A Country for Old Men: Unforgiven, The Shootist , and the Post-Heyday Western

Abstract

This article introduces the concept of the post-heyday Western, a narrative mode featuring epic yet elderly protagonists. Focusing on Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven (1992), and Don Siegel's The Shootist (1976), it explores the old gunslinger's struggle to come to terms with the trauma of aging and his violent past.