The genre-defining opening scene of countless Westerns--an ultrawide shot that reveals an expanse of land so vast that the actors, riding on horseback, seem to inch along the horizon like tiny ants in a tunnel--establishes that the true protagonist is not the cowboy, bounty hunter, or outlaw, but the land itself. This distinctive narrative approach contributed to a cinematic language adaptable to landscapes far beyond the American frontier.
In Westerns, land becomes a powerful symbol, embodying both promise and peril, scarcity and wealth. More than just a backdrop, it has a spiritual dimension, imbued with myth and elemental significance, containing dark colonial histories and a fundamental connection with Indigenous Americans through their ancestral territories...
--Leila Weefur, Guest Curator
Image Credit: From the film, "The Searchers"
show less
In Westerns, land becomes a powerful symbol, embodying both promise and peril, scarcity and wealth. More than just a backdrop, it has a spiritual dimension, imbued with myth and elemental significance, containing dark colonial histories and a fundamental connection with Indigenous Americans through their ancestral territories...
--Leila Weefur, Guest Curator
Image Credit: From the film, "The Searchers"
The genre-defining opening scene of countless Westerns--an ultrawide shot that reveals an expanse of land so vast that the actors, riding on horseback, seem to inch along the horizon like tiny ants in a tunnel--establishes that the true protagonist is not the cowboy, bounty hunter, or outlaw, but the land itself. This distinctive narrative approach contributed to a cinematic language adaptable to landscapes far beyond the American frontier.
In Westerns, land becomes a powerful symbol, embodying both promise and peril, scarcity and wealth. More than just a backdrop, it has a spiritual dimension, imbued with myth and elemental significance, containing dark colonial histories and a fundamental connection with Indigenous Americans through their ancestral territories...
--Leila Weefur, Guest Curator
Image Credit: From the film, "The Searchers"
read more
In Westerns, land becomes a powerful symbol, embodying both promise and peril, scarcity and wealth. More than just a backdrop, it has a spiritual dimension, imbued with myth and elemental significance, containing dark colonial histories and a fundamental connection with Indigenous Americans through their ancestral territories...
--Leila Weefur, Guest Curator
Image Credit: From the film, "The Searchers"
show less
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Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA)
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