[brad0]

I read recently that studios are making more movies aimed at the 50s+ female crowd. The movies are about being single woman and the dating scene at that age.

The reason they made these films is because the 60+ woman demographic is the highest spending right now. People want to see their own experiences reflected in cinema.

I can't join in my head how westerns were a reflection of young and middle aged males. Possibly it depends on the demographic?

ie: middle aged men stuck in a boring job and providing for a family makes them feel powerless. Seeing a strong male on his path gives him the feeling he desires.

So maybe it's not about reflection of experiences but rather an expression of the feelings the demographic wants to feel.

[megaman22]

I think Westerns were relatively cheap to produce, at the time. Lots of open spaces to film in not far from Hollywood, lots of horses still easily obtainable, cheap costumes, not much in the way of special effects.

[the-dude]

Notable westerns were shot in Spain ( Once upon in the west comes to mind ).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_films_shot_in_Almer%C3...

[ghaff]

See also spaghetti westerns. They were low cost but obviously if you crank out many hundred films of a genre there’s obviously a demand for them.

[brad0]

Which comes back to my original point. After all those movies there was still a demand. Where was that demand originating from?