A Study of Some American Classic Westerns Based on Roland Barthes's Theory of Semiotics.

The main aim of this paper is to study a number of American key films from the 1960s and to relate them to the cultural and historical spirit of the age. In its critical approach, this paper depends mainly on Roland Barthes' theories and concepts regarding the visual image and semiotics. The main films that will be studied include "Midnight Cowboy" (1969), directed by John Schlesinger; "Bonnie and Clyde" (1967), directed by Arthur Penn; and "The Wild Bunch" (1969), directed by Sam Peckinpah. The researchers argue that studying the content and various forms of these films in particular is significant because it reveals cultural and ideological messages about the 1960s. The present paper is also an attempt to shed light on Roland Barthes' arguments about film theory. Despite the fact that the sum of his writings on film is relatively small, a closer scrutiny of these writings reveals that he has a vast influence on the field of film studies. His ideas on semiotics and structuralism are influential and can be extensively applied during film analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]