About the Book

The "cowboys and Indians," sheriffs and outlaws, schoolmarms and barkeeps of Western films have wholly transformed our ideas about the reality of the American frontier. Westerns is the first book to consider seriously the historical meanings and functions of the Western film genre. In Westerns, leading scholars unpack the ways in which the form has embellished, mythologized, and erased past events. Contributors explore the mythic "Wild West" envisioned by "Buffalo Bill" Cody, the revisionist aims of recent westerns like Posse, Lone Star, and Dead Man, and how the genre addresses key issues of biography, authenticity, race, and representation. Included is an introduction by Janet Walker.