What Makes a Western? - Part 2: Spirit, Struggle, and Demise

Last week I discussed what makes a story a Western in therms of the historical and geographical aspects. I figured that this week I'll try and interpret an existing definition.

I'm looking at the American Film Institute's definition, which is a story "set in the American West, that embodies the spirit, the struggle, and the demise of the new frontier".

Well, we already know it doesn't have to be set in the American West, as they can also be set in Mexico or even Australia. But I've already discussed that.

By 'Spirit', I'm going to guess that they are referring to "Manifest Destiny" - a belief which emerged in the 19th Century that Americans were meant to expand. How the West was Won seems to be the strongest embodiment of that belief. Ultimately, the Spirit was about having your own land and cultivating it while raising a family and being able to survive.

This brings us to the Struggle. Frontier life could be very unforgiving, with natural, animal, or human threats. In films like Stagecoach or The Searchers, this could be Indians or outlaws - possibly illustrating the notion that settlers are bringing "civilisation" to the West, while revisionist westerns might reverse this - often with the subject of fighting change in films like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid or The Wild Bunch. The Homesman actually illustrated the Struggle as being against nature combined with the isolation of settlements.

Speaking of fighting change, this can also be a subject of the Demise. As stated previously, the Western period "officially" ended in 1890 when the US Census Bureau declared the frontier to be closed. However, change doesn't happen quickly or smoothly. Red Dead Redemption is a game all about the demise of the frontier, and how slow that demise is.

I'm getting nowhere with this, so I'll say that any story that has some kind of frontier could be considered a western.