Genre Theory and John Fords Stagecoach Essay -- Movie Film Films Cine

Genre Theory and John Fords phase The analytical theory posited by Robert Warshow in his essay The Westerner, itemizes the elements essential for a film to belong to the music genre of the westbound. Most contentiously, he mandates that the narrative stress upon the individual heros plight to assert his identity, and diminishes the importance of secondary characters and issues, or any tendency toward social drama. (431) He states that it is subtle variations that make successive instances of a genre film interesting, yet limits this variety to minor variations in the characteristics of the actors who take over the heros role. (430) It is my belief that while exhibiting many of the traits itemized by Warshow, John Fords Stagecoach (1939) also exhibits variations in characterization, symbolic representation and even moral focus which project it dangerously final stage to what Warshow would view as a social film. It would be nearly impossible to declare Stagecoach a non-western by either Warshows own generic criteria or the expectations of the genre viewer, yet the film clearly conveys the more individuated social concerns of its director. While Warshow claims that this perversion of the average threatens to make the genre uninteresting, I believe the contrary to be true. Subverting the expectations of the genre, while still functioning within the language of the western is what makes Stagecoach a sinewy film, and legitimizes the notion of genre itself. The traits cited by Warshow as compulsory for the western are extensive. Most elements concern the figure of the melancholy cowboy hero, who is certainly present in Stagecoach in the personage of Ringo. The hero usually exhibits a certain leisure, an ambiguity of occupation, a noncha... ...r variations within the working out of a pre-established order. (461) However, his theory seems as well eager to limit a genre film to achieving the aforesaid(prenominal) end in every incidence. I believe that Stagecoac h reveals that it grass be more constructive to achieve something new through the use of the constituted mode. It seems that it is only through the creation of an ostensibly new product by each income tax return of a generic form that a genre can continue. Theorists who deny the possibility of retaining enough of the original mode to make the film recognizable as part of a genre, while still capitalizing on the wide-eyed range of variation available through plot, characterization, and style, underestimate the audiences capacity to simultaneously make connections and birth a new product. I believe an audience would sooner be challenged than spoon-fed another creative recreation. Genre Theory and John Fords Stagecoach Essay -- Movie Film Films CineGenre Theory and John Fords Stagecoach The analytic theory posited by Robert Warshow in his essay The Westerner, itemizes the elements necessary for a film to belong to the genre of the western. Most contentiously, he m andates that the narrative focus upon the individual heros plight to assert his identity, and diminishes the importance of secondary characters and issues, or any tendency toward social drama. (431) He states that it is subtle variations that make successive instances of a genre film interesting, yet limits this variety to minor variations in the characteristics of the actors who play the heros role. (430) It is my belief that while exhibiting many of the traits itemized by Warshow, John Fords Stagecoach (1939) also exhibits variations in characterization, symbolism and even moral focus which project it dangerously close to what Warshow would view as a social film. It would be nearly impossible to declare Stagecoach a non-western by either Warshows own generic criteria or the expectations of the genre viewer, yet the film clearly conveys the more individuated social concerns of its director. While Warshow claims that this perversion of the norm threatens to make the genre uninterest ing, I believe the contrary to be true. Subverting the expectations of the genre, while still functioning within the language of the western is what makes Stagecoach a powerful film, and legitimizes the notion of genre itself. The traits cited by Warshow as compulsory for the western are extensive. Most elements concern the figure of the melancholy cowboy hero, who is certainly present in Stagecoach in the personage of Ringo. The hero usually exhibits a certain leisure, an ambiguity of occupation, a noncha... ...r variations within the working out of a pre-established order. (461) However, his theory seems too eager to limit a genre film to achieving the same end in every incidence. I believe that Stagecoach reveals that it can be more constructive to achieve something new through the use of the conventional mode. It seems that it is only through the creation of an ostensibly new product by each recurrence of a generic form that a genre can continue. Theorists who deny the possibil ity of retaining enough of the original mode to make the film recognizable as part of a genre, while still capitalizing on the full range of variation available through plot, characterization, and style, underestimate the audiences capacity to simultaneously make connections and receive a new product. I believe an audience would rather be challenged than spoon-fed another creative recreation.