The Western’s Descent into Introspection

The western enshrines America’s mythic indulgence into ideas of expansionism and boundless potential. The genre is rooted in the legend of America’s Wild West from the late 19th century, a time in which the Frontier symbolized freedom and opportunity for the people. The American people retained this attachment to the western myth, ultimately leading to a nostalgia that pervaded art forms such as literature and film.