Myth of the Western: new perspectives on Hollywood’s Frontier Narrative

Playing with cowboys, outlaws, and spacefarers: The remediated American Frontier in video games

“…Other classifications of the Western, such as the ones offered by Neil Campbell (2013) and Carter (2014), distinguish between classical and postmodern-or revisionist-Westerns. Like the literary manifestations of the frontier during the 19th century, classical Westerns promote a sense of community and national identity, transform native Americans into a racial other, and represent history as something unequivocal through the actions of their white male heroes.…”

“…Myths have the power to imagine and build nations. As many scholars and historians have shown (Carter, 2014; Heikkinen & Reunanen, 2015; Kolodny, 1975; McClancy, 2018; Newell & Lamon, 2005; Rabb & Michael Richardson, 2008; Slotkin, 1973, 1998; Triana, 2015; Wark, 2007), the frontier thesis is among the most influential historical discourses shaping national identity in the United States. As a discourse, the frontier thesis does not need to be based on historical facts.…”