American Authenticity and the Modern Western, 1962-1984 Timothy
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American Authenticity and the Modern Western, 1962-1984 Timothy Hughes Royal Holloway, University of London PhD. 1 Declaration of Authorship I Timothy Hughes hereby declare that this thesis and the work presented in it is entirely my own. Where I have consulted the work of others, this is always clearly stated. Signed: ______________________ Date: ________________________ 2 Abstract The West has long been conceived in American culture as the site of an elusive ideal of authenticity. This thesis aims to define the concept of American Authenticity as a political philosophy, affective current, and ‘structure of feeling’ which finds expression within the Hollywood western, in order to conduct a cultural history and immanent critique of the genre during its most vibrant and conflicted period. Focussing predominantly on post-classical or revisionist westerns from the genre’s modernist moment in the late studio era to its precipitous decline at the end of the so-called Hollywood Renaissance, this thesis argues that shifting notions of authenticity offer a key to understanding the relation between a diverse body of generic texts, their immediate contemporary social, cultural and political contexts, and longstanding traditions in American intellectual culture. Tracing the origins of American Authenticity back to the transcendentalists in American literature, this thesis argues that during intense periods of modernisation or historical crisis American culture becomes preoccupied with ideas of authenticity, normally located in the West and in the past, as an effect of contemporary anxieties. This thesis uses the western boom of the Hollywood Renaissance in the 1960s and 1970s to explore shifting notions of authenticity in American culture across this period: from the civil rights movement and the early New Left, to the popular counterculture, to the traumatic events at the end of the 1960s, and the aftermath of the 1970s. Analysing some of the period’s most important and widely discussed films alongside minor or neglected works, this thesis goes on to examine the decline of the genre in the late 1970s alongside the fundamental challenges posed to traditional ideas of authenticity in postmodernism. 3 Acknowledgments I owe my deepest gratitude to Professor Barry Langford, who has steered this thesis as a supervisor, teacher and mentor from its inception and throughout the many highs, and occasional lows, that accompanied its research and writing. Barry consistently pushed my research into intellectually adventurous territory, criticised my work with good humour, and tolerated my stubbornness and indulgences. I am grateful to Royal Holloway for awarding me a Reid scholarship, without which this thesis would not have been possible. My debt of gratitude to the Department of Media Arts at Royal Holloway dates back to my earliest days as an undergraduate, so only an abbreviated account may be settled here: Professor Mandy Merck served as my personal advisor, offering characteristically incisive thoughts and guidance throughout. Mandy and Professor Chris Townsend offered encouraging feedback on an early version of Chapter One during the upgrade viva. Professor Daniela Berghahn is in no small part responsible for my embarking on postgraduate study and supported my return to Royal Holloway. Dr Jacob Leigh and Dr Steven Marchant always provide interesting conversation; I hope something of their influence can be found in my work. I have been fortunate enough to teach on undergraduate courses throughout my PhD and my work has doubtless benefitted from the opinions and questions of many students. My fellow postgraduate researchers have offered models to follow and opportunities to air research related grievances. Among the cohort thanks are due to Clarissa Jacob, who has been good company from day one, and Dr Chris Marnoch, who led the way. Dr Michele Pierson and Dr Belen Vidal helped me take the first steps towards a PhD whist studying for a Master’s at King’s College. I have been grateful for the opportunity to test ideas for this thesis at a number of conferences, but I would like to thank Dr Lee Broughton at the University of Leeds in particular for showing an interest in my work. Writing and research can be lonely pursuits and PhD students can develop into reclusive creatures if not allowed out, a fate I avoided on the whole thanks to the welcome distractions and backing offered by my friends, especially Lauren, Ben, Kit, Lucy, Nick, and Sam. My good friend Eli Andersen, who knows his westerns, read early drafts of every chapter and offered his thoughts freely with typical wit. Martin and Susan Albin have been generous and encouraging from beginning to end. My parents – Nicola and Paul Jenkinson, and Jonathan and Chantelle Hughes – have been unwaveringly supportive in all manner of ways as three years of higher education turned to four turned to eight. I cannot thank them enough. Venetia and Alex each helped in their own way. This thesis is dedicated to Beth Albin, who endured our small flat being overrun with books and papers, and who made the whole thing worthwhile. 4 Contents Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 6 Chapter One: Adventures of Authenticity ........................................................................................ 18 Cody, Muybridge and Turner at the Fair .......................................................................................... 18 Typologies of Western Genre Criticism ........................................................................................... 29 The Western as American Modernism .............................................................................................. 41 Rousseau Goes West: The Origins of American Authenticity .......................................................... 61 Chapter Two: ...................................................................................................................................... 85 A Man Went Looking For Authenticity. And Couldn’t Find It Anywhere… ............................... 85 Gunfight at Paramount Lot ............................................................................................................... 85 Crisis of Authenticity ........................................................................................................................ 98 America’s Continuing Past ............................................................................................................. 108 Closing Fast: An Aesthetic of the Apocalypse ............................................................................... 122 Hopper’s Last Stand ........................................................................................................................ 139 Chapter Three: .................................................................................................................................. 153 Goin’ Back: Spaces and Archetypes of Retreat ............................................................................. 153 Wilderness and the Counterculture ................................................................................................. 153 “I Hear There’s Land There a Man has Never Seen”: The Contradictions of the Mountain Man .. 163 I Pity the Country: Native Americans and the Hollywood Renaissance......................................... 176 Chapter Four:.................................................................................................................................... 201 Arenas of Authenticity ...................................................................................................................... 201 “Are You a Real Cowboy?” ............................................................................................................ 201 “Today the West is Everywhere” .................................................................................................... 208 Rodeo and the ‘Post-Western’: 1972 .............................................................................................. 214 Restoring the Cowboy Hero: 1980.................................................................................................. 231 Conclusion: ........................................................................................................................................ 245 Dusty Spectacles ................................................................................................................................ 245 Authenticity and Postmodernism .................................................................................................... 245 “The Poetry of America”: History and Spectacle in Heaven’s Gate............................................... 249 After Authenticity ........................................................................................................................... 256 Appendix ............................................................................................................................................ 264 Bibliography ...................................................................................................................................... 271 Filmography ...................................................................................................................................... 284 5 Introduction ‘The West of which I speak is but another name for the