International Westerns: Re-Locating the Frontier Cynthia J. Miller 9780810892873

The Western tradition, with its well-worn tropes, readily identifiable characters, iconic landscapes, and evocative soundtracks, is not limited to the United States. Western, or Western-inspired films have played a part in the output of numerous national film traditions, including Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, and Latin America. In International Westerns: Re-Locating the Frontier, Cynthia J. Miller and A. Bowdoin Van Riper have assembled a collection of essays that explore the significance and meanings of these films, their roots in other media, and their reception in the national industries which gave them form. Among the questions that the volume seeks to answer are: What do Westerns not made in the U.S. reveal? In what ways do they challenge or support the idea of national literatures and cinemas? How do these films negotiate nation, narrative, and genre? Divided into five sections, the twenty essays in this volume look at films from a wide range of national cinemas, such as France (The Adventures of Lucky Luke), Germany (Der Schuh des Maitu), Brazil (O Cangaceiro), Eastern Europe (Lemonade Joe), and of course, Asia (Sukiyaki Western Django). Featuring contributions from a diverse group of international scholars-often writing about Westerns adapted to their own national traditions-these essays address such matters as competing national film traditions, various forms of satire and comedy based on the Western tradition, the range of cultural adaptations of the traditional Western hero, the ties between the nation-state and the outlaw, and Westerns in a variety of unanticipated guises. Representing a broader look at global Westerns than any other single volume to date-and featuring more than 70 illustrations-International Westerns will be of interest to scholars of film, popular culture, and cultural history.

About the Author
Cynthia J. Miller is the editor of Too Bold for the Box Office: The Mockumentary from Big Screen to Small (Scarecrow, 2012) and coeditor, with Julie Anne Taddeo, of the award-winning Steaming into a Victorian Future: A Steampunk Anthology (Scarecrow, 2012). Miller is editor of the Film and History series for Rowman & Littlefield. A. Bowdoin Van Riper is the editor of Learning from Mickey, Donald and Walt: Essays on Disney's Edutainment Films (2011) and author of A Biographical Encyclopedia of Scientists and Inventors in American Film and TV since 1930 (Scarecrow, 2011). He is editor of the Science Fiction Television series for Rowman & Littlefield. Together, they are the editors of 1950s Rocketman TV Series and Their Fans: Cadets, Rangers, and Junior Space Men (2012), Undead in the West: Vampires, Zombies, Mummies, and Ghosts on the Cinematic Frontier (Scarecrow, 2012), and Undead in the West II: They Just Keep Coming (Scarecrow, 2013).

Reviews
While most Americans probably think that the western movie genre is unique to the United States, in fact there are many countries that celebrate this genre, including Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, and Latin America. This book presents 20 chapters organized into 5 subject-specific parts that look at the contributions other countries have made to the western film, how those films were received in their native country, and insight into how they challenge or support the image of the American western. Written by an international team of contributors this book looks at westerns that have come from France (The Adventures of Lucky Joe), Brazil (O Cangaceiro), Eastern Europe (Lemonade Joe), and Asia (Sukiyaki Western Django), among others. The chapters include black-and-white photographs and all end with notes and a bibliography. This book will mainly be of interest to film scholars. * American Reference Books Annual *
The book is a revelation to anyone wanting to explore the westerns beyond the frontiers of the American/Hollywood interpretation. Most Hollywood westerns appeared to have been set in the 1870s in a country recovering from civil war but these aforementioned films from further afield broadens the horizons as well as the landscapes while also broadening a political agenda. . . .[This] is a very scholarly approached book with a few illustrations running throughout and a striking cover that at its center tries to get to the heart of the 'other' westerns. * Filmwerk *
This extremely rich collection of essays shows not only how the mythology of the American West has made its mark on cultures around the world, but also how the western genre has been transformed through its encounter with different cultural meanings. I was amazed and fascinated by the diversity of influences and adaptations of western themes analyzed by the various contributors. These essays not only provide important new insights into the history of the western genre, but an exemplary analysis of different patterns of internationalization in the development of popular culture. -- John G. Cawelti, author of Adventure, Mystery, and Romance: Formula Stories as Art and Popular Culture



Book Information
ISBN 9780810892873
Author Cynthia J. Miller
Format Hardback
Page Count 476
Imprint Scarecrow Press
Publisher Scarecrow Press
Weight(grams) 816g
Dimensions(mm) 231mm * 161mm * 38mm