The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Western films are the most important genre that defines the American film industry, a celebration of the dawn of the vast American frontier. They are one of the oldest, most enduring, and most flexible genres, and one of the most quintessentially American in their mythical origins - they focus on the West - in North America. Western films have also been called the horse opera, the oatmeal (quickly made Western shorts that became as commonplace as the oatmeal for horses), or the cowboy movie. The Western film genre represented much of America's past, glorifying the faded values and aspirations of the West's mythical bygone era. Over time, Westerns have been redefined, reinvented and expanded, shelved, rediscovered and spoofed. But most Western movie ideas derive from characteristics known to Native Americans and Mexicans long before American culture became aware of them. What you probably know as a good old American western movie originated from a culture known as vaqueros (cowboys for Spanish). These are many misrepresentations of cultures and races shown in films as early as the 1920s with silent films. While it could be argued that the silent film era was more politically correct than current films, the film industry should not have the right to misrepresent the cultures of Mexicans, Indians and their lifestyles in films known as films western. The movie I chose is "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly." I first saw this movie about five years ago while I was in high school. I loved the movie, but now, after watching it, I took a closer look at the stereotypes and generalizations that are portrayed in various ways such as language, names, landscapes, and people. I chose this film because it is famous and well known by Italians, Americans and Hispanics, and not only famous in American Hollywood (and because I had a list of requested films to choose from). As I watched the film for the second time, I tried to focus on where the film is set to demonstrate how the lands of Mexico, New Mexico, and Texas generalized. I also paid attention to the names given to the characters. There is a term used in Hollywood called "little man wins", but after watching The Good, the Bad and the Ugly you notice that this cliché is not used.
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