The definitions of abstract concepts like genres can be notoriously hard to pin down, so, rather than leave everybody to fight amongst themselves about what exactly a "western" or a "thriller" is, IMDb has thoughtfully provided us with official definitions on their help page. What is their definition of "Western"? Read on:
Should contain numerous scenes and/or a narrative where the portrayal is similar to that of frontier life in the American West during 1600s to contemporary times. Objective.
In other words, the basic criteria for being a Western is based on time and place: the American West in the frontier era. This is easy enough to apply to things like
Más corazón que odio (1956) or
Gunsmoke (1955-1975), titles that fit neatly within those parameters. But what about those movies and TV shows that happen to meet some, but not all, of the criteria? What about the pieces of media that only vaguely, kinda sorta fit the bill?
Not one single title on this list is officially recognized as a "Western" by IMDb. Yet, every last one of them has some significant connection to the genre. The question is, which of these films/TV series do you think is the best example of a Western... that's
not a Western?
After voting,
please discuss here.
Click
here for the expanded version of this list.
Click
here to read an alternate version of this list with detailed descriptions for each title.
