A Western Sense of Place: The Case of George Stevens' Shane

The western is the only fully-fledged film genre defined by geographical location. Yet does this mean that place, or a sense of place, plays a more significant role in the Western than in other film genres? On the face of it, it would seem that it does not. For the most part, place typically appears in the Western as little more than the scenic background to the action that is the real thread of the film – and sometimes, even the generic character of many Western locations, it is not even especially scenic. Yet there are aspects of the way place figures in the Western, or in particular Westerns, that does suggest the possibility that place can take on a more significant and complex role in the Western, and that there may, after all, be such a thing as a “Western” sense of place. Taking George Stevens' Shane as an example, this essay will explore the way place figures in one of the classic films of the genre. ___________________________________________________________________________________ ... it is hard to be pessimistic about the West. This is the native home of hope. When it fully learns that cooperation, not rugged individualism, is the pattern that most characterizes and preserves it, then it will have achieved itself and outlived its origins. Then it has a chance to create a society to match its scenery – Wallace