Specific Narrative Conventions that Adhere to Western Genre of Movies

The Western genre includes the movie “Once Upon a Time in the West.” Western films frequently use the features and strategies that the story’s author uses in an effort to give it meaning. First, the genre primarily tells stories from the American Old West in the late 19th century (Peckninpah, 1999). Frank and Harmonica are both carrying firearms in the film’s last scene. Harmonica shoots Frank in retaliation for the way he killed Harmonica’s brother. It is a standard feature for Western movies to involve gunfighters or individuals who are armed with either a rifle or a revolver.

Setting of the Scene

Secondly, the context of the site is a desolate, arid place. In the site, some mountains are seen in the background as the two men take their positions when planning on how to attack one another (Leone, 2011). Moreover, the land is mainly covered by sand, and a loud sound of wind can be heard in the background. When Frank sees the harmonica, he remembers of the incidence when he forced a young boy to support the weight of his brother who was hanging from an arch. The scene at that place is characterized by a scorching sun and sand. Therefore, the movie adheres to the narrative conventions of the western genre in its setting.

The setting is used to emphasize on the harshness of the desert (Peckninpah, 1999). The scene involves individuals who are fighting for a piece of land where the construction of a railroad is going to take place (Leone, 2011). The individuals therein are harsh, and they end up even murdering innocent people. Therefore, the harshness of the desert attempts to relate to the personality traits demonstrated by the characters. Moreover, the vast landscape presents to the viewer a mythic vision of the deserts in the American West, a standard feature for all Western movies (Peckninpah, 1999).

Specific Character Conventions

Frank has been a bandit from a young age, and he forced Harmonica to support the weight of his elder brother whose neck was in a noose strung from an arch (Leone, 2011). Frank then places a harmonica in the mouth of the young boy and asks him to play it. It was impossible for the young boy to play the instrument as he was struggling to keep his brother alive. Frank’s choice of killing the man using his brother adds up to the theme of crime that is demonstrated in the movie. In addition to an attempted land grabbing, Frank ends up committing murder. Therefore, Frank helps prove the theme of crime that is common in western movies (Peckninpah, 1999).

Harmonica, on the other hand, begins a pursuit of Frank who is a wrongdoer according to him. He is the man who killed his brother, and he feels that he must revenge against him. Frank keeps asking Harmonica for his identity in some instances. However, Harmonica only states that he will reveal himself at the point of dying (Peckninpah, 1999). When Harmonica finally shoots Frank and places the instrument in his mouth, Frank remembers of the incidence when he forced a young boy to take part in murdering his brother. The choice of words and actions that Harmonica adopts reveals the theme of revenge at the end of all Western movies (Peckninpah, 1999). The revenge is often dispensed through a shootout just like in this last scene.

Specific Mise en Scene Conventions

Mise en scene mainly focuses on the design aspects of a film (Peckninpah, 1999). As the two men approach one another ready to shoot, Harmonica experiences a flashback of the day when Frank murdered his elder brother. The design aspect of this scene shows how multiple sections of a film can be merged to represent the message of the writer. The flashback reveals Harmonica’s motive for revenge. The flashback is seen as a visual experience in Harmonica’s mind at it makes the audience connect emotionally to the characters in the movie. Thus, this flashback reinforces the pursuit for a wrongdoer that is expressed by Western movies. The viewer can understand why Harmonica is relentless in his pursuit against Frank.

The sound of somebody playing the instrument is also present every time Harmonica remembers the incident. It is also another part of the design of the film that helps the audience relate to the pursuit against Frank (Leone, 2011). It was impossible for Harmonica to play the instrument when he was struggling to support his brother. The act of Frank placing it in his mouth was to signify to him that it was also impossible for him to prevent the death of his brother. Similarly, Harmonica put the instrument on Frank’s mouth when he was at the point of passing. It would also have been impossible for him to play the instrument. Therefore, the sound is part of the design of the film that indicates the irony in asking the young boy to play the instrument.

Attempt to Subvert Genre Conventions

The Western type of movies mainly tells stories with cowboys who wear cowboy boots, buckskins, Stetson hats and bandannas (Peckninpah, 1999). Although the characters in the last scene were dressed in cowboy boots and Stetson hats, they were not performing the primary works done by a cowboy. Cowboys in North America were mainly animal herders who used to tend on cattle in ranches on horseback and performed many farm related tasks. The men in the last scene do not have any horse, ranch and they are not tending to any animals. Therefore, the final scene revising this expectation of Western movies.

Western movies also include specific settings of ranches, saloons, railways and small frontier towns which aim at emphasizing the lifestyle of the people of America old west in the late 19th century (Peckninpah, 1999). However, in the last scene, the desert is the only setting that has been featured by the story teller. The flashback also takes place in a wilderness setting. Therefore, the storyteller is seen to revise the conventions of western movies by emphasizing on the use of a particular choice of background. The desert demonstrates the unique characteristic of the ending of the story. The writer can choose a different setting and still bring out the story of the people of the Old West in America. At the end of the scene, the theme of revenge is still felt as Frank falls to the ground with the Harmonica in his mouth just like the young boy did when his brother kicked him (Leone, 2011).

References

Leone, S. (Director). (2011). Once Upon a Time in the West- End Scene

Peckninpah, S. (1999). Authorship and Genre: Notes on the Western. In The Wild Bunch, Cambridge University Press, 7-27