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The American Western and the Superhero Genre

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The American Western and the Superhero Genre The American Western and The Superhero Genre By: Matthew Danko Introduction The American Western was a prominent genre in literature, television, and film in the early part of the 1900's. Hollywood would make these romanticized features about the Old West every year, sometimes with the same actors. It was a way for audiences to connect with a part of their culture while still being entertained. Eventually, the classic western faded away and a new genre took it's place - The Superhero genre. This innovation in film started a new wave of storytelling while borrowing heavily from it's predecessor. Westerns like The Searchers in 1956 and The Magnificent Seven in 1960 are comparable to films like Batman from 1989 and The Avengers of 2012. Details like the characters and archetypes introduced in both genres to the types of settings these stories take place have been altered to create something new and different, but at their core, remain the same. Western Genre The Western genre has been shaping American culture since it was introduced in the 1900's. Stories of the Old West gave audiences values and beliefs like loyalty, bravery, and virtue. The protagonist of these stories were meant to reflect the American way of life - a hero that will stand up for what is right over what is wrong. When Hollywood cast men like Clint Eastwood and John Wayne over and over again to exhibit these traits they soon turned into a symbol of the very characteristics they possessed. Audiences wanted to see them return to form because they were the true American hero that our country needed. These tales of western civilization spawned archetypes that were used throughout the genre. Characters such as The Cowboy, The Gunslinger, The Outlaw, and The Sheriff all became stereotypes of what to expect in a Western feature. For example in John Ford's The Searchers our protagonist is Ethan Edwards who is played by John Wayne. After being enrolled in the United States Confederacy he returns to his homeland. Years of war gave him a strong code of ethics and morals that he now lives his life by. Courage, Bravery, Loyalty are all present, but more so than any other is doing what is right. He was a soldier and so he believes in the codes of war but with no real law enforcement he must take matters into his own hands and fight back against our antagonist - Scar. The Outlaw archetype is slightly different than one would expect. The antagonist is not a rogue cowboy who wears all black, but instead is a Native American Indian. He presents our conflict to the hero when he slaughters Ethan's family and livestock as well as kidnaps his niece. These native American Indians are portrayed as savage warriors that will scalp or kill anyone in their way. They don't have clear motives, but are presumably out for revenge against the white man for taking their land. The similarities between Scar, the Comanche chief, and Ethan Edwards are staggering but are meant to draw tension out of the story. There will always be similarities between the protagonist and the antagonist even if protagonist won't admit it. What makes the audience root for one over the other is simple - the hero is an embodiment of good and the villain is an embodiment of evil. This goes back to the very beginning of storytelling. Good versus Evil. This is what all storytelling is predicated on, but in a Western it makes it obvious. The physical characteristics of these characters contributes to this distinction as well. For instance our western hero always wears light color clothing (Figure A1). He is all that is good and should be drastically different in appearance than our antagonist. In this movie, since he is an Indian Chief (Figure A2) Scar is portrayed as a savage. A warrior with body paint and full head-dress. He will stop at nothing to harm the white man and must look like an animal for the purposes of painting him as the villain. Costume plays a big part in distinguishing our characters because they must represent Good or Evil in every possible way. Then there are features like The Magnificent Seven (Figure A3). Chris Adams, Chico, Vin Tanner, Bernardo O'Reilly, Britt, Harry Luck, and Lee are our Gunslingers and heroes of the piece. These are a group of ragtag misfits are protecting a village from an Outlaw by the name of Calvera. We understand who is who because the seven men are hired to protect the village. They are guardians and saviors even if they have fallen on hard times. They value the villagers' lives more than they value money which is what Calvera and his men are ultimately after. These men could've said no and walked away, but something made them stay. There wasn't very much money offered to them to fight because the town didn't have much, but the men choose to fight off this bandit because it was the right thing to do, and some of them died defending it. Films like these gave audiences a genre that was filled with exciting action and interesting characters. They wanted to see good triumph over evil, and they wanted to see Americans represented as strong-willed, powerful heroes, but what they most wanted to see where these final battles. By the end of the movie when the heroes couldn't take it anymore they broke out into a gun fight. Arguably, this is where the action genre originates from. All of the car chases and fighting sequences are derived from cowboys chasing each other on horses and trains to gunfights that take place in a small town. They want to see the hero blast the villain away and their weapon of choice was always a six-shooter. This entire set up of a genre has evolved into what we know today as The Superhero Movie. Superhero Genre In comparison, the superhero genre can be considered a modernization of the western. Instead of utilizing mountains and landscapes as the backdrop for our story the setting becomes a busy city. The audience is still conditioned to root for the good guy, and in the modern age of film making they don't need it spelled out for them. They have witnessed many different styles of film and a variety of story telling that it all becomes common knowledge. Good guys wear white and bad guys wear black. Good guys want to protect a city and bad guys want to destroy it. This is the same concept the superhero genre is predicated on. Many of the same archetypes of the western era are present here such as The Hero, The Anti-hero, The Villain, and The Law. They all function the exact same way to tell a story, but can be presented in a slightly different fashion. For example, in Tim Burton's 1989 Batman our protagonist (Figure B1) wears an all black, rubber, body armor that protects him while he is fighting crime. This is vastly different from his 1966 on-screen predecessor Adam West who wore brightly colored spandex (Figure B2). Yet, we understand he is the good guy because his first appearance in the movie has him punishing two criminals for mugging a family. The speculate that "The Bat" might be lurking out in the city, and that they should be careful. Just then he arises from the shadows and strikes fear into their hearts. It is apparent that he has taken to protecting the city of Gotham from any crime that would seek it's demise. This is further illustrated when a robbery takes places at the Ace's chemical plant and Batman steps in to thwart evil doer Jack Napier and his gang. Unfortunately, Jack falls into a vat of chemicals and he is transformed into The Joker (Figure B3). This Villain differs from any other incarnation up to this point. Mainly because he is wearing the brightest clothing and is constantly smiling. However, it is his introduction that lets the audience know he is a criminal and his sinister behavior once he becomes something beyond a joke. Batman and the Joker are aesthetically and morally different which makes them equal opponents. In the movie it is shown that when Bruce Wayne was a child his parents were murdered by Jack Napier. It was from this moment forward that Bruce vowed to be Batman and protect the city. When Batman tries to stop Jack Napier at the chemical plant he drops him into the chemicals that turn him into The Joker. Each man created the other and are now pitted against each other in a battle over the city. The Joker has a bag of tricks and highly volatile poisons to kill of citizens of Gotham city whereas Batman has countless gadgets like the batarang, grappling hook, and batmobile to save them. They have strict perspectives on how they view their world, but they must do what they believe to be right. Since Batman is Gotham's protector we know he is the good guy. Much like the Magnificent Seven the superhero genre has it's own team up movie - The Avengers (Figure C1). As per, Marvel's plan, they have been slowly introducing single characters (Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor) to create an expanded universe where they all can co-exist. They eventually would be brought together to face a common enemy and protect the city. Each protagonist brought something new to the table.
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