Professionals in Western Film and Fiction: The Portrayal of Doctors, Lawyers, Journalists, Clergymen and Others

In American Westerns, the main characters are most often gunfighters, lawmen, ranchers and dancehall girls. Civil professionals such as doctors, engineers and journalists have been given far less representation, usually appearing as background characters in most films and fiction.

In Westerns about the 1910 Mexican Revolution, however, civil professionals also feature prominently in the narrative, often as members of the intelligentsia—an important force in Mexican politics. This book compa...