Gone are the days when Westerns ruled the box office, with superheroes now filling the role that cowboys once played in the American consciousness.
But fear not, the Western genre is far from dead.
The brutality of the American West, combined with the hope that many people found in it, continues to inspire some of the most exciting filmmakers working today.
It also has one of the richest histories of any genre, which allows filmmakers with a passion for Hollywood history to engage with the classics of the 20th century while updating Western tropes for modern audiences.
The genre is so versatile that Westerns can reflect almost any political sentiment, meaning that Western movies tend to be an interesting barometer of the era in which they were made.Just this past Oscar season, a Western came very close to winning best picture: Jane Campion’s “The Power of the Dog.
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