Science fiction Western

{{Short description|Fiction genre}} {{Westerns sidebar |Subgenres}} A '''science fiction Western''' is a subgenre or cross-genre that uses traditional Western plots and settings, while incorporating science fiction elements such as futuristic technology or aliens.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Broughton |first=Lee |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hKnqDAAAQBAJ |title=Critical Perspectives on the Western: From A Fistful of Dollars to Django Unchained |date=2016-09-19 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1-4422-7243-9 |pages= |language=en}}</ref>{{Rp|page=29}} The '''post-apocalyptic Western''' and '''steampunk Western''' fall within this subgenre.<ref name=":4" />{{Rp|page=2}}<ref name=":5" />

Since the characteristic elements of science fiction can occur in any setting, science fiction lends itself to combination with other genres.<ref name=gunn>{{cite web | author=Gunn, James | year=1995 | url=http://www.ku.edu/~sfcenter/teaching.htm | title=Teaching Science Fiction | work=Center for the Study of Science Fiction | publisher=University of Kansas | accessdate=2006-01-15 | authorlink=James Gunn (author) | archive-date=2006-01-12 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060112004041/http://www.ku.edu/~sfcenter/teaching.htm | url-status=dead }}</ref> In 1953, J. B. Priestley described the "Western" as one of the three types of science fiction.<ref name=":2">Priestley, J. B. (December 5, 1953) "Thoughts in the Wilderness." ''New Statesman'', p. 712. Cited in Michael A. Padlipsky (1960), "[https://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/58858 More Than Pulp(?): Science Fiction and the Problem of Literary Value]", undergraduate thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. URL accessed on August 12, 2011</ref>

Precursors of the science fiction Western are seen in 19th century inventor fiction such as ''The Steam Man of the Prairies'' (1868).

The film serial ''The Phantom Empire'' has been cited as possibly the earliest science fiction Western. Set on a dude ranch and making use of props associated with conventional Westerns, it showcased futuristic technology not in existence during the period.<ref name="phantom_empire">{{cite web |url=http://crossedgenres.com/archives/006/cowboys-and-robots-by-jeffrey-richardson/ |title=Cowboys And Robots: the Birth of the Science Fiction Western |last1=Richardson |first1=Jeffrey |date=2009 |website=Crossed Genres |publisher= |accessdate=27 March 2014 |archive-date=23 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140223095231/http://crossedgenres.com/archives/006/cowboys-and-robots-by-jeffrey-richardson/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> Since then, science fiction Westerns have appeared in film, television, novels, comic books, and other media.<ref name="phantom_empire" />

== Setting and themes == In 1953, J. B. Priestley described the "Western" as one of the three types of science fiction.<ref name=":2" /> The separate genres of science fiction and Westerns use similar plot devices and character types, as well as common frontier settings and themes of survival, making the two genres well suited to be a blended subgenre. The shared setting of the frontier is a contrast with the typical Western showing the frontier as something that can be tamed, but something that can never be fully crossed in science fiction. Another shared theme is that force is often applied as a means of survival, leading to a type of hero that is often both savage and civilized at once. Also typical of both genres is the theme of an economic motive for exploration or expansion.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=Davis |first=Robert Murray |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xKYyGyDz0FkC |title=Playing Cowboys: Low Culture and High Art in the Western |date=1992 |publisher=University of Oklahoma Press |isbn=978-0-8061-2627-2 |pages=93–119 |language=en}}</ref>

When combined, the science fiction Western focuses on traditional Western plots and frontier settings combined with science fiction elements, such as futuristic technology or aliens.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=29}}<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Marotta |first=Melanie A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pdnKDwAAQBAJ |title=Women's Space: Essays on Female Characters in the 21st Century Science Fiction Western |date=2020-01-17 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-1-4766-3672-6 |pages= |language=en}}</ref>{{Rp|page=1}} This definition can be contrasted with the space Western, which, having its roots in science fiction, contains elements of the Western genre, but is generally in an outer space setting.<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|page=1}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Blichert |first=Frederick |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hNZSDwAAQBAJ |title=Joss Whedon's Big Damn Movie: Essays on Serenity |date=2018-03-19 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-1-4766-3269-8 |pages=70 |language=en}}</ref>

Related cross-over genres include Western steampunk, which typically include Western settings and futuristic science fiction elements combined with steampunk aesthetics.<ref name=":5">{{Cite book |last=Edgerton |first=Gary R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-eraAAAAQBAJ&q=steampunk+western+genre |title=Westerns: The Essential 'Journal of Popular Film and Television' Collection |date=2013-09-13 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-135-76515-6 |language=en}}</ref> This may include cross-over with the Weird West genre.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last=Green |first=Paul |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nyu6CwAAQBAJ |title=Encyclopedia of Weird Westerns: Supernatural and Science Fiction Elements in Novels, Pulps, Comics, Films, Television and Games, 2d ed. |date=2016-02-25 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-1-4766-6257-2 |pages=1 |language=en}}</ref> The post-apocalyptic Western falls within this subgenre, usually incorporating the lawlessness of the frontier, gangs of outlaws, and the survival of an alienated hero.<ref name=":4" />{{Rp|page=2}}

== History == The precursors of science fiction Western began as early as the late 1800s with what became known as inventor fiction, with examples such as ''The Steam Man of the Prairies'' (1868).<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|page=6}}

thumb|The Phantom Empire (1935) publicity stillEarly serial films such ''The Phantom Empire'' (1935) and ''Ghost Patrol'' (1936) incorporated supernatural figures of science fiction fantasy into a Western setting.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=29}} By the post-World War II era, Westerns began to fall out of favor in the youth market as space fever began to take hold.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Green |first=Paul |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4ym6CwAAQBAJ |title=Encyclopedia of Weird Westerns: Supernatural and Science Fiction Elements in Novels, Pulps, Comics, Films, Television and Games, 2d ed. |date=2016-03-09 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-1-4766-2402-0 |pages=5 |language=en}}</ref> The classic Western's approach to gender, race, sexuality, and indigenous groups contributed to its decline until the hybrid Western revived it.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=28}}

During the 1960s, films such as ''Valley of the Gwangi'' (1969), which displayed cowboys fighting dinosaurs, took hold. By the 1990s, ''The Adventures of Brisco County Jr''. brought the science fiction Western into television mainstream.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=28}}

The 2002 television series ''Firefly'' is considered to be distinctive. In one sense, it is considered a space Western with its outer space setting. However, its frontier realism qualifies it as a science fiction Western by others, including creator Joss Whedon, since it combined the visual elements associated with Westerns. In either case, it ultimately pushed the boundaries of genres.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Goodrum |first1=Michael |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6UJ1BgAAQBAJ |title=Firefly Revisited: Essays on Joss Whedon's Classic Series |last2=Smith |first2=Philip |date=2015-02-02 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1-4422-4744-4 |pages=10–11 |language=en}}</ref> Whedon noted that the term made people "cringe".<ref name="salon_firefly">{{cite news |last=Chocano |first=Carina |date=October 3, 2002 |title=Giddyup, spaceman |newspaper=Salon |url=https://www.salon.com/2002/10/03/firefly/ |accessdate=March 27, 2014}}</ref><ref name="bbc_firefly">{{cite news |author= |date=October 7, 2005 |title=Whedon seeks return of 'gritty' sci-fi |newspaper=BBC News |publisher=BBC |location=London |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4318938.stm |access-date=March 27, 2014}}</ref>

Although a box office flop, 2011's ''Cowboys and Aliens'' paid homage to the genre with its successful integration of Western and science-fiction themes.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=31}}

==Examples==

=== Novels and stories === ''Lone Star Planet'' by John J. McGuire (1958) and ''Six-Gun Planet'' by John Jakes (1970) are examples of science fiction that pays particular attention to Western themes and are by writers not typically associated with the Western genre. Each is an example that defines the contrast between science fiction and Western genres. The frontier in science fiction is continuously expanding, while the Western frontier is limited and can be (or is) tamed. Both ''Lone Star Planet'' and ''Six-Gun Planet'' take place within a closed frontier, emphasizing the Western part of this hybrid genre.<ref name=":3" />

In a setting that shares the social characteristics of American Old West, Stephen King's ''The Dark Tower'' series blends themes from multiple genres including science fiction Western complete with gunslinger protagonist Roland Deschain inspired by the Man with No Name.<ref name=":6">{{Cite book |last=Sfetcu |first=Nicolae |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OUCDAwAAQBAJ |title=The Art of Movies |date=2014-05-06 |publisher=Nicolae Sfetcu |pages=99 |language=en}}</ref>

''The Buntline Special'' (2010) is the first book in a series by Mike Resnick that can be classified as weird Western or steampunk Western, a crossover genre of the science fiction Western.<ref>{{Cite web |last=aleemyapl |date=2020-12-15 |title=Sci-Fi, with a western twist |url=https://aplshelfanalysis.com/2020/12/15/sci-fi-with-a-western-twist/ |access-date=2023-07-28 |website=Shelf Analysis |language=en}}</ref>

Another example of the genre is ''The Ghosts of Watt O'Hugh'' by Steven S. Drachman (2011). Kirkus Reviews called it "a dime novel for modern intellectuals" that had "the fleeting pace found in many of the historic Western pulps authored in the 1800s".<ref>{{cite web |title=Review – The Ghosts of Watt O'Hugh |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/steven-s-drachman/ghosts-watt-ohugh/ |publisher=Kirkus Reviews}}</ref>

=== Comics === ''Cowboys & Aliens'' by Scott Mitchell Rosenberg is a blend of science fiction and Western genres in which aliens crash their space ship in the Old West. Cowboys and Indians fight each other using the alien technology, but are eventually forced to work together to fight the aliens who have returned to retrieve their ship.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fleming |first=Michael |date=1997-05-20 |title=D'Works, U lasso 'Cowboys' |url=https://variety.com/1997/voices/columns/d-works-u-lasso-cowboys-1116678219/ |access-date=2023-07-28 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref>

''East of West'' by Jonathan Hickman and Nick Dragotta is a serial comic series in the science fiction Western genre set in a dystopian version of the United States in which Death, one of the apocalyptic characters of the Four Horsemen is the hero of the story.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Truitt |first=Brian |title=Horsemen ride into a dystopian future in 'East of West' |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/2013/03/26/jonathan-hickman-east-of-west-comic-book-series/2022209/ |access-date=2023-07-28 |website=USA Today |language=en-US}}</ref>

An example within the steampunk Western subgenre is ''Iron West'' by Doug Tennapel,<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090112224620/http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=7091 TenNapel Strikes Gold in "Iron West"], Comic Book Resources, May 17, 2006</ref> a story set in the American Old West, but with robots.

=== Films === [[File:Valley of Gwangi French poster.jpg|thumb|''The Valley of Gwangi'' featured cowboys fighting dinosaurs]] Early serial films such ''The Phantom Empire'' (1935) and ''Ghost Patrol'' (1936) incorporated supernatural figures of science fiction fantasy into a Western setting.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=29}}

In another example of crossover subgenres, fantasy science fiction Western ''The Valley of Gwangi'' (1969) which displayed cowboys fighting dinosaurs, a trend that took hold during the 1960s.

Time-traveling 20th century heroes had to adapt to the Old West in ''Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann'' (1982) and ''Back to the Future Part III'' (1990)<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=30}}<ref>{{cite web |last=Gleiberman |first=Owen |title=Back to the Future Part III |url=https://ew.com/article/1990/06/01/back-future-part-iii/ |accessdate=January 8, 2018 |work=Entertainment Weekly}}</ref>

''Wild Wild West'' (1999) expanded on the television series of the 1960s in a steampunk version of the Old West.<ref>{{Cite book |last=McAllister |first=Robbie |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=us6aEAAAQBAJ |title=Steampunk Film: A Critical Introduction |date=2019-03-07 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA |isbn=978-1-5013-3123-7 |pages=22 |language=en}}</ref>

''The Postman'' (1997) explored the post-apocalyptic Western style using the frontier setting and the "Man with No Name" archetype.<ref>{{cite web |last=Holden |first=Stephen |title='The Postman': Neither Snow, Nor Rain, Nor Descent to Anarchy ... |url=http://partners.nytimes.com/library/film/122497postman-film-review.html |accessdate=27 May 2013 |work=New York Times}}</ref><ref name=":6" />

=== Television === ''The Wild Wild West'' is a television series that ran on CBS for four seasons from September 17, 1965, to April 11, 1969.<ref>{{cite web |last=Magers |first=Boyd |title=The Wild Wild West |url=http://www.westernclippings.com/remember/wildwildwest_doyouremember.shtml |access-date=May 9, 2018 |website=Western Clippings}}</ref> Developed at a time when the television Western was losing ground to the spy genre, this show was conceived by its creator, Michael Garrison, as "James Bond on horseback."<ref name="Kesler">{{cite book |last=Kesler |first=Susan E. |title=The Wild Wild West: The Series |publisher=Arnett Press |year=1988 |isbn=0-929360-00-1}}</ref> Set during the administration of President Ulysses Grant (1869–1877), the series followed Secret Service agents James West (Robert Conrad) and Artemus Gordon (Ross Martin) as they solved crimes, protected the President, and foiled the plans of megalomaniacal villains to take over part or all of the United States. The show featured a number of fantasy elements, such as the technologically advanced devices used by the agents and their adversaries.

''Westworld'' (2016) is a ''HBO'' series based on a novel of the same name made in 1973 written by ''Michael Crichton''. The story centers on a futuristic Western-themed resort populated by highly realistic androids who believe it is real.

''The Gunfighters'' (1966) is a four episode ''Doctor Who'' serial set in and around the town of Tombstone, Arizona, in the Wild West. In the serial, the First Doctor (William Hartnell) and his travelling companions Steven Taylor (Peter Purves) and Dodo Chaplet (Jackie Lane) get themselves involved with the events leading up to the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.

''Outlaws'' (1986) brought the concept of time travel into sci-fi Western television.

''The Adventures of Brisco County Jr''. (1993) brought the science fiction Western into television mainstream.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=28}}

''The Grimm Variations'' (2024), a Netflix anthology series retellings the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm, uses a sci-fi Western setting for the episode "The Town Musicians of Bremen".

=== Other media === The role playing game ''Deadlands'' is an example of how the Western blurs genre boundaries. It uses the spaghetti Western as a game setting, and incorporates alternative history, horror, and the science fiction steampunk subgenre.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Miller |first1=Cynthia J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ReB_AQAAQBAJ |title=Undead in the West II: They Just Keep Coming |last2=Riper |first2=A. Bowdoin Van |date=2013-10-18 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=978-0-8108-9265-1 |pages=270 |language=en}}</ref>

The science fiction Western subgenre has been used in the video game industry as well, with titles such as ''Tin Star'' (1994, Super NES), Wild Guns (Ditto) and ''Wild Arms'' (1996, PlayStation). ''Darkwatch'' (2005, PlayStation, Xbox) is an example of the steampunk Western subgenre.

==References== {{Reflist}}

Category:Science fiction Westerns Category:Science fiction genres Category:Western (genre) subgenres