The history of cinema uncovers not just one forgotten as unnecessary genre, whose representation of the world could not address fast-changing social, political, and ideological challenges. Because of these issues in the 80s, the Western was predicted to die, and films by C. Eastwood were being released as a farewell to the once extremely popular genre, which was considered to be one of the elements of the American culture code for a long time. However, in the XXI century, the Western is experiencing a new wave of popularity. World-renowned directors produce genre movies despite global cinema processes of genres, styles, and trends merger. The article presents a study on the reasons for the Western genre relevance preservation on the example of the film «The Power of the Dog» by Jane Campion (2021). The hypothesis of the article based on the idea that the skillful use of the genre traditions allows directors to keep the Western relevant and stay in the modern social context simultaneously. The main artistic idea of the film identified, the semiotic levels of elements revealing this idea analyzed, and the novelty of these techniques in the motion picture genre field is correlated with the reasons for the Western relevance. The result of the research is the determination of the Western genre essence in the cinematography of the XXI century from its formal as well as ideological perspective.
Western, genre analysis, «The Power of the Dog», neo-western
1. Avdeeva E. (2018). «The Unkillable Western: the ups and downs of the American genre itself» DTF. [Electronic resource] URL: https://dtf.ru/cinema/25570-neubivaemyy-vestern-vzlety-i-padeniya-samogo-amerikanskogo-zhanra.
2. Baryshnikov, I. S. Dukhanin, D. A., Pashkov, V. A. (2022). Cranes are flying. Memorable dates of history: a collection of scientific articles by students. Moscow: Knigodel, 124-128.
3. Bezenkova, M. V. (2019). The evolution of the hero's image in the cinema of the «Sixties», or «Cranes are flying» to the «Ilyich Outpost». Burganov's house. The space of culture, 2, 141-158.
4. Goryachok, K. L. (2020). The evolution of the American Western: vitality, aesthetics, mythology. Art Culture, 2, 220-228.
5. Zhukovsky, V. I. (2011). Theory of Fine Art. St. Petersburg : Aleteya, 496.
6. Zhukovsky, V. I. Koptseva N. P. (2004). Propositions of the theory of fine art: textbook. Krasnoyarsk: Krasnoyarsk State University, 256.
7. Zaitseva, L. A. (2012). The theme of war in the cinema of the second half of the 50s of the twentieth century. Vestnik VGIK, 4, 2-3, 20-30.
8. Zamaraeva, Yu. S. (2021). The concepts of «nation», «nationalism», «national state» as elements of the modern project. Social Anthropology of Siberia, 2, 2, 36-67.
9. Zamaraeva, Yu. S. (2020). Formation of the concept of «complex identity» in modern humanities. Siberian Anthropological Journal, 4, 2, 89-102.
10. Zamaraeva Y. S., Seredkina N. N., Shpak A. A. (2022). The media image of the territories of the Russian Empire in the magazine «Nature and People» (1913 edition). Bygone years, 17(2), 1010-1021. doi:https://doi.org/10.13187/bg.2022.2.1010.
11. Zakharov, D. V. (2019). Evolution of the film western in the course of cyclic processes (1980s-2010s). Moscow, 178.
12. Zorin, A. N. (2020). «The World of the Wild West». From evolution to the revolution of the Western. Science of Television, 16, 61-85.
13. Karimova, E. G. (2014). Rethinking the Western genre in Cormac McCarthy's novel «Old People don't belong here». Bulletin of the Nizhny Novgorod University named after N. I. Lobachevsky, 2(3), 249-253.
14. Kistova, A.V. (2020). Culture as a factor of social dynamics. Northern archives and expeditions, 4, 2, 100-111.
15. Kistova, A.V. (2020). Synthetic model of culture and cultural practices. Siberian Anthropological Journal, 4, 2, 111-121. doi:https://doi.org/10.31804/2542-1816-2020-4-2-109-119.
16. Kistova, A.V. Tamarovskaya, A. N. (2014). Works of architecture and cultural identity. Modern problems of science and education, 4, 597.
17. Kolesnik, M. A. (2014). Specifics of understanding the word «Homeland» by students of the Siberian Federal University. Modern problems of science and education, 2, 648.
18. Koptseva, N. P., Avdeeva, Yu. N., Krupkina, K. A. et Al. (2020). Methods of studying culture : a textbook for students. Krasnoyarsk: Siberian Federal University, 182.
19. Koptseva, N. P., Bralkova, A.V., Gerasimova, A. A. et Al. (2013). Theory and practice of applied cultural research: a regional project. St. Petersburg: Eidos, 224.
20. Koptseva, N. P., Bralkova, A.V., Gerasimova, A. A. et Al. (2015). New art criticism on the banks of the Yenisei. Krasnoyarsk: Siberian Federal University, 340..
21. Koptseva, N. P. Libakova, N. M. (2012). Formation of Russian cultural identity in the educational activity of a modern university through the study of the history of Russian fine art. Pedagogy of art, 4, 7-29.
22. Koptseva, N. P. Menzhurenko, Yu. N., Degtyarenko, K. A. (2022). Cultural memory and ethnic identification. Siberian Federal University, Humanities Institute. Krasnoyarsk: Siberian Federal University, 250.
23. Korte, G. (2018). Introduction to systematic film analysis with research examples based on the films «Zabriskie Point» (Antonioni, 1969), «Misery» (Rainer, 1990), «Schindler's List» (Spielberg, 1993), «Romeo and Juliet» (Luhrmann, 1996). Moscow: Publishing House of the Higher School of Economics, 360.
24. Kremlev, G. D. (1964). Mikhail Kalatozov. Moscow: Iskusstvo, 244.
25. Krikunova, E. K. (2012). The world of Hollywood Western. Article, 5(1), 26-36.
26. Krystul B. I. (2022) The Long Road to Cannes (Mikhail Kalatozov). Moscow: Kraft, 463.
27. Levchenko Y. (2014). Genre liberated. Author's western - about the future of civilization. Philosophical and literary magazine «Logos», 6(102), 135-148.
28. Nemchenko, L. M. (2015). «Soviet cinema in France: from "Polikushka» to «Cranes are flying». Aesthetics, politics, institutions (what and where the French could watch in the 20-50's of the XX century). Politicization of the field of art: historical versions, theoretical approaches, aesthetic specificity: collection of scientific articles edited by T.A. Kruglova. Yekaterinburg: Humanities University, 159-172.
29. Pimenova, N.N. (2006). Psychology of artistic creativity as a system of knowledge about the laws of the development of the soul through artistic creativity: development of a training course. Bulletin of the Krasnoyarsk State University. Humanities, 10, 86-100.
30. Rozov, V. S. Freilikh, S. I. (1972). «Cranes are flying» from the series «Masterpieces of Soviet cinema». Moscow: Iskusstvo, 148.
31. Semenov, M. (2019). The film from which it all began: «Cranes are flying». The Art of Cinema. [Electronic resource] URL: https://kinoart.ru/texts/film-s-kotorogo-vse-nachalos-fenomen-letyat-zhuravli.
32. Seredkina, N. N. (2022). Anthropological and ethnological approaches to the study of the All-Russian civil identity. Siberian Anthropological Journal, 6, 1, 111-121.
33. Seredkina, N. N. (2022). All-Russian civil identity as a factor of integration of society. Siberian Anthropological Journal, 6, 2, 125-135.
34. Seredkina, N. N., Shpak, A. A., Pimenova, N. N., Zamaraeva, Yu. S. (2022). The image of the Siberian territories of the Russian Empire in the journal «Siberian Observer» (1901-1906 editions). Bygone years, 17 (3), 1385-1396.
35. Sertakova, E. A. Khusnullina, R. E. (2022). The problem of identity in modern Chinese national Cinema (Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan). Research Journal of the Siberian State Institute of Arts named after Dmitry Hvorostovsky, 1, 95-102.
36. Sertakova, E. A. Khusnullina, R. E. (2022). The problem of identity in modern Chinese national Cinema (Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan). Research Journal of the Siberian State Institute of Arts named after Dmitry Hvorostovsky, 1, 95-102.
37. Wright W. (2010). Individuals and values: the classic plot of a Western. Philosophical and literary magazine «Logos, 6 (79),119-150.
38. Abbasov J. (2021). The film at Lincoln Center "Jane Campion and Sofia Coppola about the power of a dog and the process of making a film." [Electronic source] URL://www.filmlinc.org/daily/Jane-Campion-and-Sofia-Coppola-about-the-power-of-a-dog/
39. Agresta, M. (2013). How the Western was lost (and why it's important). Atlantic Ocean, 24.
40. Anderson, R. (1979). The role of the Western film genre in industry competition, 1907-1911. Journal of the University Film Association, 31 (2), 19-27.
41. Campion, J. (2021). A film at Lincoln Center: Jane Campion, Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst and others about the power of a dog. Press tour. [Electronic source] URL: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CgPUPEe15E
42. Chandler, D. (1997). Introduction to genre theory. [Electronic source] URL://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/intgenre/chandler_genre_theory.pdf/
43. Kondi, N. (2009). Veronica merges: Rapeseed and medium specificity in "Cranes are Flying". Studies in Russian and Soviet Cinema, 3(2), 173-183. doihttps://doi.org/10.1386/srsc.3.2.173_1.
44. Ramirez, R. (2022). Secrets of the Western genre. [Electronic resource] URL: https://storygrid.com/western-genre/
45. Riupeyrut, J. L. (1952). Western: historical genre. Quarterly Journal of Cinema, Radio and Television, 7(2), 116-128.
46. Scarf, Z (2022). Sam Elliott calls "The Power of the Dog" a "piece of C-", criticizes its "Hints of homosexuality" [Electronic source] URL: URL://www.google.com/amp/s/variety.com/2022/film/news/sam-elliot-slams-the-power-of-the-dog-homosexuality-1235192840/amp/
47. Sims, D. (2021). The biblical clash is at the heart of the Dog's Power. [Electronic source] URL://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2021/12/the-power-of-the-dog-movie-review-benedict-cumberbatch/ 620885 /
48. Spicer, J. A. (2012). The Changing Face of the Western: An analysis of Hollywood Western films directed by John Ford and other directors from 1939 to 1964, 581
49. Tudor, A. (1973). The genre of the film: Theory and criticism. York University. 131-152
50. Voll J. (2003). Cranes are flying. London : Bloomsbury Publishing, 112.
