Focusing on twenty-first century Western films, including all major releases since the turn of the century, the essays in this volume cover a broad range of aesthetic and thematic aspects explored in these films, including gender and race. As diverse contributors focus on the individual subgenres of the traditional Western (the gunfighter, the Cavalry vs. Native American conflict, the role of women in Westerns, etc.), they share an understanding of the twenty-first century Western may be understood as a genre in itself. They argue that the films discussed here reimagine certain aspects of the more conventional Western and often reverse the ideology contained within them while employing certain forms and clichés that have become synonymous internationally with Westerns. The result is a contemporary sensibility that might be referred to as the postmodern Western.

Contributions by: Alan Lechusza Aquallo, Nicholas Blower, Henrik Bødker, Mark Brenden, Douglas Brode, Shea T. Brode, John Bruni, Garret Castleberry, Lynnea Chapman King, Jim Daems, Ann Hetzel Gunkel, John C. Hajduk, Erik Heine, Andrew Howe, Sue Matheson, Jason McEntee, Walter Metz, Fran Pheasant-Kelly, Natalie Rosiek, David S. Silverman, Sharon Smith, Beth Jane Toren, Rosanne Welch, Nathan Wuertenberg