The Western as the ultimate American mythos

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It is claimed that the ratings for Longmire have been pretty good - what were the demographicsfor the audience like? Does cable continue to attract male viewers who have been alienated from the commercial networks? (Or is it mostly older male viewers who are tuning in?) Hatfields and McCoys also did well. I suspect that shows that are throwbacks to westerns, like Longmire, do well with males. There's Justified. (Will AMC's Hell on Wheels get another season? It can be rather boring and preachy, even if its main character is actually a sympathetic Confederate.) CBS has Vegas coming out in the Fall; even though it takes place in the 60s I wouldn't be surprised if they squeezed some feminist even if it's historically inaccurate [*anacrhonistic* - my vocab is really slipping] (from the link - "Carrie-Anne Moss has the plum role of an "ambitious assistant district attorney").

Other shows that are probably doing well with males include Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead. But the Western is not done yet, though it may soon become one more victim of multiculturalism and the demographic changes coming to Uhmerica. What need do they have for the American ideal of the stoic [white] male who goes around enforcing the law and getting things done?

I should write an analysis of the Western and how it reflects certain American values, as the title of this post might suggest, but others probably have done it better than I ever could and it is getting rather late...

Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained is more in the spirit of an exploitation spaghetti western than a traditional Western. Pete Takeshi is be a QT fan, along with his wife, but I'd probably avoid the movie since I have become less and less tolerant of QT with time. Does he offer any positive cultural vision for Uhmerica? Or is he just a cultural parasite, riffing off the past (and his geek film favorites) without addition to any long-lasting tradition? I don't see him doing anything with his art except to serve liberal values and morality. As things stand with regards to energy, movies are rather ephemeral works of art. [Trailer]

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