequently, Unforgiven is definitely in my top 20, if not my top 10, favorite movies I've ever seen). As a result, I've seen more and more classic Westerns over the years, and my fondness for the genre has grown, despite my reservations with some of the issues I've already mentioned. I also wouldn't have been caught dead reading Western fiction in the past, but as of the writing of this post - June 6, 2020 - I can now count two Western novels among some of my favorite reads: Charles Portis's True Grit (1968) and Jack Schaefer's Shane (1949).

So what is your experience with Westerns and why do you think it has such a hold over the public to this day, though somewhat lessened with time? What's so special about them that we keep revisiting them and creating them? Is this an unhealthy obsession with an era best left to the history books, or is there something timeless in the Western that will never go out of style that can be harnessed for constructive purposes?

[Raven]

I grew up on westerns, to be honest. Mostly tv and film, but nevertheless, figures like Roy Roger, the Lone Ranger, John Wayne, were familiar elements of my childhood. I think in a way the old west is kind of an American fantasy world where anything is possible, where the rules of civilization are weak and individualism is strong. It plays into a particular image of the alpha male, a tough independent hero and often anti-hero who often takes the law into his own hands. It represents a kind of American wish-fulfillment, I think.