Cowboy Courage: Westerns and the Portrayal of Bravery

Program Type:

History, Literary, Presentation

Age Group:

Teens, Adults
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Body

Black Hawk College, Professor Emeritus, Bill Hampes, will share from his book, Cowboy Courage:  Westerns and the Portrayal of Bravery.

Film and television Westerns are associated with physical bravery. Productions from the Golden Age” of Westerns from the 1940s to the early 1960s – demonstrate moral bravery (the willingness to do the right thing even when met with others’ disapproval) and psychological bravery (the ability to overcome one’s fear and inner conflict to bring out the best in oneself and others).

Through a close examination of Westerns displaying all three types of bravery, the author shows us how courage can lead to, and even enrich, other virtues like redemption, authenticity, love, friendship, allegiance to one’s community, and justice.