MovieChat Forums > Oklahoma! (1956) Discussion > Is this really a Western?

Is this really a Western?

posted 9 years ago by RGzer0
6 replies | jump to latest

According to IMDb, this is a Musical/Romance/Western. Does Oklahoma! even count as a Western? Aside from the presence of cowboys and their trademark hats, and a few fleeting glimpses of a railroad locomotive, the tropes and characteristics typically found in Westerns are not present. There's no Sheriff character - Mr. Carnes' bushy mustache was sufficiently sheriff-y, but he's not the sheriff - there are no outlaws, bandits, or lawmen (corrupt or otherwise), there's no saloon with a tack piano and/or fiddler, there's no bank for outlaws to stick up, and last but not least, it doesn't take place in the *West*, as evidenced by the fact that none of them have Western accents; those are all *mid*western/Southern accents, although heavily exaggerated, and nobody ever says 'partner' or 'I reckon.'

What diversity used to mean: Diversity
What diversity now means: Fewer white people

[–] jefgg 9 years ago

I consider "Oklahoma!" a musical that takes place in the West, not a western.

[–] RGzer0 9 years ago

But Oklahoma is in the Midwest, not the West.

What diversity used to mean: Diversity
What diversity now means: Fewer white people

[–] jefgg 9 years ago

Oklahoma is in the South Central United States. It may have been considered the West back in the nineteenth century. It definitely is not in the Midwest. Please click on
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midwestern_United_States

[–] RGzer0 9 years ago

I guess Ohio and freaking Michigan are Midwestern states the same way Virginia and West Virginia are Southern states.

What diversity used to mean: Diversity
What diversity now means: Fewer white people

[–] costumrs 9 years ago

Depends on your point of view. Those of us in the states running from Oklahoma up through Nebraska and South Dakota consider ourselves the Midwest. Others call us the Great Plains. Both are correct, though in my experience the former is the more common view to those of us who live here.

[–] greenbudgie 9 years ago

BTW I thought that word 'crick,' referring to a creek, was more usual in the Northern states. In Norfolk, England it is used to describe dangerous water.