There’s “western,” and then there’s “Western”—and where history becomes myth is an evocative question, one of several questions posed by Josh Garrett-Davis in What Is a Western? Region, Genre, Imagination. Part cultural criticism, part history, and wholly entertaining, this series of essays on specific films, books, music, and other cultural texts brings a fresh perspective to long-studied topics.
The Indolent Boys, Children of the Sun, and The Moon in Two Windows
by N. Scott Momaday
Long a leading figure in American literature, N. Scott Momaday is perhaps best known for his Pulitzer Prize-winning House Made of Dawn and his celebration of his Kiowa ancestry, The Way to Rainy Mountain. Momaday has also made his mark in theater through two plays and a screenplay. Published here for the first time, they display his signature talent for interweaving oral and literary traditions.
Max Weitzenhoffer’s Magical Trip from Oklahoma to New York and London—and Back
by Tom Lindley
A third generation Oklahoman, Max Weitzenhoffer’s life story is as unique and colorful as you will find, a remarkable blend of risk-taking, glamour and glitz that has been enriched by saloon keepers, oil wildcatters, wealthy art patrons, artists and Broadway and Hollywood stars.
The Glamour Factory is the story of the motion picture business, told with the help of hundreds of insiders--from stars, directors, and producers to stuntmen, hairstylists, makeup artists, and publicists—who watched and contributed to the industry while magic was being made.
Theater and Culture in the Pacific Northwest, 1890–1920
by Holly George
Lucidly written and meticulously researched, Show Town is a groundbreaking work of cultural history. By examining one city’s theatrical scene in all its complex dimensions, this book expands our understanding of the forces that shaped the urban American West.
In ancient Greece, the epics of Homer and the tragic dramas performed each spring in the Theater of Dionysus offered citizens valuable lessons concerning the necessity and proper application of compassionate action. This book is the first full-length examination of compassion (eleos or oiktos in Greek) as a dramatic theme in ancient Greek literature.
Now that the West is no longer so wild, it’s easy to dismiss Buffalo Bill Cody’s world-famous Wild West shows as promoters of stereotypes and clichés. But looking at this unique American genre from the Native American point of view provides thought-provoking new perspectives. Focusing on the experiences of Native performers and performances, Linda Scarangella McNenly begins her examination of these spectacles with Buffalo Bill’s 1880s pageants. She then traces the continuing performance of these acts, still a feature of regional celebrations in both Canada and the United States—and even at Euro Disney.
For more than thirty years, William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody entertained audiences across the United States and Europe with his Wild West show. Scores of books have been written about Cody’s fabled career as a showman, but his involvement in the film industry—following the dissolution of his traveling show—is less well known. In Buffalo Bill on the Silver Screen, Sandra K. Sagala chronicles the fascinating story of Cody’s venture into filmmaking during the early cinema period.
When Thomas Edison wanted to capture western magic on film in 1904, where did he send his crew? To Oklahoma's 101 Ranch near Ponca City. And when Francis Ford Coppola readied young actors Tom Cruise and Matt Dillon to portray teen class strife in the 1983 movie The Outsiders, he took cast and crew to Tulsa, the setting of S. E. Hinton's acclaimed novel. From Edison to Coppola and beyond, Oklahoma has served as both backdrop and home base for cinematic productions. Shot in Oklahoma explores the variety, spunk, and ingenuity of movie-making in the Sooner State over more than a century.
Most film critics point to classic conflicts—good versus evil, right versus wrong, civilization versus savagery—as defining themes of the American Western. In this provocative examination of Westerns, Robin L. Murray and Joseph K. Heumann argue for a more expansive view that moves beyond traditional conflicts to encompass environmental themes and struggles. Beginning with an analysis of two iconic Westerns, Shane and The Searchers, Murray and Heumann identify the environmental dichotomies—previously overlooked by critics—that are broached in both films, and they clarify the history that lies behind the environmental debates in these films and many others. The conflicts these movies address grow out of differing views of progress, frequently in relation to technology. The authors show that such binary oppositions tend to blur when examined closely, demonstrating that environmental issues are often more complex than we realize.
