Gun.Smoke Western Videogame

I found this interesting Western video game called Gun.Smoke created the year of 1985. I used to play this shooting arcade video game with my brother when I was little, and to be honest I had no idea that this video game was a Western genre, and it is impressive to know this now as I find it very interesting. In this game the character to play as, is a considered a cowboy and while on the game it uses a horse as well, so they technically play together as a team. The game consists to this cowboy as it appears that he takes the law into his own hands against the bad guys. The game contains a three-way shooting system, which sometimes it might limit the player’s control, but it is enough to get the bad guys and also the horse is a great help as it protects the player for at least three shots in a row.

Now that I kind of understand the game better, the cowboy is a symbol of the idealized man, the hero that seeks to get off the bad guys and see a better world. As I mentioned above, the primary character of the video game is a cowboy who tries to kill the bad guys and seeks to bring order to the uncivilized place. In addition, his figure of a cowboy is complete as the horse is always with him and is trying to help him to achieve his goals, to take down the bad guys and to win the game. Comparing it to the actual definition of a cowboy on a western genre means that this cowboy is trying to do something good for the world and also take action into his own hands.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bx0GnNPK0nE

The Cowboy from a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away....

Over the past year or two, I have noticed a large "resurrection" in the Cowboy/Western settings in media. From video games to movies I have seen it all rise again in popularity. However, my favorite cowboy has been around since 1977, Han Solo. Han Solo is a very popular character from the Star Wars saga. He first appears on the desert planet of Tatooine next to his hairy, 7.5-foot tall sidekick Chewbacca. Before his character evolves within the events of the movie, he is a space scoundrel who takes no sides. He is an outlaw who is constantly on the run from the Empire (The oppressive government in the films) and evading bounty hunters who want to take him in for money, dead or alive.



Han Solo, while it is unorthodox, fits the cowboy aesthetic quite well. To his hip is a blaster, ready to fire when need be. His steed, The Millenium Falcon, his ship which has got him through some pretty close calls. Han Solo originally comes off as the loner type. His only friend being Chewbacca. He has little regard for anyone else and only cares for his own personal gain. The setting that we first meet Han on is on the desert planet of Tatooine. This planet only harbors the lowest of the low. Slavers, bounty hunters, and just like Han, outlaws. Han Solo proves he isn't afraid to use his blaster when he is confronted by Greedo, a Rodian bounty hunter (Refer to picture below) who says that he is too kill Han for not paying back Jabba the Hutt (The galaxies most powerful gangster.) Han is snarky for a bit before shooting Greedo to die. (And yes, despite what you have heard, he shot first.)















The video was deleted so I am unable to respond directly to it. However, Han Solo holds many similar attributes to that of the more traditional Cowboy. His first appearance is in a Cantina on Tatooine, he is an outlaw who evades the law, he is often running from bounty hunters, he works for his own gain, is an expert pilot, and has a blaster right on his hip ready to quick draw.

Modern Cowboy/Western

The archetype of the cowboy and the western plays out in unconventional ways in many modern books, films, and television shows. A good example that casts to cowboy as both a good guy and an outlaw is Breaking Bad. The show ran 5 seasons from 2008 to 2013 and tells the story of a man who is desperate to make sure his family is taken care of after he is gone. Walter White is a high school chemistry teacher, husband, and father to a teenage son with cerebral palsy and a newborn daughter when he is diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. He discovers his health insurance will not cover treatment and embarks on a misguided trek to treat his illness and provide for his family's future by amassing wealth quicky, using a skill he has taught for years: Chemistry. With the help of a former student, Jesse Pinkman, and insider knowledge from his brother-in-law (a DEA agent), he evades the authorities and becomes the kingpin of crystal meth. It's a story of good vs evil and challenges the viewer's morality.

Set in Albuquerque, New Mexico this series is sometimes coined a neo-western. The series has 2 distinctly different settings. There is the wild west which is represented by several desert scenes: cooking in the RV and meetings with dangerous characters. The show also largely takes place inside of civilization in the city. This series has 2 distinctly different cowboys. Walter is an unconventional cowboy. He is both the hero and the anti-hero. An almost invisible man, in the beginning, transforms into a powerful figure, a family man that is also an outlaw. In contrast, you also see him transform and age, becoming more fragile and frail as his cancer progresses. The other cowboy character in the series is Hank Schrader. Hank is a man's man, a devoted, albeit brash, husband; the hero special agent who is cleaning up Albequerque by getting the meth off the streets.

There are numerous ways to connect this series back to the video. Lance talks about the mythos of the cowboy. Both Walt and Hank display "the cultural values of what it means to be a man." Aspects of them are both idealized. Walt and hank both have an insatiable desire to provide for and protect their families. They are both men who bring order: Hank as a law enforcement agent and Walt in his quest to get rid of the "bad guys", the murderous thugs that control the meth market and sell an inferior product. They both have many of the attributes of the cowboy: white, male, masculine, self-reliant, and both dealing with foreign threats: Hank within his dangerous role as a special DEA agent, and Walt in his rise to kingpin, defeating the dealers and powerful organizations in the drug world. Breaking Bad fits the genre of a western in numerous ways. They face external threats in the form of gangs and drug lords from Mexico. Walt also "stakes new territory" several times throughout the series, defeating and removing obstacles in his way. A powerful connection from the video is a bit that describes an attribute of a western is "civilizations ways are not useful or relevant." Walt feels as though the way things are supposed to work has failed him and his family. He's been the good man but the only way to survive is to "break bad."

Frank Castle, Cowboy.

Netflix’s The Punisher series is based off of Marvel comic character Frank Castle, who is an anti-hero who is seeking revenge with whoever was responsible for his family’s murder. For the sake being of this blog post, I will be specifically referring to the Frank Castle which is depicted in the Netflix series, not the comic version of him. I believe the series parallels that of the Western genre.

Frank Castle (i.e. the Punisher) is a cowboy. He embodies that of a hyper-ideal image of masculinity in the Western sense. He is, as the cowboy criteria within the “Cowboy and Western in Popular Culture” video describe, white, male, masculine, and self-sufficient. For physical attributes, the Punisher has a very deep voice, almost to the point where it sounds a bit hoaky. He’s brooding and muscular, miserable within his introspection as he becomes a brick wall without emotion (the peak of toxic masculinity entering around the fact that processing grief and emotion in a healthy manner would be a sign of weakness). As for the Westernization, Frank Castle may not have nationalism in the sense that he feels as if he has been failed by his country, but before the tragedy in his life, he was a proud marine. So, in this sense he would make more of a Jesse James (Jesse James: The Outlaw) than a Jace Pearson (Tale of the Texas Rangers Radio Program). He’s the lone wolf trope who works alone because he feels as if danger is around him so often that he wouldn’t want to bring anyone else down with him. He is, then, surrounded by danger in that it is him versus common criminals, corrupted authority figures within law enforcement, or super villains (within the Marvel universe, of course).

Frank Castle’s character mirrors many famous tropes of Westerns. He has a code-of-honor so to speak, in that he does not kill women or children. How admirable. It is a little wishy-washy in the sense, but within masculinity, there is that obligated sense of responsibility to protect women and children, or, those who are weak (We’ll save the feminist argument against this tired ideology of viewing women as fragile flowers for another time). But, he does embody the romantic notion of fighting for a cause, and to defend the damsel in distress, and take her away from the uncivilized danger in which she finds herself in and take her to a utopian place where they can live quietly. Probably on a ranch or something.

Although Castle is not equipped with a horse or cowboy hat, these icons are swapped for a bullet-proof vest with a skull spray painted onto it, and any car that can easily be hijacked.

He roams the country due to being an outlaw, thus moving through the new frontiers of America, and once he “rides into town,” he takes justice from both internal and external threats into his own hands. There is no shortage of gun violence, however. There are even a few scenes in which the Punisher finds himself in a duel.

Image Sources:

https://www.denofgeek.com/us/tv/marvel/278737/the-punisher-season-2-complete-marvel-universe-easter-eggs-and-reference-guide

https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/frank-castle-fully-unchains-the-punisher-in-latest-trailer-for-season-2

Indiana Jones the Cowboy

The typical Western movie takes place in the Wild West, has a cowboy that saves the day, and usually includes and intense standoff at the end of the film. These cowboy movies are not made as much as they once were, but there are still many movies that follow the same movie of a typical western. One of these movies is Raiders of the Lost Ark with the character of Indiana Jones. The 1981 classic stars Harrison Ford as archeologist Indiana Jones who goes on an adventure against the Nazis to find the Ark of the Covenant. The movie is not a western and Indiana Jones is not a cowboy, but many of the themes and characteristics line up. One similarity is the idealized man and romance with the attractive woman. Young Harrison Ford can be described as what women want and what men want to be like and he is paired up with an attractive female counter part in the film. Early on in the movie she is kidnapped by the notorious Nazis and throughout a good chunk of the film he is attempting to rescue her. This lines up right with a cowboy in a Western because the cowboy is usually a young, good looking actor like Clint Eastwood who is trying to save a pretty girl from the clutches of evil. Another parallel is that he is trying to restore justice and manages to escape many dire situations. In the movie the Nazis want to use the Ark for personal gain, but Indiana wants to see it preserved and be kept safe in a museum. During his journey to see this happen he is often trapped in what appears to be the end of his voyage, but somehow he always manages to escape in miraculous fashion. This is the same in cowboy movies as the cowboy always prevails when it looks like the end and also always is trying to do the right thing. The most obvious example of the typical cowboy and Harrison Ford's character lining up is the physical appearance. Just like the typical cowboy he is white, masculine, self efficient, and even shares the common grizzled beard. To go along with these traits Indiana is also an American who is fighting foreign threats like Nazis and Egyptian natives much like a cowboy who often fights foreigners like Native Americans. The last similarity that I'll discuss is the shared adventure aspect. The cowboy is always on a wild thrill ride that brings him all over the place. Indiana Jones is on a constant adventure in this film, he is in many different countries, and always finds trouble fighting on villains. I can not think of a movie in recent history that is more closely related to a cowboy in a western than Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Cowboy Vigilantes

https://digitalcomicmuseum.com/index.php?dlid=16967

After reading and reviews Four Favorites 001 by Ace Comics, I can tie it in with a few different learning modules from this semester. Four Favorites Comics focus on superhero’s as the main characters. Consistently solving crimes and fighting bad guys, the superhero’s portrayed in each comic differ in ways, but ultimately push the same idea. In some cases, the superhero’s could be portrayed as cowboys. These superhero’s do different things to fight bad guys in a way that may not be looked at as right or safe, but do what they can to protect civilians and themselves. While they are referred to as superhero’s, not all cowboys wear cowboy hats. In this case, some may wear capes. The idea of a superhero’s such as Batman in modern day comics / movies brings the idea of a vigilante or “cowboy” in reference with superhero’s in general. Someone who does what’s necessary at all costs to protect something or someone, regardless of rules and regulations. 

The Cowboy & The Western

In The Titanic, Jack Dawson could be considered somewhat of a cowboy figure. He is a poor artist who travels the world and avoids order. He wins tickets onto the ship where he meets his love interest, Rose. The Titanic hits an iceberg and begins to sink. Dawson takes action and tries to save Rose and himself.

Jack Dawson is the first person that came to my mind when thinking about non-traditional cowboys not based in the wild west. He is a character who is handsome, strong, and who leads his group. He is masculine, self-sufficient, and, as most cowboys are, he's a white male. Dawson fits both types of cowboys described in the video. He is an explorer, exploring as many parts of the world as possible. He is also a wanderer for similar reasons. He was an orphan and he continues to travel, not having much of a home.

The type of Western described in The Titanic would be that it has an internal threat. The internal threat is unconventional because it is not a person. The internal threat is the iceberg that causes the ship to start sinking. What makes Jack a cowboy here is when the iceberg hits, he takes action. He does everything to save Rose until his dying breath.