Henry S:
and movies like The Wild Bunch and The Unforgiven are great precisely because they critique the western narrative...
Eastwood's
Unforgiven ostensibly critiques it only to viscerally, sadistically reinforce it in its violently revenge-deadlocked denouement.
Mister Matthew:
yes i think henry s is right, there's a good quote from Warshow, westerns are "an art form for connoisseurs, where the spectator derives his pleasure from the appreciation of minor variations within the working out of a pre-established order"
Yes, but its the
exceptions to such lazy genre re-affirmations that ultimately prove the most interesting, connoisseurs 'an all ...
As to the Hat as master-narrative signifier:
Its either him
or her
But as cowboys and their headcovers go,
this one,
The Cowboy, is the most ominous:
Be very afraid, he's a close friend/agent of Tony Blair, and George Bush, and ...