Reality and the Western Film Structure

Paper Summary:

In this article, the writer discusses that although the revolutionary film "The Wild Bunch" portrays some plot elements of a traditional Western, Peckinpah's film aims to show the reality of dealing with a dying age. The writer maintains that through the violent truth, Peckinpah's film portrays the bloody reality of the Wild West that was so disguised in traditional films. The writer notes that rather than the typical nostalgic bliss seen in many other traditional films, Peckinpah really aimed at making his film as realistic as possible in his attempt to explore the dying age of the Wild West. The writer concludes that, as a result, this film ends up shocking audiences with the differences between observed fact and relative fiction, all while in the framework of the traditional Western setting.

From the Paper:

"This idea harkens back to the traditional theme of conquering the uncivilized in the name and honor of the law. There are several instances where it seems that the law will not even succeed in its necessary victory of evil. On several occasions, the righteous lawmakers are shown in dire situations. Deke barely gets out of the last gun battle. Yet, the group's ties to the deceptive Mexican war lord represent a crucial downfall. They then find themselves in a war on several fronts, which ultimately leads to the gang's demise.
"Codes of conduct within every Western film are central to why events occur later in the film. Many traditional Western pieces show the heroes as bound to a code of honor that makes them act the way they do. Honor has always been a prevailing moral in traditional plot themes."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Dirks, Tim. "The Wild Bunch." www.filmsite.org. 2008. Accessed 30 June 2008. http://www.filmsite.org/wildb.html

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