Editing Western (genre) (section)

===Stories and characters===
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The classic Western is a [[morality drama]], presenting the conflict between [[wilderness]] and [[civilization]].<ref name="oxford" />  Stories commonly center on the life of a male [[Vagrancy|drifter]], [[cowboy]], or [[Gunfighter|gunslinger]] who rides a horse and is armed with a [[revolver]] or [[rifle]]. The male characters typically wear broad-brimmed and high-crowned [[Stetson]] hats,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Edgerton |first=Gary R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PUbcAAAAQBAJ |title=Westerns: The Essential 'Journal of Popular Film and Television' Collection |date=2013-09-13 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-135-76508-8 |pages=79 |language=en}}</ref> [[neckerchief]] [[Kerchief|bandanna]]s, [[vest]]s, and [[cowboy boot]]s with [[spur]]s. While many wear conventional shirts and trousers, alternatives include [[buckskins]] and [[Duster (clothing)|dusters]].

Women are generally cast in secondary roles as [[love interest]]s for the male lead; or in supporting roles as [[Western saloon|saloon]] girls, [[Prostitution|prostitutes]] or as the wives of [[American pioneer|pioneers]] and [[settler]]s. The wife character often provides a measure of [[comic relief]]. Other recurring characters include [[Native Americans of the United States|Native Americans]] of various tribes described as Indians or Red Indians,<ref name="Butts 2004">{{cite book |last=Butts |first=Dennis |editor-last=Hunt |editor-first=Peter |title=International Companion Encyclopedia of Children's Literature |date=2004 |publisher=Routledge |location=Abingdon, Oxfordshire |volume=1 |isbn=0-203-32566-4 |pages=340–351 |edition=Second |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t1RsBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA340 |chapter=Shaping boyhood: British Empire builders and adventurers |quote=By the 1840s, of course, adults were already reading tales of adventure involving Red Indians}}</ref> [[African Americans]], [[Chinese Americans]], [[Spaniards]], [[Mexicans]], [[law enforcement officer]]s, [[bounty hunter]]s, [[Outlaw (stock character)#American Western|outlaws]], [[bartender]]s, [[merchant]]s, [[Gambling|gamblers]], [[soldier]]s (especially mounted [[cavalry]]), and settlers ([[farmer]]s, [[rancher]]s, and townsfolk).

The ambience is usually punctuated with a [[Western music (North America)|Western music]] [[Film score|score]], including [[American folk music]] and [[Music of Spain|Spanish]]/[[Music of Mexico|Mexican]] folk music such as [[Country music|country]], [[Indigenous music of North America|Native American music]], [[New Mexico music]], and [[ranchera]]s.