Space Western: Difference between revisions

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→‎History: some of the examples and notions however are sourced and imho can stay. incorporating them. please help to flesh it out.
Extended confirmed users, Pending changes reviewers
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criticisms are sourced. ok, the bar is redundant, but the criticisms are sourced and meaningful.
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Games such as ''[[StarCraft]]''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.spacewesterns.com/articles/116/|title=10 Most Influential Space Westerns | author = N.E. Lilly |publisher= SpaceWesterns.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Nick Cowen |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/gamesblog/2013/jan/23/battlenet-championship-gamers-starcraft-2-shanghai |title=Battle.net Championship wows the masses as gamers play to the crowds &#124; Technology |publisher=The Guardian |date=2013-01-23 |access-date=2016-12-27}}</ref>, ''[[Fallout (series)|Fallout series]]''<ref>https://www.escapistmagazine.com/v2/how-the-space-western-evolved-from-star-trek-to-the-outer-worlds/</ref>, ''[[Borderlands (series)|Borderlands series]]''<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.theweek.co.uk/games/49071/borderlands-2-cult-hit-space-western-game-returns|title=Borderlands 2: the cult hit space western game returns|author=<!-- Staff -->|work=[[The Week]]|date=2012-09-18|access-date=2014-10-22}}</ref> and ''[[The Outer Worlds]]'' have also popularized the space Western theme. Shows such as ''[[Westworld (TV series)|Westworld]]'', ''[[Farscape]]'', ''[[The Mandalorian]]'', ''[[The Expanse (TV series)|The Expanse]]'', ''[[Firefly (TV series)|Firefly]]'' and ''[[The Book of Boba Fett]]'' won critical acclaim, further causing a critical reassessment of space Westerns.<ref name=newhorizons/> Movies like ''[[The Chronicles of Riddick (franchise)|The Chronicles of Riddick]]'', ''[[Solo: A Star Wars Story]]'' and ''[[Rogue One: A Star Wars Story]]'' also have continued the space Western theme.<ref>https://www.rappler.com/entertainment/movies/riddick-sci-fi-western-movie-review</ref>
Games such as ''[[StarCraft]]''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.spacewesterns.com/articles/116/|title=10 Most Influential Space Westerns | author = N.E. Lilly |publisher= SpaceWesterns.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Nick Cowen |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/gamesblog/2013/jan/23/battlenet-championship-gamers-starcraft-2-shanghai |title=Battle.net Championship wows the masses as gamers play to the crowds &#124; Technology |publisher=The Guardian |date=2013-01-23 |access-date=2016-12-27}}</ref>, ''[[Fallout (series)|Fallout series]]''<ref>https://www.escapistmagazine.com/v2/how-the-space-western-evolved-from-star-trek-to-the-outer-worlds/</ref>, ''[[Borderlands (series)|Borderlands series]]''<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.theweek.co.uk/games/49071/borderlands-2-cult-hit-space-western-game-returns|title=Borderlands 2: the cult hit space western game returns|author=<!-- Staff -->|work=[[The Week]]|date=2012-09-18|access-date=2014-10-22}}</ref> and ''[[The Outer Worlds]]'' have also popularized the space Western theme. Shows such as ''[[Westworld (TV series)|Westworld]]'', ''[[Farscape]]'', ''[[The Mandalorian]]'', ''[[The Expanse (TV series)|The Expanse]]'', ''[[Firefly (TV series)|Firefly]]'' and ''[[The Book of Boba Fett]]'' won critical acclaim, further causing a critical reassessment of space Westerns.<ref name=newhorizons/> Movies like ''[[The Chronicles of Riddick (franchise)|The Chronicles of Riddick]]'', ''[[Solo: A Star Wars Story]]'' and ''[[Rogue One: A Star Wars Story]]'' also have continued the space Western theme.<ref>https://www.rappler.com/entertainment/movies/riddick-sci-fi-western-movie-review</ref>

==Criticisms==
This "frontier stories" aspect of the distant future is only one of many ways to look at space exploration, and it's not embraced by all science fiction writers.

The Turkey City Lexicon,<ref>[http://www.sfwa.org/writing/turkeycity.html A Primer for SF Workshops]</ref> a document produced by the [[Turkey City Writer's Workshop|Turkey City science fiction writers' workshop]], condemns the space Western as "The most pernicious suite of 'Used Furniture' [that is, use of a pre-established background instead of a freshly created world]."

''[[Galaxy Science Fiction]]'' ran an advertisement on its back cover, "You'll never see it in Galaxy," which gave the beginnings of make-believe parallel Western and Science fiction stories featuring a character named Bat Durston.<ref>[Galaxy Science Fiction, Vol. 1 No. 1, October 1950]</ref> The genre of space Westerns has been informally—and often derisively—known as "Bat Durston" stories since.<ref>[http://www.strangehorizons.com/2009/20091130/lilly-a.shtml The Emancipation of Bat Durston]</ref>


== See also ==
== See also ==

Revision as of 05:10, 2 June 2021

"Space Frontier" redirects here. For the advocacy group, see Space Frontier Foundation.

Space Western is a

subgenre of science fiction that uses the themes and tropes of Westerns within science-fiction stories. Subtle influences may include exploration of new, lawless frontiers, while more overt influences may feature literal cowboys in outer space who use rayguns and ride robotic horses. Although initially popular, a strong backlash against perceived hack writing caused the genre to become a subtler influence until the 1980s, when it regained popularity. A further critical reappraisal occurred in the 2000s with Firefly and Cowboy Bebop
.

Setting

A space Western may emphasize space exploration as "the final frontier". These Western themes may be explicit, such as cowboys in outer space, or they can be a more subtle influence in

Space Frontier.[7]

Definitions by contrast

Main articles: Space opera and Military science fiction

Space Westerns intertwine with

Space frontier setting.[9]

History

Rear cover of first issue of Galaxy featuring criticism of the space Western subgenre

Westerns influenced early science-fiction

pulp magazines. Writers would submit stories in both genres,[10] and science-fiction magazines sometimes mimicked Western cover art to showcase parallels.[1] In the 1930s, C. L. Moore created one of the first space Western heroes, Northwest Smith.[1] Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon were also early influences.[6] After superhero comics declined in popularity in 1940s United States, Western comics and horror comics replaced them. When horror comics became untenable with the Comics Code Authority in the mid-1950s, science-fiction themes and space Westerns grew more popular.[1]: 10  By the mid-1960s, classic Western films fell out of favor and Revisionist Westerns supplanted them. Science-fiction series such as Lost in Space[11] and Star Trek presented a new frontier to be explored, and films like Westworld rejuvenated Westerns by updating them with science-fiction themes. Peter Hyams, director of Outland, said that studio heads in the 1980s were unwilling to finance a Western, so he made a space Western instead.[12] Space operas such as the Star Wars film series also took strong cues from Westerns; Boba Fett, Han Solo and the Mos Eisley cantina, in particular, were based on Western themes. George Lucas attributes the character of Boba Fett to the Man with No Name in the DVD commentary on The Empire Strikes Back.[13] Han Solo's original costume and charming rogue gunslinger mannerisms also reflects the Western's influence on Star Wars. These science fiction-films and television series offered the themes and morals that Westerns previously did.[14]

This frontier view of the future is only one of many ways to look at space exploration, and not one embraced by all science-fiction writers. The Turkey City Lexicon, a document produced by the

Bravestarr and The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers re-popularized explicit themes of cowboys in space. Bravestarr chronicles the adventures of the Space Marshal, as he seeks to uphold law and order in the 23rd century.[18] The opening trailer of The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers shows Texas Rangers-like heroes riding across a prairie landscape on robotic horses. Spaceships and sixguns both feature prominently throughout.[19]In the late 1990s, anime series such as Cowboy Bebop and Trigun, which differs from most space westerns by taking place entirely on one planet, that planet just happening to not be Earth, became prime examples of the genre. Mecha anime and manga like Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs and Voltron, manhua like Cyber Weapon Z and Dimension W #9.5, also are very popular and has significant influence over the genre.[20][21][6]

Games such as

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story also have continued the space Western theme.[26]

Criticisms

This "frontier stories" aspect of the distant future is only one of many ways to look at space exploration, and it's not embraced by all science fiction writers.

The Turkey City Lexicon,[27] a document produced by the Turkey City science fiction writers' workshop, condemns the space Western as "The most pernicious suite of 'Used Furniture' [that is, use of a pre-established background instead of a freshly created world]."

Galaxy Science Fiction ran an advertisement on its back cover, "You'll never see it in Galaxy," which gave the beginnings of make-believe parallel Western and Science fiction stories featuring a character named Bat Durston.[28] The genre of space Westerns has been informally—and often derisively—known as "Bat Durston" stories since.[29]

See also

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 9780786458004
    .
  2. ^ "A First Showing for 'Star Trek' Pilot". The New York Times. 1986-07-22. Retrieved 2014-03-13.
  3. ^ Murray, Noel; Bowman, Donna (2012-06-01). "Firefly: "Serenity"". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2014-03-13.
  4. ^ Franich, Darren (2013-09-24). "The Simultaneous Deconstruction and Reconstruction of Clichés". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2014-03-13.
  5. ISBN 9781135228361
    .
  6. ^ a b c d e Lilly, Nathan E. (2009-11-30). "The Emancipation of Bat Durston". Strange Horizons. Archived from the original on 2014-03-14. Retrieved 2014-03-14.
  7. ^ https://toistudent.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/literary-genres/what-is-a-space-western/35060.html
  8. ^ https://screenrant.com/tabletop-rpg-space-western-game-settings-like-firefly/
  9. ^ https://www.jstor.org/stable/4240753?seq=1
  10. ISBN 9780313329524
    .
  11. ISBN 0786486627
    .
  12. Empire
    . Retrieved 2019-07-03.
  13. ^ The Empire Strikes Back DVD Commentary
  14. ^ Steinberg, Don (2011-07-22). "Hollywood Frontiers: Outer Space and the Wild West". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2014-03-15.
  15. Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America
    . Retrieved 2014-03-14.
  16. ^ "You'll Never See It in Galaxy". Galaxy Science Fiction. 1 (1). October 1950.
  17. ^ The Emancipation of Bat Durston
  18. ^ https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/the-best-of-bravestarr-15-amazing-episodes/
  19. ^ https://archive.org/details/starlog_magazine-121
  20. ^ https://www.ranker.com/list/best-western-anime/ranker-anime
  21. ^ https://www.cbr.com/must-read-sci-fi-manhwa-for-fans-of-manga/
  22. ^ N.E. Lilly. "10 Most Influential Space Westerns". SpaceWesterns.com.
  23. ^ Nick Cowen (2013-01-23). "Battle.net Championship wows the masses as gamers play to the crowds | Technology". The Guardian. Retrieved 2016-12-27.
  24. ^ https://www.escapistmagazine.com/v2/how-the-space-western-evolved-from-star-trek-to-the-outer-worlds/
  25. ^ "Borderlands 2: the cult hit space western game returns". The Week. 2012-09-18. Retrieved 2014-10-22.
  26. ^ https://www.rappler.com/entertainment/movies/riddick-sci-fi-western-movie-review
  27. ^ A Primer for SF Workshops
  28. ^ [Galaxy Science Fiction, Vol. 1 No. 1, October 1950]
  29. ^ The Emancipation of Bat Durston

Further reading

External links

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