Cowboy Boots on the Movie Frontier
The frontier- that magical place between civilization and the wilderness is one that was often captured by films. The genre of Western films, one that certainly can be credited for some of western wear clothing's popularity, is an authentically American one. There are have been several cycles of popularity for this type of film- in the 30s, the 60s and once again in the 90s. (So, maybe again in the 2020s? We'll have to wait and see). Before they were movies, westerns were a literary genre, with writers such as Owen Wister, Zane Grey, Karl May and James Fenimore Cooper. The western format, where the landscape is large and the dialogue sparse, translated well to film. Often filmed in remote areas of Utah, Wyoming, Colorado and Arizona, the landscapes were characters in an of themselves, the west seemed more than just a geographical location, it was place all its own, but also, it was culture all its own.
The culture that these cowboy boot wearing, gun-slinging characters embody is one of honor, rather than one of rules. In fact, it is the very absence of rules- of law, of civilization, of the social hierarchy that existed in the larger cities back east, that created the western culture that so captured Hollywood's imagination. Western wear rose to such popularity outside of this culture for those very ideals- of freedom and unconstrained life in a majestic land. You'll find movies staring western apparel clad heroes within several sub-genres as well- there are epic westerns, comedy westerns, shoot-em-up westerns, singing cowboy westerns, spaghetti westerns and of course, parody westerns. Over the course of western movie's history there has also be a fair bit of historical revision. Many choose to accord more respect and power to Native Americans or women, for example. Another arena of revision was in the strict delineation between good and bad- there began to be room for redemption and tests of a man's character.
Cowboy boots were very much designed to make life in the saddle easier and safer, and when you look to westerns you may notice that for every cowboy there is a faithful and trusty steed that co-stars right along with them. The relationship between man and horse was just one of many ways that these cowboys were shown to be truly good men- and the culture of living with horses is one that continues today- albeit with more mucking out of stalls than Hollywood generally depicts.
About the Author
Even though the western movies have had different periods of popularity, cowboy boot and western wear like at the Boot Store, have stayed classic fashion elements. From playing imaginary cowboy games as children, to the movies we loved as adolescents, to the perfect pair of cowboy boots we all need, westerns and western apparel have always had a place in American society.
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