American Indian Culture and Research Journal

Capable of simultaneously recalling past usage and responding to the present in new ways, culturally established genres serve as primary vehicles for shaping and carrying social experience from one generation to another. The Western genre encapsulates the myth of the frontier, which is at the core of American ideology. This myth and notions of American nationhood are premised on the belief that land- starved Europeans “discovered” an uninhabited wilderness, which they quickly pioneered and to which they had a God-given duty to bring civilization. As Richard Slotkin points out, “the conquest of the wilderness and the subjugation or displacement of the Native Americans who originally inhabited it have been the means to our achievement of a national identity, a democratic polity, an ever-expanding economy, and a phenomenally dynamic and ‘progressive’ civilization.” Western movies, which are often considered American cinema par excellence, usually involve stories about the history of the American West. This genre in all its permutations has, however, resonated with millions in countries around the world. “[T]his universal popularity is due not to global interest in American history, but rather to the fact that Westerns carry elements that evoke emotions and reflections from other local perspectives as well.”