“The Old Wild West in the New Middle East”: American Sniper (2014) and the Global Frontiers of the Western Genre
Clint Eastwood’s war film American Sniper (2014), based on the autobiography of (in)famous Navy Seals sniper Chris Kyle, was met on release with considerable commercial success and political controversy. This article investigates how through adopting generic structures and binary oppositions of the...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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European Association for American Studies
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| Series: | European Journal of American Studies |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/12086 |
| _version_ | 1797310321146200064 |
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| author | Lennart Soberon |
| author_facet | Lennart Soberon |
| author_sort | Lennart Soberon |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Clint Eastwood’s war film American Sniper (2014), based on the autobiography of (in)famous Navy Seals sniper Chris Kyle, was met on release with considerable commercial success and political controversy. This article investigates how through adopting generic structures and binary oppositions of the classic Western film American Sniper succeeds in evoking a sense of “frontier mythology.” By generically restructuring historical events, American Sniper analogizes the Iraq War with the mythic struggle of civilization/wilderness and portrays Kyle as a trailblazing frontiersman leading the way to Western expansion. Such a mythical conception of the Western genre operates as a political frame through which a jingoist discourse on the Iraq war is reaffirmed and within which audiences can interpret the conflict—and the undertaken military measures—as necessary and just. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T01:41:17Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6649a64cc4094746960582bf3a1c5606 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1991-9336 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T01:41:17Z |
| publisher | European Association for American Studies |
| record_format | Article |
| series | European Journal of American Studies |
| spelling | doaj.art-6649a64cc4094746960582bf3a1c56062024-02-14T13:22:08ZengEuropean Association for American StudiesEuropean Journal of American Studies1991-933612210.4000/ejas.12086“The Old Wild West in the New Middle East”: American Sniper (2014) and the Global Frontiers of the Western GenreLennart SoberonClint Eastwood’s war film American Sniper (2014), based on the autobiography of (in)famous Navy Seals sniper Chris Kyle, was met on release with considerable commercial success and political controversy. This article investigates how through adopting generic structures and binary oppositions of the classic Western film American Sniper succeeds in evoking a sense of “frontier mythology.” By generically restructuring historical events, American Sniper analogizes the Iraq War with the mythic struggle of civilization/wilderness and portrays Kyle as a trailblazing frontiersman leading the way to Western expansion. Such a mythical conception of the Western genre operates as a political frame through which a jingoist discourse on the Iraq war is reaffirmed and within which audiences can interpret the conflict—and the undertaken military measures—as necessary and just.https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/12086genrefrontierAmerican SniperIraq WarmythologyWesterns |
| spellingShingle | Lennart Soberon “The Old Wild West in the New Middle East”: American Sniper (2014) and the Global Frontiers of the Western Genre European Journal of American Studies genre frontier American Sniper Iraq War mythology Westerns |
| title | “The Old Wild West in the New Middle East”: American Sniper (2014) and the Global Frontiers of the Western Genre |
| title_full | “The Old Wild West in the New Middle East”: American Sniper (2014) and the Global Frontiers of the Western Genre |
| title_fullStr | “The Old Wild West in the New Middle East”: American Sniper (2014) and the Global Frontiers of the Western Genre |
| title_full_unstemmed | “The Old Wild West in the New Middle East”: American Sniper (2014) and the Global Frontiers of the Western Genre |
| title_short | “The Old Wild West in the New Middle East”: American Sniper (2014) and the Global Frontiers of the Western Genre |
| title_sort | the old wild west in the new middle east american sniper 2014 and the global frontiers of the western genre |
| topic | genre frontier American Sniper Iraq War mythology Westerns |
| url | https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/12086 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT lennartsoberon theoldwildwestinthenewmiddleeastamericansniper2014andtheglobalfrontiersofthewesterngenre |