PUNK WESTERNS

This term defines progressive Westerns — as opposed to some that look nostalgically backward—that have utterly rejected the classic Westernmyth and attempt to expose the myth’s absurdities. A punk cultural perspective from the 1980s to the present has traditionally emphasized alienation from society with deliberate unconventionality in style, whether fashion, art, or music. Dead Man (1995), with its rock soundtrack and seemingly fatalistic worldview, typifies the genre. Jean-Claude La Marre’s hip-hop Westerns, Gang of Roses (2003) and Brothers in Arms (2005), also share punk sensibilities but on a lighter scale. Sometimes these films are called postpunk Westerns, perhaps because they have come out after the 1980s punk rock era.

See also HISTORICAL AUTHENTICITY; MYTH OF THE WEST, MYTH OF THE FRONTIER; POSTMODERN WESTERNS.