ARE WESTERNS DEAD IN THE DUST?

Tragically classic westerns are dying a slow painful death but not from the occasional Hollywood blunder like the Lone Ranger. They screwed that one up twice, you'd think they would get it by now. You don't take an iconic hero and make him into a punk. You'll piss off the core fan base in the first five minutes of the film.

No we can handle occasional screw ups, westerns are dying because of fans like me. You see we grew up with westerns dominating the big screen and TV. The real Lone Ranger {Clayton More} and Tonto {Jay Silverheals} were thrilling. We actually played cowboys and Indians in the back yard with toy colts and not with a joy stick. Before the PC Pigs that is. We went to rodeos wearing our Stetsons and boots. We have ridden a horse that didn’t require a quarter in a slot. But we’re disappearing fast and that's the issue. If westerns are to survive they must adapt to the new audience. 

Oh there’s a few real cowboys left in the ranch lands of Texas, Nevada, Wyoming and Montana, the other day I saw one riding a pretty paint through Tularosa, New Mexico. A while back an old timer in his 70s rode in strapped in chaps, boots and trusty six gun. A throwback to a vanishing way of life and so too is the classic western were the Duke and Clint ride into town bust out with a .45 and cap the bad guys then ride out. 

Mystic Canyon Ranch where I live and have been writing crossbreeds a SciFi series with a western flavor, is open range. My lady neighbor is always riding her horse on my land hunting for stray cows. You don't usually equate women with being fans of westerns and maybe they're not so big on all the gun-play. But they love horses and many romance stories are set with a western backdrop. As a writer I'm always interested in the female perspective. A lot of equestrians are female, like my pal Linda Ischer from Las Vegas who was a rodeo queen. These days she works for a booking and talent agency www.bookitinvegas.com. 

Linda. “Yep I use to rodeo and gymkhana here in Vegas for years, then once I bought my paint mare I got heavily into paint horse shows then into breaking and training for some time.”

KCV. “Who's your favorite western stars?

Linda. “Oh wow that's a tough one. The iconic John Wayne has got to be my all time favorite. Though if it was historic I would say Jessie James, he-he, and you can't deny Clint Eastwood in the Good the Bad and the Ugly, then there is Cat Balloo.”

KCV “Well you covered it with the Duke, The bad boy, Spaghetti Westerns and comedy. Lee Marvin won an Oscar and a Golden Globe for best actor for Cat Balloo 1965, it's a classic. Now I know you are a big fan of fantasy and horror, but what shows do you watch now that have a western influence?”

Linda. “I love fantasy and horror for sure. I do enjoy Hell on Wheels it has that bad ass feel to it. Breaking Bad has a bit as well and I know it really isn't a western influence but for me I find a bit of the old school western aspects as well as fantasy in the Walking Dead and Revolution as well.”

KCV. “The Walking Dead is a great example of a horror western. In it's premier episode the lone sheriff rides into town wearing a big hat on his head and big iron on his hip. The Zombies represent the traditional antagonists of the western gunfighter; outlaws, banditos, Indians take your pick. So what about the gun-play is that a factor? Do any shooting yourself?”

Linda. “ Of course gun-play is a factor lol, yes I have done some rabbit hunting a LONG time ago he-he. A friend of mine let me try his double barrel shotgun once, and yes he set both barrels so when I pulled the trigger it knocked me square on my 110 pound ass, lmao.”

KCV. “Now that would have made a great You-Tube video. I was way off on the gun-play angle. Should have known better what with all the female action stars blasting away.”

Linda. “Lol this is true for those women who are not insecure, the insecure ones only want the romance aspect ( not that it's a bad thing lol ) but a bad ass woman who knows how to handle a gun is pretty exhilarating and yes a manly man; the bad boy. Ohh very nice.”

KCV. “Thanks for your input I've learned that what appeals to men about a western is universal with the ladies too. At least the ones that ride, shoot and love those smoldering outlaw types.”

So we've seen shows like Dead Wood, Hell on Wheels, Lonesome Dove and Unforgiven, draw critical praise and an audience, but good rope operas are far and few between. One of my favorites is Young Guns 1 & 2 best Billy the Kid flicks ever. Sadly however the classic white hats vs the black hats western is fading into the sunset. 

However, the concept of the Old West as a setting for mixed genera stories is booming like a mining town in old Nevada. Recently American audiences have been entertained by a stamped of mixed genera Sci-Fi and horror westerns.

The Sci Fi channel's Defiance is nothing more than Gunsmoke in the future. The lawkeeper is your {Matt Dillon}. Defiance is your {Dodge City} and of course you have his girlfriend running the saloon and brothel {Miss Kitty}.

Quentin Tarantino is noted for mixing his genres, Kill Bill is a perfect amalgamation of spaghetti western, samurai martial arts and anima. Other Sci Fi and horror films cut from rawhide are John Carpenter's Vampires and Cowboys and Aliens. And lets not forget all the time travel flicks where the traveler goes Old West. Back to the Future 2 comes to mind.

Some stories are flat out western no matter what the setting. Here's a good one, A lone gunman {Bruce Willis} rolls into a dusty South-West village near the Mexican border. The town is divided into two armed camps of brutal Chicago style gangsters. Soon the enterprising gunman is working for both sides and the streets run red. Will he be “The Last Man Standing”? 1996

Does that plot sound familiar? Then try this one. A lone gunslinger {Clint Eastwood} rides into a dusty South-West village near the Mexican border. Ruled by two rival families engaged in a bloody feud, the gunslinger hires out first to one then the other. It won't be long before he has a “Fist Full of Dollars} 1964.

Ah but the fun didn't begin there. Yojimbo 1961. A Ronin Samurai {Toshiro Mifune} wanders upon a village divided by two rival gangs. Soon he's working for both... well you get the drift.

In my rambling way I eventually get to the point. A western is a western is a western, no matter how you dress it up. 

Cowboys may be old fashion but their influence is timeless and crosses all borders. So I wouldn’t write off the old time gunfighter just yet. Some of the toughest most enduring heroes ever put to screenplay came riding out of the dry dusty American west. They've been shot, stabbed, staked out over ant hills, blown up with dynamite, and pushed of cliffs into raging rapids. But those steely eyed bronc busters keep coming back for more.