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

























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