Ride the Frontier
Exploring the Myth of the American West on Screen
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Book Presentation:
With fresh appraisals of popular Westerns, this book examines the history of the genre with a focus on definitional aspects of canon, adaptation and hybridity. The author covers a range of largely unexplored topics, including the role of “heroines” in a (supposedly) male-oriented system of film production, the function of the celluloid Indians, the transcultural and transnational history of the first spaghetti Western, the construction of femininity and masculinity in the hybrid Westerns of the 1950s, and the new paths of the Western in the 21st century.
About the Author:
Flavia Brizio-Skov is a professor in the department of modern foreign languages and literatures at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She has written several books and articles on contemporary writers, popular culture and cinema.
Press Reviews:
• "Scholars interested in the Western can learn a great deal from this book, which is intellectually ambitious and generously delivered."—Italica: Journal of the American Association of Teachers of Italian
• "A motif that emerges throughout Brizio-Skov’s volume and distinguishes it from other works is the analysis of westerns through a cultural studies lens…. Through the author’s analysis of such aspects as the western’s international influences, its empowerment of women and its positive treatment of Native Americans, one is encouraged to see the genre if not in a more positive light, then at least in a more complex way than some critics have previously argued."—Alphaville: Journal of Film and Screen Media
• “The topic, the theoretical framework, the analytical approach, the breadth of the sources consulted, the range of films discussed, and the critical angles applied in this monograph make it a valuable contribution to scholarship in western film studies.”—Flavia Laviosa, Wellesley College
> On a related topic:
The Hero's Trail (2022)
Myth and Art in the American Western, 1903–1953
French Westerns (2025)
On the Frontier of Film Genre and French Cinema
Hell-Bent for Leather (2025)
Sex and Sexuality in the Weird Western
by Kerry Fine, Michael K. Johnson, Rebecca M. Lush and Sara L. Spurgeon
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