Space Western
Space Western is a subgenre of science fiction that merges elements from traditional Westerns with futuristic and space-oriented themes. It often portrays outer space as a lawless frontier, similar to the American Old West, where characters may embody the rugged individualism of cowboys, sometimes even featuring traditional Western attire and customs. This genre typically combines advanced technology, like spaceships, with more primitive elements, such as horseback riding, reflecting the coexistence of old and new.
The roots of the Space Western can be traced back to the 1930s, influenced by early works like "The Phantom Empire," which is recognized as one of the first to blend these genres. Notable examples in literature include Edgar Rice Burroughs' "Barsoom" series, which draws parallels between Martian landscapes and the American frontier. The genre gained traction in film and television through iconic series and movies such as "Star Trek," "Star Wars," and "Firefly," each contributing to the genre's evolution and popularity. Space Westerns often explore themes of civilization versus wilderness, mirroring the moral complexities of frontier life seen in traditional Westerns.
Subject Terms
Space Western
Space Western is a subgenre of science fiction that combines the themes and elements of the Western genre with that of science fiction. The connection to the Western genre can be literal, with characters wearing cowboy hats and even riding horses. In other examples the connection is more figurative, with outer space depicted as a lawless frontier where explorers and other adventurous people attempt to stake their claim. While advanced technology is a trademark of most popular science fiction, the space Western often contains a combination of antiquated and advanced technologies. The subgenre began in the 1930s and since then has seen varying popularity in literature, television, and film, as well as substantial critical interest.
Brief History
The origins of the science fiction genre can be traced back centuries, with the first major work often cited as author Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels(1726). As technology continued to advance, literature began to explore its societal impact. These stories and their authors established the groundwork for what became known in popular culture as science fiction.
The Western genre developed out of the romanticization of the American frontier experience of the latter half of the nineteenth century, known as the Old West or the Wild West. During the 1950s and 1960s, Western series like Bonanza(1959–73) and Rawhide (1959–65) were highly popular on television. Before this rise in the television Western, the genre was a staple of pulp fiction literature. Pulp fiction, which is a general term for genre literature that was published in cheap magazines made of pulpy paper, was highly popular from the 1930s to the 1950s, and oftentimes in these magazines Westerns would be featured alongside science fiction stories. Many scholars cited the film serial The Phantom Empire (1935) as the first work to combine the two genres. The serial is about a singing cowboy who discovers a technologically advanced civilization beneath his dude ranch.
Other early examples of space Westerns include the short stories of C. L. Moore featuring her character Northwest Smith (1933–40), as well as elements of the stories surrounding pulp heroes Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers. These examples typically transposed Western characters directly into futuristic settings. When traditional Westerns became unfashionable in the late 1960s, science fiction often adapted frontier themes more obliquely. This cross-genre influence informed many major science fiction franchises, such as Star Trek and Star Wars. The 1990s and 2000s saw the return of direct hybridization of cowboy and space aesthetics in media, including anime.
Overview
The space Western subgenre of science fiction contains themes, features, and icons of the American West and applies them to an outer space setting. Typically, space Westerns simultaneously feature advanced and primitive science and technology. For example, a character could fly a spaceship to another planet and then ride a horse once on the planet’s surface. Space Westerns oftentimes indulge in the iconic mystique of the gunfighter, a character of strict morals who is also commonly an outlaw.
Another major characteristic of the space genre is the concept of civilization versus wilderness. In Westerns, this concept is illustrated by the American frontier, where law is sparse and civilized society remote. Space Westerns apply this concept to outer space and depict different planets and space itself as an uncontrolled frontier. A strong example of this is the original Star Trek television series, whose opening narration begins with, "Space, the final frontier."
Literature
One of the earliest examples of space Western literature is the "Barsoom" series written by Edgar Rice Burroughs from 1912 to 1943. The series takes place on Mars and follows an American Civil War veteran named John Carter who was transported there in an astral body. Burroughs describes Mars as comparable to the landscape of Arizona and the wars between factions of Martians parallel the struggles between the American frontiersmen and Native Americans.
Burroughs’s series would later become highly influential, but the first space Western to introduce science fiction into popular culture was the comic strip Buck Rogers, which premiered in the comic series Amazing Stories in 1928. The character was later adapted for radio, film, and television.
While Buck Rogers made science fiction popular with the masses, the academic world still did not take the genre seriously. It was not until renowned author Ray Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles(1950) that the science fiction and space Western genres were accepted in academia and literary circles. The book is a collection of short stories that depicts the American colonization of Mars and parallels the earthly conflict between white settlers and American Indians.
Since the 1950s, the space Western subgenre has been a constant in science fiction literature. Exemplary works over the years include Andre Norton’s The Beast Master (1959), Robert Heinlein’s Time Enough for Love (1973), and Mike Resnick’s Santiago: A Myth of the Far Future (1986).
Film and Television
Early space Western films such as The Phantom Empire were highly influential in shaping many other science fiction works, including the popular Star Wars series. Two other popular films were Flash Gordon (1936) and Buck Rogers (1939), both starring actor Buster Crabbe as the titular roles.
The space Western genre fell out of popularity in the 1940s and 1950s but saw a revival in the 1960s, thanks in large part to the Star Trek (1966–69) television series. The series followed a spaceship crew as they explored uncharted regions of space. The only franchise to rival Star Trek in popularity would be Star Wars films, which depicted a group of rebels combating the evil Galactic Empire. The empire can be interpreted as the greedy industrialist characters that appeared in many Westerns.
Several space Westerns of both film and television followed, including Battlestar Galactica(1978), Outland (1981), and Oblivion (1994). The television series Firefly (2002) revitalized the space Western genre for a new generation of fans. It follows a group who live as scavenging pioneers on the fringes of society following a galactic civil war. The show was quickly cancelled but developed a large cult following, leading to the production of the spinoff film Serenity (2005).
Bibliography
Abbott, Carl. Frontiers Past and Future: Science Fiction and the American West. Lawrence: UP of Kansas, 2006. Print.
Anderson, Sara. "The Context of the Space Western." Professor Martin Irvine Seminar Wiki. Georgetown U, 2012. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.
Gamel, Terry. "Cowboys in Space: ‘Firefly’ and a New Mythos of the Old West." Terry Gamel’s Writing Portfolio. Terry Gamel, n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.
Goodrum, Michael D., and Philip Smith. Firefly Revisited: Essays on Joss Whedon’s Classic Series. Lanham: Rowman, 2015. Print.
Katerberg, William H. Future West: Utopia and Apocalypse in Frontier Science Fiction. Lawrence: U of Kansas P, 2008. Print.
Mogen, David, and Daryl F. Mallett. Wilderness Visions: The Western Theme in Science Fiction Literature. 2nd ed. San Bernardino: Borgo, 1993. Print.
Nelson, Emma Leigh Boone. Frontier, Displacement, and Mobility in Joss Whedon’s "Firefly." ScholarsArchive. Brigham Young U, 3 May 2012. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.
Steinberg, Don. "Hollywood Frontiers: Outer Space and the Wild West." Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones, 22 July 2011. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.