From the straightforward moral binaries of early Westerns to the complex ethical questions in revisionist films, this article delves into how the Western’s portrayal of justice has evolved. Discover how the Western has responded to shifting societal values, offering insight into the nature of law, order, and justice.

Introduction

One of the most enduring themes in the Western genre is the tension between law and order, morality, and justice. From the earliest Western stories, these themes have been explored through the conflict between civilisation and the wild frontier, between the forces of good—often represented by a lone sheriff or cowboy—and the forces of evil, symbolised by outlaws, corrupt townsfolk, or hostile environments. Over time, however, the genre’s portrayal of morality and justice has shifted significantly. The clear-cut distinctions between good and evil in early Westerns have given way to more complex and morally ambiguous narratives, reflecting broader changes in society’s understanding of justice, authority, and individualism.

This article was inspired by conversations with my son, Bill, during his time at the University of Birmingham, on his degree course in English Literature. This article is the third of my “Myth of the West” cycle.

Early Westerns: The White Hat versus Black Hat Dichotomy

In the early days of the Western genre, morality was often presented in stark, black-and-white terms. This was most clearly illustrated by the “white hat versus black hat” trope, where heroes and villains were easily identifiable by their actions and even by their physical appearance. The good guys—the cowboys, sheriffs, or settlers—wore white hats and stood for law, order, and the virtues of civilisation. The bad guys—outlaws, rustlers, or bandits—wore black hats and represented chaos, lawlessness, and moral depravity.

This clear moral division made early Westerns both accessible and satisfying for audiences. Stories like Owen Wister’s The Virginian (1902) and early John Ford films such as Stagecoach (1939) operated within this framework, where the hero’s sense of justice was unambiguous, and the resolution of the plot typically involved the triumph of good over evil through the hero’s bravery, skill, and moral certainty. The law, in these early Westerns, was often equated with justice, and violence was presented as a necessary tool for enforcing that justice.

Sheriffs, in particular, were moral exemplars in early Westerns, upholding the law in frontier towns where order was fragile and always under threat. In films like High Noon (1952), Gary Cooper’s character, Will Kane, stands alone against a gang of outlaws, determined to bring them to justice even when the townspeople refuse to help. His willingness to face overwhelming odds in the name of law and order embodies the ideal of the Western hero as the ultimate enforcer of justice, even when it comes at great personal cost.

The Rise of Moral Ambiguity in the Revisionist Western

As the Western genre matured and society became more aware of the complexities of law, order, and morality, the clear-cut distinctions between good and evil began to erode. The 1960s and 70s saw the rise of the revisionist Western, where heroes were no longer morally pure, and the forces of law and order were often shown to be corrupt, misguided, or impotent.

Films like The Wild Bunch (1969) and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) blurred the lines between hero and villain, casting outlaws as sympathetic or even heroic figures. In The Wild Bunch, the gang of aging outlaws led by Pike Bishop (William Holden) may be criminals, but they operate by their own strict moral code, one that values loyalty and honour among their group. The lawmen chasing them, on the other hand, are shown to be ruthless, corrupt, and morally compromised. This inversion of traditional Western morality reflected the growing disillusionment with authority and institutions that characterised the 1960s, as the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights Movement, and the Watergate scandal led many Americans to question the legitimacy of the state and the morality of those in power.

The revisionist Western also took a more critical view of frontier justice. In Unforgiven (1992), Clint Eastwood’s William Munny is a former gunslinger who has tried to leave his violent past behind. When he is drawn back into a life of killing, the film portrays the cycle of violence as tragic and morally corrosive. The sheriff, Little Bill Daggett (Gene Hackman), is ostensibly the enforcer of law and order in the town of Big Whiskey, but his methods are brutal, and his concept of justice is often self-serving. Unforgiven deconstructs the notion of the Western hero as a bringer of righteous justice, showing instead how violence damages both the perpetrator and society as a whole.

In many revisionist Westerns, the idea of justice becomes deeply personal rather than institutional. The law is often absent or ineffective, leaving individuals to take matters into their own hands. This shift reflects a broader cultural movement away from the idealisation of authority and toward a more individualistic, morally complex worldview. Characters like Munny, or Pike Bishop in The Wild Bunch, operate outside the bounds of traditional law enforcement, guided by their own, often conflicted, sense of right and wrong.

The Western Anti-Hero and the Complexity of Justice

With the rise of moral ambiguity came the emergence of the Western anti-hero—a figure who operates outside the law but is not entirely villainous. The anti-hero may be flawed, violent, or morally compromised, but they often embody a deeper sense of justice that the law fails to provide. Films like A Fistful of Dollars (1964) and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) introduced audiences to Clint Eastwood’s “Man with No Name,” an iconic anti-hero whose motivations are often self-serving but who occasionally aligns himself with the forces of good.

The Western anti-hero rejects the binary moral framework of earlier Westerns. These characters are neither purely good nor purely evil; instead, they exist in a grey moral space where their actions cannot always be easily classified. In The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Eastwood’s character is the “Good” only in comparison to the “Bad” (Lee Van Cleef) and the “Ugly” (Eli Wallach). While the “Man with No Name” may kill and deceive, his code of ethics—though murky—is still preferable to the unrelenting cruelty of his adversaries.

The rise of the anti-hero reflects a broader shift in how society views justice and morality. In many Westerns of this era, the law is ineffective or corrupt, and the individual must navigate a morally complex world without the certainty of institutional justice. This theme resonates with modern audiences who are increasingly sceptical of authority and institutional power, particularly in the wake of events like the Vietnam War, the Watergate scandal, and more recent controversies around law enforcement and social justice.

Modern Westerns and the Fragmentation of Morality

In contemporary Westerns, morality and justice have become even more fragmented and difficult to define. Films like No Country for Old Men (2007) and The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007) explore the breakdown of traditional moral structures in the face of modern violence and existential uncertainty.

In No Country for Old Men, the character of Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem) represents a kind of moral void—he is a relentless, unstoppable force of violence who operates according to his own inscrutable logic. The film’s protagonist, Sheriff Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones), is a symbol of an older, more traditional form of justice, but he is ultimately powerless to stop the chaos that Chigurh brings. The film’s bleak portrayal of justice reflects a world where the moral clarity of the past has been replaced by uncertainty and fear, leaving characters like Bell adrift in a landscape they no longer understand.

In The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, the myth of the heroic outlaw is deconstructed, with Jesse James (Brad Pitt) portrayed as a deeply flawed and paranoid man. Robert Ford (Casey Affleck), who kills James in a bid for fame, is both villain and victim, caught between his desire for recognition and the crushing weight of his own guilt. The film offers no easy answers about morality or justice, presenting both men as tragic figures trapped by their own choices.

Conclusion

The evolution of morality and justice in the Western genre reflects broader changes in society’s understanding of these concepts. Early Westerns presented a world where good and evil were clearly defined, and justice was synonymous with the law, enforced by heroic figures like sheriffs and cowboys. However, as the genre has evolved, so too has its portrayal of these themes. Revisionist Westerns and modern films have embraced moral ambiguity, questioning the very idea of frontier justice and exploring the complexities of human nature.

Today, the Western continues to grapple with questions of morality and justice, often reflecting contemporary anxieties about authority, violence, and the breakdown of traditional moral structures. As society becomes more complex, so too does the Western’s exploration of these timeless themes, ensuring that the genre remains a relevant and powerful medium for examining the human condition.