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The Weird West - A Brief History and Explanation of the Weird West Genre & Weird Westerns

The Weird West - A Brief History and Explanation of the Weird West Genre & Weird Westerns What is a weird western? What is the weird west genre all about? Jay Sherer breaks it down. What is YOUR favorite weird western? Please support our channel by purchasing our weird west genre novel, Death of a Bounty Hunter: http://deathofabountyhunter.com #WeirdWestern #WeirdWest #Western VIDEO TRANSCRIPT What is a weird western and where does the weird west genre come from? The most straightforward definition of the weird west genre is that it combines traditional westerns with a second, more fantastical genre. What does that mean? Let me explain. I’m Jay Sherer, co-writer of the full cast audiobook and novel, DEATH OF A BOUNTY HUNTER, a weird west apologue. So, obviously, I dig the genre... If you finish this video and want more info on weird westerns and the weird west genre, check out the reference links in the description down below. Let’s take a look at the origin of the Weird West... WESTERNS The “western” part of the weird west genre is probably something you’re already familiar with. The western genre has existed ever since settlers left the eastern part of the United States and traveled west toward the left coast. That spirit of exploration and settlement gave rise to terms like the American Frontier, the Old West, and the Wild West. While the United States had already built large, thriving cities in the east—like New York, Philadelphia, and Boston—everything west of Chicago was seen as the land of opportunity. In the late 1700s, most of what is now the western United States was controlled by Spain. That, however, would dramatically change over the course of the 19th century. United States citizens moved west, and as they did, the United States government followed. While hardship, brutal imperialism, and outright lawlessness fueled the U.S.’s expansion toward the west coast of the continent, that era in world history produced something unique: bold and legendary tales of the wild west, including its heroes, and its villains. Those tales gave birth to a new genre of storytelling: the western. Westerns often focus on loneliness and isolation, morality and the development of moral codes, and extreme violence. Why? Because that era of U.S. history begs for those stories to be told as storytellers wonder: What was it like to live in the western United States in the 1800s? THE WEST GETS WEIRD But you’re probably already familiar with westerns. They’re incredibly popular and have been ever since the Old West era ended. So, how did writers turn the Wild West into something much… weirder? The origins of the weird western probably predate any references you’ll find online. Why? Because in the 1800s, as cowboys and explorers sat around campfires, they probably told a ghost story every now and then. And the first person living in the Old West to tell a ghost story probably told the world’s first weird western. That’s because weird westerns are like traditional westerns in that they almost always take place in the Old West or an approximation of the Old West, but weird westerns add one more key element… Weird westerns add a second, fantastical genre to the mix. What genres, when blended with westerns, qualify as weird westerns? It’s a pretty long list. I won’t even try to list them all, but here’s a smattering of them: paranormal—like the campfire ghost stories I talked about a second ago, supernatural, fantasy or dark fantasy, science fiction, monster or creature features, horror, Occult, steampunk, and many more. The concept of the weird western likely arose from old pulp stories that became popular at the turn of the 20th century and stayed popular into the 1950s. Writers began to tell horror stories that took place in the Old West. And then, as fantasy and science fiction became more and more popular, those elements and themes began showing up in the Old West as well. EXAMPLES OF WEIRD WESTERNS AND WEIRD WEST TALES Here are just a few examples of popular weird westerns or weird west tales that have risen up over the decades: The Dark Tower series by Stephen King The comic book series, Jonah Hex ...and the television shows, Wynonna Earp, Westworld, and Firefly Some might even argue that The Mandalorian is enough of a western to warrant a weird west label. Obviously, hundreds—if not thousands—of weird westerns have been produced since the Wild West existed, so those are just some of the more popular examples. Let me know what YOUR favorite weird western or weird west tale is in the comments.