The Encyclopedia of Westerns

The term “genre” is derived from the French word meaning “type” or “kind” and it has occupied a major part in the study of cinema for many years. Hollywood in particular has produced a considerable proportion of its output, in one form or another, as genre films. Maltby (2003) has proposed that there are eight major genres: westerns, comedies, musicals, war, thrillers, crime/gangsters, horror and science fiction; of these, during the early days of film production, westerns and comedies were the most significant in terms of major contributions to American art and culture. It is not difficult to understand why...