The Davenport Public Library presents “Cowboy Courage: Westerns & the Portrayal of Bravery" -- November 3 (photo of Clint Eastwood in "Pale Rider").

Wednesday, November 3, 6:30 p.m.

Davenport Public Library Eastern Avenue Branch, 6000 Eastern Avenue, Davenport IA

Exploring popular and beloved Western entertainments ranging from Red River to Wagon Train to Pale Rider to Lonesome Dove, the November 3 program Cowboy Courage: Westerns & the Portrayal of Bravery will feature author and Black Hawk College professor William Hampes discussing themes of justice, redemption, and more in a special in-person/virtual lecture hosted by the Davenport Public Library's Eastern Avenue branch.

When people think of television and film Westerns, what tends to come to mind are the great feats of physical bravery of the heroes. However, as pointed out in Hampes' book Cowboy Courage: Westerns & the Portrayal of Bravery, many of these Westerns also portray examples of moral and psychological courage, often by ordinary individuals. The Davenport Public Library's November 3 presentation will find the book's author detailing how these movies and television programs focus on finding the moral and psychological courage to love; to redeem oneself for failures, losses, and transgressions; to be honest and true to oneself; to admit when wrong and back down; and to face dying and the end of one's life.

As Hampes states in the introduction to his book, “Based on the ways in which it is portrayed in film and television Westerns, courage does indeed come wrapped up in more than one way. What makes Westerns, at least the best Westerns, so special is their emphasis on other types of bravery besides physical bravery. Whereas physical bravery is characterized by a fear of dying or bodily injury, moral bravery, overcoming the fear of others' reactions, and psychological bravery, overcoming the hear of psychological stability, are more complex. Before 1946, there were numerous examples of physical courage, leading to noble ends, such as the defense of the community, but even in this era before the 'psychological Westerns' of the period from the late 1940s to early 1960s, there were a few examples of moral or psychological bravery. In the period of the revisionist and post-modern Westerns starting in the late 1960s, courage was largely, although not entirely, replaced by self-interest or deployed in its service or deployed in defense of marginalized groups (Native Americans, Mexicans, women, etc.). However, the Golden Age of Westerns, which lasted roughly from 1946 to 1964, is replete with films and televisions episodes that explored many different types of courage other than just physical courage in defense of oneself or others.”

Cowboy Courage: Westerns & the Portrayal of Bravery author and presenter William Hampes was a professor of psychology for 38 years at St. Michael's College, Louisiana State University at Eunice, and at Moline's Black Hawk College, where he is now a professor emeritus of psychology and sociology. Besides the publication of his 2019 book on film and television Westerns and the publication of his article, "A Woman with Influence: Henrietta Porter in the Television Series Trackdown," in the Popular Culture Studies Journal, Hampes has also had articles in the area of the psychology of humor published in academic journals, and his area presentation will include video clips from various films and television programs.

Hampes' Cowboy Courage: Westerns & the Portrayal of Bravery presentation begins at 6:30 p.m. on November 3, participation is free, and a virtual format is available for those not able to attend the in-person event at the library's Eastern Avenue branch. For more information, call (563)326-7832 and visit DavenportLibrary.com.

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