The Lone Star State: A Look at Texas Movies
Listen as Brandon and Thomas dive into the Texas Movie genre.
Very few states in America are as cinematic as the Lone Star State. For decades, stories have been pouring out of Texas, all dealing with a variety of issues and characters. From the early John Wayne Westerns to the character dramas of Richard Linklater, Texas has been a wide landscape for filmmakers to express their views of the changing world, or in some cases, the unchanging world. For America, especially the Southern states, Texas is a surrogate for all the rest. A small town in Texas can represent a small town in Alabama or a small town in Arizona. A big city in Texas can be a big city anywhere. It is a state that many people can relate to because it is so broad in scope. That is why it has been a wild west for storytelling.
During the Golden Age of Hollywood, Texas was mostly represented through the Western genres, the tales of cowboys. John Wayne made several films that were set in Texas, including such classics as The Searchers and Red River. As cinema progressed, the storytelling progressed. The Western genre evolved, which resulted in films like George Stevens’ Giant, which we at CineNation consider to be on the Mount Rushmore of Texas Films. A sprawling, multi-generational epic that dealt with the importance of legacy and the conflicts between and within families. Starring Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor, and James Dean in his final, and most complex role of his career, Giant is pure Texas. Dusty landscapes, oil drilling, family feuds, and unrequited love.
After Giant, the representation of Texas in film changed. The stories became smaller, focusing more on the characters and less on the beautiful landscape. This led to films like The Last Picture Show, Terms of Endearment, and the rise of independent cinema in Texas during the 1980s and 1990s, which gave us the arrival of such directors as Linklater, the Coen Brothers, Robert Rodriguez, and Wes Anderson.
For May, CineNation will be taking an in-depth look into the history of Texas in entertainment. We love focusing on a specific genre, and this is the first time we are officially spending a full month on one genre. Since Texas is so broad, we wanted to break it down as a genre. We will be looking at the history of the genre and specific examples that we feel best represents it. We will have several podcast episodes and multiple essays exploring the wonderfully unique stories of the Lone Star State.
Listen as Brandon Sparks and Thomas Horton discuss specific films and tropes within the Texas genre on the most recent episode of the CineNation Podcast. Stay tuned for more content in the coming weeks!
