THE WESTERN GENRE: Key Conventions

• set in the American West
• usually in the period from 1850s to end of the 19th century
• setting in immense plains, rugged tablelands and mountain ranges
• conflict between white pioneers and Indians
• cowboys
• historical persons in the American West
• adventure storylines
• gunslinging
• desperadoes
• lawmen
• violence
• moral dramas
• physical courage
• dilemmas
• individual and group conflict
• horsemanship
• outlaws
• duels
• outlaws
• bandits
• sheriffs
• Native Americans
• shootouts
• American civil war
• railways
• lawlessness of regions
• wilderness
• vast landscapes
• revenge
• saloons
• ranches