CONVENTIONS OF WESTERN GENRE:

Character:

• Evil cowboy/gang
• Sheriff
• Marshal
• Nice sweet female
• Smart female
• Male actors - strong, tough, manly

Narrative:

• Bad vs Good
• East vs West
• Simple storyline
• Solves problem
• Happy ending

Sound:

• Very country
• Very old
• duh duh duh (sound effects)

Iconography:

• Setting - Towns, Between the years of 1860 - 1910, American West
• Mode of Transportation - carriages, horses, stagecoach, trains
• Over dramatic acting

Style:

• The lone, cynical cowboy who is trying to be honorable amidst a dishonorable environment. 
• Usually he is lonely because he is a widower, or he was wronged 
• A strong woman who is the voice of reason, (and probably the love interest) for the "hero."
• A climatic shoot-out between the hero (or heroes, including the strong woman) and the villain. 
• A villain who has his own shady past for being villainous, or for being a renegade.