Western Conventions

 Characters in traditional westerns, usually follow the hero/villain archetype. Usually the hero was a cowboy who was presented as brave, charismatic and strong, with no real moral faults, he would also be shown as clean cut and masculine. This is due to this being the typical, positive image of an American man, as this is what many American men will identify with and like to see themselves as. The villain, however, would be the pure antithesis of this. Unfortunately, many villains of classic westerns were often Native American, which also become a trope of westerns. In subgenres of westerns that were established later, such as the spaghetti western or the modern western, characters are usually a lot more morally grey, and often anonymous or mysterious, often reminiscent to characters from, the Film Noir genre, such as the famous "Man With No Name" from Sergio Leone's Dollars trilogy. Other archetypical side characters that commonly feature in westerns include the damsel in distress; the townspeople, such as the doctor, sheriff and bartender; and the undertaker.

The narrative of a western revolves around a conflict between the hero and villain, often due to money, land, general criminality or sometimes simply self-defense or a disagreement in terms of morals. This conflict is usually resolved in violence, specifically by a shootout between two individuals or groups. The themes of westerns also often revolve around conflict, violence and criminality; for example greed, revenge and self-reliance among many others. There are also many binary opposites present throughout westerns, such as good vs evil, peace vs chaos and wilderness vs civilisation. 

A very common image in westerns is the landscape of a desert using wide shots, with the occasional small town that te protagonist may pass through. Common iconography of the desert setting includes tumbleweed, cacti and an emphasis on the bright, burning sun. Due to this, the lighting of westerns is typically very bright and uses highly saturated, warm colours. Common iconography of the towns in westerns are swinging doors, a gunsmith, a sheriff's office and prison, as well as a saloon that everyone from the town visits to drink. The costume for a cowboy is now iconic, especially the hat, but also the boots and in some instances the jacket and belt are also very symbolic of a western. The performance of a western protagonist is also very specific, from the walk, to the thick Southern accent, to the way they chew tobacco and spit it on the ground.