Shayna MeshizahavHIST 343505/18/2014Historically, popular culture has evolved depending on the era in which it is generated. Analyzing the genre that is predominantly popular within a given generation can therefore serve as a window into the dominant way of thinking of that particular generation. One thing that greatly affects this way of thinking is recent history immediately preceding this time. Westerns and science fiction are two genres employed by popular culture that are, in that order, chronologically consecutive in history in terms of popularity. When analyzed, they also turn out to be extremely similar to each other, both thematically and structurally. Yet the shift in desirability from the mainstream of Western works to that of science fiction did happen, and I would argue is still happening today. The reason for this change, despite the many similarities between the two genres, as well as the factor of differences added over time, can therefore be a handy tool to reveal where exactly the ideologies of these respective generations diverge. between westerns and science fiction is their common and consistent embrace of ideas of imperialism, racism, and genocide. Within these broader themes, there are more specific tropes that recur in both genres. And within these tropes, there are recurring characters and situations specific to each genre, but with clear counterparts in the other. A typical, generalized Western work would likely contain the following elements, either as a backdrop or a focal point: the white colonizing protagonist's procession to the Western frontier, with generally negative encounters with Na...... in the middle of paper ......s. The inevitable genocide occurs. I would argue that the shift from westerns to this particular form of science fiction, which we can call colonial science fiction, is not yet of particular importance, at least in terms of the underlying philosophy that stimulates their creation. The setting and specific identities of the classic characters have changed, but the main narrative has not. In imperialist literature, the story of the Western hero and the dangerous natives eventually became somewhat hackneyed; the frontier was tamed and conquered, and new borders were needed to breathe new life into the colonial ideology. With a growing lack of unexplored places to exploit on the globe, the setting was moved to space. Only in later works did an ideological shift occur, from colonialism to post-colonialism..