This week we will spend the first half of section talking about Newcomb's essay "From Old Frontier to New Frontier," then spend the second half reviewing for the midterm. Here's what I'd like you to do to prep for section:
Newcomb Discussion Questions:
- How did (TV) Westerns dramatize issues of race, nationalism, and citizenship? (Or, what is the "old frontier" Newcomb is discussing? What content is on the surface of these shows?)
- How were these dramatizations of race/nationalism/citizenship related to social and cultural changes of the 60s? How did they represent these changes? (Or, what is the New Frontier in the Kennedy era, and how does Newcomb argue TV Westerns are connected to it?)
Review:
- Bring your review questions with you, including any you posted to the blog. Between section Wednesday and lecture Thursday we should get to everything.
- IMPORTANT: also bring with you any study notes you've made, and, if possible, a way to access course readings and your lecture/section notes.
- This review will be a peer knowledge-sourcing exercise. I am not going to give you the answers; if you have a question, bring it, and one of your peers can probably answer it from their studying, while you can answer one of theirs. We will work as a group to prep for the exam.
Additional exam resources:
Check out the folder "Josh's Study Tips" under the Resources tab of the class CTools page, and you'll find three handouts I've uploaded with tips on taking multiple choice exams, effective study tips, and other useful info heading into the midterm.
Optional (hilarious) watching for the week:
If you're into westerns and think you might want to write on them for the final paper, here's S05E28 "A Pink Cloud Comes From Old Cathay" of Bonanza, one of the most famous TV westerns, which illustrates the complicated and problematic nature of the genre that Newcomb discusses.
Don't forget that I have office hours this Thursday from 130-330pm; come see me if you have exam questions!
Cheers, and happy Canadian Thanksgiving!
Josh
Newcomb argues that Westerns played an important role in the social and political conversation during the 1960s. While the Western genre was not overtly making an attempt to be specifically a political or social genre, it did utilize its narrative ability to display conflicts of the current times involving race, power, and civil rights. Overall, Newcomb argues that Westerns did a good job of displaying problems within society, but they did not present viable solutions. Often Westerns would present a complex problem, and then end it with a shootout or other violent confrontation.
ReplyDeleteIn Newcomb’s essay, he explores two episodes from different Westerns. In his review of Trackdown’s episode “The Chinese Cowboy,” a laundryman named Wong is bullied in the Western town. He purchases a gun to gain respect but ends up shooting the men who terrorized him, ultimately earning the town’s fear instead of respect. By the end of the episode, the people of the town accept him, but he still feels the need to leave. This episode dramatizes race and violence – two ongoing issues during the 60s – at a narrative level, but it does not examine a solution or provide deeper context into these characters. They are used more as symbols, representing their group’s context in society than as an actual ongoing role for an actor to play.
While this use of character provided more practical reasons (it was cheaper to have a singular “hero” actor on a show with guest stars than to establish a whole cast), along with Western TV shows’ prime time scheduling slots in the 60s and the popularity of the genre, Westerns had the attention of the American public. Even though their conflicts were at surface level, Westerns still utilized their position as a power player in the 1960s to send social messages.