Subverting expectations throughout, Kissacks short film 'The Gunfighter' (2014) offers an alternate twist on the typically narrated Western. Although it aligns with many Western conventions; the lone gunman entering the saloon, representation of women solely being brothel workers and a bounty already being placed on the mysterious new Gunfighter--the $25,000 budget mostly spent on authentic set pieces, props and costume to visually represent a clear interpretation of 'The West'. It also offers a humorous and refreshing take on the possibilities of what a Western can be in modern film.
Not only do the characters recognise a narrator speaking and question it, but in doing this they also question each other--from the main character, the stereotypical lone gunman entering town, admitting to being gay to the black barman being 'accepted' by the community; all of this succeeding under 9 minutes holding representational superiority over whole franchises who follow the cliche's or mishandle such topics.
However, as the short film is also categorised as a comedy, the female 'whore'--though represented and involved in the narrative throughout, the character even pulling a gun on one of her clients before the big gunfight--constant jokes are made at her expense. From the reveal of why she has an itchy crotch to the main characters big speech of claiming everyone should be treated fairly, her interjection of "Women too?" passed off as Sally getting ahead of herself.
The short film ending in the narrators earlier described gunfight conveys narrative being extremely predictive in past and modern film. However, the fight still commencing even after the Gunfighters grand speech claiming equality and peace because the narrator added another element of conflict--something he'd done throughout in an attempt to provoke the Saloons patrons into fighting--this connoting conflict or binary oppositions as being essential to progressing and driving the narrative forward.
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