Western (Film & TV)

A Western is a fictional story or film which is usually set in the second half of the 19th century United States, west of the Mississippi River. In terms of period and location, Westerns are stories about the American Frontier, also known as the Old West or, perhaps most popularly, the "Wild West". Most Westerns take place sometime between the end of the American Civil War in 1865 and the end of the 19th century, although there are exceptions and some historians define the broader timespan from 1849 (the year of the California Gold Rush) to around 1920 as the frontier period.

Some of the earliest known film reels depict life on the frontier. Made in 1894 by the Edison Company at its Black Maria Studio in New Jersey, they include the short silents Annie Oakley, Bucking Broncho, Buffalo Dance, and Sioux Ghost Dance. These films featured members of Buffalo Bill's Wild West shows performing their various frontier skills.