SF western
The SF western genre offers a rich setting or style or feminist SF. "Western-style" stories set in space or on other planets; SFnal or magical elements set in US-west; alternative history takes on the western.
The SF and western genres offer some commonalities and appealing overlaps in themes. In fact, a lot of modern SF is directly resonant with earlier western genres and spaghetti western films. Themes which appear in both SF & westerns include:
- humanity against nature, as in colonial settlements, voyages, long pioneer treks, wilderness treks, etc.
- conflicts between natives and colonizers (cowboys & Indians; civilized worlds vs. Reavers)
- civilization, access to technology & luxury, restrictions of law, crowdedness, vs. rugged independence, isolation, freedom from legal intervention or protection
- themes of exploration
- social unrest of "gold rush" eras: new and rapidly growing boomtowns with inadequate infrastructure and social structures
- conflicts between economic models (cattle versus sheep)
- law, violence, lawlessness, chaos, freedom
In a feminist SF context, issues of sex and gender add nuance and layers. The colonial US west was dominated -- at least in fictional representations -- by masculine imagery and economics. Even today the myths of the "cowboy" and the "lawman" are dominated by macho stereotypes. With relatively few restrictions, women could and did cross-dress both to explore their own liberty, or to protect themselves from sexism and assault. Common roles for women in the West include the whore (especially the hooker with a heart of gold); the frontier businesswoman (e.g., a saloon-owner); a damsel-in-distress (e.g., the young woman whose ranch-owning father dies, leaving her in charge and vulnerable to predators).
The themes of colonialism also have particular relevance for feminist SF. Feminist SF, already focused on issues of power relations, finds a rich field to work with in the "western" format, already rife with issues of power and dominance.
Works
- Karen Joy Fowler. Sarah Canary
- Melissa Kwasny. Modern Daughters and the Outlaw West (1990)
- Susan Stinson. Martha Moody (1995)
- "Firefly" and "Serenity" (western settings in outer space)
- "Frontierland" episode of Supernatural (TV series))
- Non-SF westerns of particular note include
- "Johnny Guitar" - a noir Western; the blending of noir and Western, and use of strong female protagonist and antagonist, created a unique filmic treatment of many of the classic Western themes
- "The Ballad of Little Jo" - Maggie Greenwald directed a great film about a woman in the west, hiding her gender identity, and confronting the racism, sexism, and brutality of the times.
See also
- Women Writing the West - Not a western but a group of women writers, a la Broad Universe