Evolution Of Western Films:Western Myth And Its Disillusion

Westerns, as the "American film par excellence"(Bazin,1971), used to be the cinematic portrayal of the Westward Expansion and reinforcement of Turner’s "frontier thesis" and the Western myth. Myth according to Levi-Strauss is a way for human being to sense and understand the world before the era of contemporary science, something more than illusions. In modern society the pure myth has disappeared except parts of history can replace myth in fulfilling the same functions. With context of historical West, the Western as a genre film in the golden days of Hollywood studio system is effective in restoration and spreading of Western myth, via its stereotypical elements and celebrated ideology.By two streams the Western myth has been followed in classic Westerns:individual heroic myth embodies the glory of early West settlers and explorers and national myth backed up by frontier spirits which later compose important portion of national characters including Manifest Destiny, self-reliance, law, order and justice reinforced by proper violence.The evolution and nuances of Westerns trail after the dynamic society characterized by social upheavals. The decline of the Western as a genre and resurgence of individual expression demonstrates the disillusion and deconstruction of Western myth, leaving more space for Revisionist view of West history.This paper through synchronic and chronological analysis of representative cinematic texts, aims to explore the process in which Westerns develops, namely the embrace of Western myth in classic Westerns and its disillusion in new Westerns.