The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (1967)
WHAT EVEN IS A WESTERN?
A Western is a fictional genre that's typically set in the American West during the early 1900's, often called "The Old West" or the "Wild West." This setting in most films is represented to be an isolated, dry, arid, and hostile area filled with cowboys, criminals, sheriffs and many other character types. This genre often explores themes of justice, good vs. evil, and civilization vs wilderness. The typical target audience are older men because of the mature and masculine themes like action and violence being prominent. The western genre has truly made cultural staples in the media, popularizing western life styles, music, and establishing the iconic tough and independent cowboy image that everyone knows and loves!
Iconic characters from popular western films!
POPULAR SUBGENRE: SPAGHETTI WESTERNS!
Most know about the western genre through American western films made by Hollywood but there are actually multiple different subgenres in Western! One of which (probably the most popular subgenre) are spaghetti westerns, films of the western genre made by Italian directors.
A Fistful of Dollars (1964)
These films, unlike Hollywood western productions with higher budgets, are often made with a lower budget and typically were filmed in places like Spain and southern Italy like the Tabernas Desert and Cabo de Gata-Nijar Natural Park, that successfully resembled the old American west. Spaghetti westerns are also often more stylized, as shown mostly in their credit sequences, with animation, rotoscoping, and coloration being used throughout!
With their cinematography and themes, these films often use dramatic camera angles and a number of close ups in order to create more tension, often including more violence with themes such as greed, revenge, and brutality usually incorporated within their plots.
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (1967)
As one of the most popular subgenres, Spaghetti westerns have certainly left a huge mark on pop culture! Other directors like Quentin Tarantino often take inspiration from the genre for their own films, and references are often being made in the media, with an example being Back to The Future 3 paying homage to spaghetti westerns with Marty McFly adopting the name Clint Eastwood, (prominent actor in spaghetti westerns) when he arrives in the wild west in 1885!
Back to the Future Part III (1990)
CONVENTIONS!
VISUAL:
The most common visual convention in the western genre are their settings with vast landscapes with mountains, and desserts! These are most commonly shown in the opening sequence of these films, often used to establish time and western setting, which is essential for this genre. Within these settings, small towns or villages with a small population and a main sheriff are often shown as well.
The typical costume choices include the widely known cowboy hat, along with the boots, rustic jacket, and bandanas along with the usual gun prop, often being used for action scenes! This selection of attire is practical and has remained iconic in the world of film. Western films also frequently feature horses within their productions, often used for action, combat, and transportation and portrayed as the main companions of cowboys. Because of the frequent use, horses have become a staple and one of the defining features in western productions.
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The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (1967)
PLOT AND CHARACTER
Some common plots in western films are good vs. evil, revenge, violence (mainly in spaghetti westerns), moral ambiguity, and justice. Another classic convention that may occur within these plots is the good old showdown between the hero and villain that takes place at the climax of many of these films, which has remained an iconic staple for decades.
As for the characters, there are many different types that are common in this genre. This includes the cowboy, who can be either a hero or a villain, the sheriff, which are common in the small town/village setting, the outlaw, who typically acts as an adversary to the main hero, and Native Americans, who have been portrayed to be savage in older films.
Day of Anger (1967)
Rango (2011)
From all of this research, I could say that i definitely learned so much more about the western genre! Now that I'm more familiar with its characteristics, themes, popular subgenre, and conventions, I have a better understanding of what to do with the costume and some of the set design for this project!
REFERENCES:
- Wikipedia Contributors. (2019, October 11). Spaghetti Western. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spaghetti_Western
- Wikipedia Contributors. (2025, February 1). Western (genre). Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_(genre)#Themes
- Turner, B. (2023, October 2). 11 Outlaws in Westerns We Love to Root for. MovieWeb. https://movieweb.com/outlaws-in-westerns-we-love-to-root-for/
- Cubis, S. (2017, October 20). The Evolution of Native American Representation in Westerns. SBS What’s On. https://www.sbs.com.au/whats-on/article/the-evolution-of-native-american-representation-in-westerns/63tmqv2y7
- Hepburn, J. (2022, February 10). 10 Best Sheriffs in Movies. ScreenRant; Screen Rant. https://screenrant.com/best-sheriffs-in-movies/
- Western Wear. (2025). The Iconography of Cowboy Attire: A Cultural and Functional Analysis. Sneum.com. https://sneum.com/pages/the-iconography-of-cowboy-attire-a-cultural-and-functional-analysis
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