DETERRITORIALIZATION

Classic Westerns identify directly and intimately with the landscapeof the West. Deterritorialization, a term originated by Paul Bleton, refers to the trend in post-Westerns toward separation from traditional Western settings. Western landscapes in post-Westerns often do not represent geographic space conventional to classic Westerns, such as John Ford’s use of Monument Valley, but may represent bizarre Mexican terrain or the terrain of fantasy. As often as not, the actual landscape used in shooting the film is not located in the United States or even in Mexico, as postWesterns have been filmed all over the world. Deterritorialization has helped resurrect the Western film genre and has expanded and reconfigured the cinema Western as mythic terrain beyond the limits of history.

See also ANTIMYTH WESTERNS; GENRE FILMS AND WESTERNS.