Violence the Western way
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Updated: Oct 30, 2026

The Resident-intruder Paradigm: A Standardized Test for Aggression, Violence and Social Stress
Published on: July 4, 2013
Abstract:
Despite the quiet revolution in response to changing conceptualizations of gender in psychoanalysis, the Western has remained the domain of aggressive phallic masculinity. The iconic imagery of the Western, when combined with its narrative trajectory, is used to tell stories of violent encounters between men. The acceptance of the genre, and its duplication by other cultures and film makers, indicates that the Westerns' imagery and moral solutions tap into some basic deep structures of anxiety and pleasure in violence between men. As long as societies require subtle sublimations of aggressive and violent drives, it is likely that men will seek imaginary regressive experiences to discharge frustrations.
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