That's a really great observation, about the cultural codes. A lot of people I tried to rope into the fandom back in the day were all "I hate Westerns" and so I could never convince them that they were using the imagery from Westerns to tell a very modern story. It was always kind of a bummer that I couldn't get them to watch.
It’s a little bit funny, given the fact that genre mashups that include Western as their components usually tend to be great and popular films/series/video games, like Three Billboards or The Walking Dead. So, their loss, I guess!
I kind of love that the show never really explained why Raylan started with the hat and the boots. Why he created that image, when a lot of people would see those trappings as a hilarious cliche. His only answer is deflection: "Tried it on and it fit."
Yes! And I think it’s actually very true to the spirit of the classical Westerns, since Western protagonists are typically mystified because that’s part of what makes them attractive to their target audience – male viewers – who can project themselves onto the image of those mavericks.
At the end, we get to see through Winona that he's not as self-aware as he pretends to be, and that adds to the intrigue of just where along the lines he affected that image.
I might have conflicting feelings about Winona, but the way her character and relationship with Raylan illuminate some parts of him that wouldn’t be exposed in any other dynamic is without a doubt just wonderful.
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It’s a little bit funny, given the fact that genre mashups that include Western as their components usually tend to be great and popular films/series/video games, like Three Billboards or The Walking Dead. So, their loss, I guess!
Yes! And I think it’s actually very true to the spirit of the classical Westerns, since Western protagonists are typically mystified because that’s part of what makes them attractive to their target audience – male viewers – who can project themselves onto the image of those mavericks.
I might have conflicting feelings about Winona, but the way her character and relationship with Raylan illuminate some parts of him that wouldn’t be exposed in any other dynamic is without a doubt just wonderful.