History Main / NewOldWest

* The "New West" in ''TabletopGame/{{Rifts}}'' is basically TheThemeParkVersion of the Old West in a [[AfterTheEnd post-apocalyptic]] Science-Fiction-meets-FantasyKitchenSink, with [[EverythingsBetterWithDinosaurs dinosaurs and dino-like alien beasts]], Native Americans ({{magical|Native American}} or not) and {{fantasy counterpart|Culture}}s up the wazoo, {{Cool Horse}}s of every type you can think of, [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Mexican vampires]], millions of buffalo, and scattered settlements and peoples enthusiastically embracing every western stereotype (and there's [[{{Troperiffic}} lots of other stuff besides]]); {{Justified|Trope}} due to 1- Earth becoming a dimensional nexus, and 2- the inhabitants of the place trying to recreate the culture from the few surviving pre-Rifts fragments of information, [[HollywoodHistory most of which are fictional movies, country/western songs, novels, and other romanticized media]] (save for the actual Native Americans and buffalo, who had a leg up thanks to [[Myth/NativeAmericanMythology their returning spirits and gods]], [[CrazyPrepared who'd prepared for this since at least the early 17th century]]).

* ''Series/{{Defiance}}'' is a Western set on a heavily terraformed Earth after a war between humanity and several alien races ended in a draw, leaving humanity and the aliens to work together (at least in the title city, built over the ruins of St. Louis).

* ''Series/CadesCounty'' is a PoliceProcedural about the sheriff of a rural county somehwere in the American Southwest. It's set in TheSeventies, which was ThePresentDay when it was made.

* The ''Series/DoctorWho'' episode "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E3ATownCalledMercy A Town Called Mercy]]'' has [[Characters/DoctorWhoEleventhDoctor the 11th Doctor]] and the Ponds land in an American town and after mentioning they're space faring get thrown in front of a cybernetic Gunman who's hunting his creator, a genocidal alien doctor. The rest of the episode is ''very'' [[TheMagnificentSevenSamurai Magnificent Seven]] with the Doctor protecting the town (AND the HumanAlien Doctor who created the cybernetic Gunman) using sci fi tech.

* ''Series/BreakingBad'' is a [[FilmNoir neo-noir]]/neo-western crime drama set in modern New Mexico of the 21st century. It's a story of power, corruption, betrayal and revenge with showdowns, stalemates and gunfights set in the backdrop of Albuquerque's streets, nearby deserts and Indian reservations. There's even a train heist featured at one point. The criminals in the show are essentially Western outlaws reimagined as drug-trafficking gangsters, who utilize modern technology, vehicles and weapons. Even the show's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMt1ILTzCac theme music]] deliberately invokes this, with a twanging guitar riff that's pretty obviously meant to channel a classic Western theme.

* The [[Series/DoctorWho 11th Doctor]] episode [[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E3ATownCalledMercy A Town called Mercy]] has the Doctor and the Ponds land in an American town and after mentioning they're space faring get thrown in front of a cybernetic Gunman who's hunting his creator, a genocidal alien doctor. The rest of the episode is ''very'' [[TheMagnificentSevenSamurai Magnificent Seven]] with the Doctor protecting the town (AND the HumanAlien Doctor who created the cybernetic Gunman) using sci fi tech.
* ''Series/{{Firefly}}'' is really more of a classic SpaceWestern, but although it’s set approximately 500 years in the future, most SF elements are noticeably missing, most of the time: there are no robots (at least until Serenity), laser weapons are very rare, and the only alien in the series is revealed to be a mutated, upside-down cow fetus in a jar. The title theme heightens the effect by heavily featuring western guitar/banjoes. Hence, it has something of a New-Old-West feel.

* ''Film/LoneWolfMcQuade'' (1983) David Carradine and Creator/ChuckNorris kick martial arts butt in the New West. Was the inspiration for ''Series/WalkerTexasRanger''.

* ''ComicBook/SherwoodTexas'' is a SettingUpdate of RobinHood which re-imagines Robin as the leader of outlaw biker gang on the Texas/Mexico border, battling the corrupt Sheriff of Nottingham County and the rival Nobles biker gang.

** The region's economy still tends to run on boom and bust cycles (it was gold, silver and copper mining in the 19th century; oil, aerospace, manufacturing and gambling in the 20th century; and now IT, finance and real estate in the 21st, all headed by larger-than-life figures). Immigrants still come from all over the world to settle and work in whatever the latest booming industry is.

* ''Series/BreakingBad'' is a [[FilmNoir neo-noir]]/neo-western crime drama set in modern New Mexico of the 21st century. It's a story of power and corruption with showdowns, stalemates and gunfights set in the backdrop of Albuquerque's streets, nearby deserts and Indian reservations. There's even a train heist featured at one point. The criminals in the show are essentially Western outlaws reimagined as drug-trafficking gangsters, who utilize modern technology, vehicles and weapons. Even the show's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMt1ILTzCac theme music]] deliberately invokes this, with a twanging guitar riff that's pretty obviously meant to channel a classic Western theme.

Because of its proximity to [[EverythingIsBigInTexas Texas]], the overwhelming power and presence of [[TheCartel drug cartels]], and the numerous poor desert towns that any criminal can hide in, a good number of New Old West stories take place SouthOfTheBorder in northern UsefulNotes/{{Mexico}}. UsefulNotes/{{California}}, UsefulNotes/{{Arizona}}, UsefulNotes/NewMexico, and -- of course -- Texas itself are also popular locations for a modern Western story for the same reasons as El Norte.

* ''Film/NoCountryForOldMen'' is a [[FilmNoir Neo-Noir]]/Neo-Western crime thriller set in Texas in the year 1980; featuring a local man stealing a stash of drug money that was left behind in the desert, which leads to him being chased by and fighting with a [[ImplacableMan ruthlessly persistent]] [[ProfessionalKiller hitman]] and the [[TheCartel Mexican drug cartel]] that hired the hitman.

* ''Series/BreakingBad'' is a crime drama set in modern New Mexico of the 21st century, featuring plenty of Neo-Western (and [[FilmNoir Neo-Noir]]) elements. It's a story of power and corruption with showdowns, stalemates and gunfights set in the backdrop of Albuquerque's streets, nearby deserts and Indian reservations. There's even a train heist featured at one point. The criminals in the show are essentially Western outlaws reimagined as drug-trafficking gangsters, who utilize modern technology, vehicles and weapons. Even the show's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMt1ILTzCac theme music]] deliberately invokes this, with a twanging guitar riff that's pretty obviously meant to channel a classic Western theme.
** The prequel series ''Series/BetterCallSaul'' also delves into Neo-Western territory at times, especially whenever the criminal underworld subplots involving Gus, Mike, Nacho, and TheCartel come into play; though it's less apparent this time around, because the main protagonist (Saul) isn't really a violent outlaw (though he's still a greedy criminal in his own right). The present-day segments [[spoiler:with Saul in hiding as a wanted fugitive]] are more in the style of [[FilmNoir Neo-Noir]], especially because of the DeliberatelyMonochrome visuals.
** Lampshaded in the sequel movie ''Film/ElCamino'', when Jesse challenged the film's antagonist to a pistol duel (his opponent even suggests doing it just like in "the Wild West"). [[spoiler:Sure enough, we get to see a tense showdown leading straight to a shootout, with Jesse being quicker on the draw.]]

* ''Series/{{Yellowstone}}'': as with virtually all Taylor Sheridan creations, this show is a neo-western, taking place during modern day on a ranch in rural Montana. Most of the cast are ranchers or Native Americans, all violently feuding over the land.

''Film/TheWalkingHills'': The setting is 1949, but several people (cowboys, a bar owner, a prospector, a drifter, a private detective, and others) venture into the desert after a nineteenth century treasure and can't trust each other. There's little technology and lots of desert scenery.

* ''Film/NoCountryForOldMen'' is a [[FilmNoir neo-noir]]/neo-western crime thriller set in Texas in the year 1980; featuring a local guy, a ruthless hitman, and a Mexican cartel chasing and fighting each other over a stolen stash of money.

* ''Series/TheWalkingDead'' is also both this with WeirdWest, being a modern western set in the backdrop of a zombie apocalypse.

* ''Series/BreakingBad'', a crime drama set in modern New Mexico, is a story of power and corruption featuring gunfights, stalemates, showdowns, deserts, Indian reservations, and even a ''train robbery''. The criminals in the show are essentially Western outlaws who use modern technology and make money through the illegal drug trade.
** Even the show's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMt1ILTzCac theme music]] deliberately invokes this, with a twanging guitar riff that's pretty obviously meant to channel a classic {{Western}} theme.
** Lampshaded in the sequel movie ''Film/ElCamino'', when the main antagonist challenges Jesse to a pistol duel (he even suggests doing it "Wild West" style).

** Western cities that used to be more in the "Wild West" style are now the epitomes of this trope. Sure, there are still lots of ranches, farms, cattle, horses, and such in area like that of the [[UsefulNotes/DFWMetroplex Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex]], but those are now among skyscrapers, ten-lane highways, massive urban sprawl, bright lights, and metro lines. Telluride, Colorado, home of the famous Telluride Film Festival, is essentially an Old West town with modern technology, set among impressive mountains and still possessing its distinctive main street and Victorian architecture.

** Unless you live in California's more restrictive counties in Los Angeles or the Bay Area, you can legally conceal-carry a gun in public if you're a law-abiding citizen and apply for a permit (which are more expansive gun rights than visitors to Dodge City, Abilene, or Tombstone had at some points, and you don't even need the permit in some other states), and all but four states west of the Mississippi (not counting Hawaii) have "stand-your-ground" self-defense laws (even California).

** Northern Mexico in the 21st century has plenty of material that is rife for New Old West stories, as mentioned above in this page's opening description. Featuring big and expansive deserts, and many lawless towns with corrupt and/or ineffective authorities that are unable to stop the [[TheCartel local criminal factions]] from fighting and killing each other on a regular basis.
** Life in some war-torn countries of the "Greater Middle East" region (like Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, or Libya) can seem pretty evocative of the Wild West; with terrain that is mostly deserts or mountains, rural areas that are inhabited by tribal communities (some of which are still nomadic), and severe lawlessness and violence resulting from a constant state of civil war and unresolved political tensions.
** One recent example was when an American film production company decided to make a Western-style movie about the 2011 shootout in the small Russian village of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sagra,_Russia Sagra]], where a local militia fended off an attack by a bandit gang. However, the residents of the town refused to allow such a movie to be made, because they personally felt the events were too dramatic to turn them into a work of entertainment.

->''"I'm a cowboy, on a steel horse I ride,\\

* ''Film/ParisTexas'' by Wim Wenders opens, and is shot on location in, Marfa Texas and also focuses on Houston while the main character, played by Creator/HarryDeanStanton is likened to be a cowboy in Modern America. The film shows the diversity of different landscapes in Texas, from scorching hot and rocky Marfa to ultra-modern Houston. Wim Wenders has generally stated many times that he considers the modern RoadMovie to be the true successor of TheWestern.

* Replace town with bar and sheriff with bouncer and you have ''Film/RoadHouse''.

** The FNV GameMod ''VideoGame/TheSomeguySeries'', especially its two sub mods, ''VideoGame/NewVegasBounties'' and ''VideoGame/{{Russell}}'' take this trope UpToEleven, adding in bounty hunters, wanted posters, conflicts between natives and pioneers in the new frontier, outlaws and bandits combined with all the typical gizmos you've come to expect from a ''Fallout'' setting.

* Only about half the actual story of ''VideoGame/TheLastOfUs'' takes place in the west (they go from Boston to Pittsburgh to Wyoming to Colorado and end in Utah), but thematically, musically, and visually the game is very much a western set in the early 2030s. Joel is an quick draw outlaw making his way across the vast, unsettled interior of the US. He’s also the character archetype of the typical western protagonist. A gruff, badass man who’s spent his whole life fighting and being put through the ringer. The premise of said grizzled old man helping a LittleMissBadass is also evocative of the classic western , ''Film/TrueGrit''.

* The first three ''Film/{{Tremors}}'' films are a HorrorComedy take on the genre, set in small, dusty Western towns (in Nevada in the [[Film/Tremors1 first]], the [[Film/Tremors3BackToPerfection third]], and the [[Series/TremorsTheSeries TV series]], in Mexico in the [[Film/Tremors2Aftershocks second]]) in which the locals battle monsters in true frontier fashion. The [[Film/Tremors4TheLegendBegins fourth film]], a {{prequel}} to the series, was a straight Western set in the 1880s and had to change little about the series formula. Later films, though, moved away from this setting, with the [[Film/Tremors5Bloodlines fifth]] being set in South Africa, the [[Film/Tremors6AColdDayInHell sixth]] in northern Canada, and the [[Film/Tremors7ShriekerIsland seventh]] in Thailand.

* In the interest of creating a WorldHalfFull, ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}'' apparently has this in the mid-west. Gangs roam the country-side on hover-bikes, bothering small communities, but also engage in weapon dealings and other, more modern criminal acts. One of the larger, more notorious gangs' member, [=McCree=], was captured and had a HeelFaceTurn, worked for Overwatch as a Black Ops soldier, and now roams the land as [[TheDrifter a drifter]]. In one comic, [=McCree=] prevents a train-hijacking like a classic Western hero... Only the train is a modern, luxurious bullet-train, and the bandits are [[EliteArmy Talon Operatives]] with automatic weapons and five helicopters of back-up. And [=McCree=] only has a revolver. [[TheAce He still wins]]. ''[[ImprobableAimingSkills Without missing a shot]].''

* UsefulNotes/{{The Golden Age|of Comic Books}} Creator/DCComics characters Pow-Wow Smith (Native American sheriff) and Vigilante (singing cowboy) were 1940s Western characters, although sometimes DC forgot and put them in the real Old West. This was eventually explained as Pow-Wow having an [[IdenticalGrandson Identical Grandfather]] and Vigilante getting TrappedInThePast during an adventure with the ComicBook/SevenSoldiers.

** Western cities that used to be more in the "Wild West" style are now the epitomes of this trope. Sure, there are still lots of ranches, farms, cattle, horses, and such in area like that of the [[UsefulNotes/DFWMetroplex Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex]], but those are now among skyscrapers, ten-lane highways, massive urban sprawl, bright lights, and metro lines. Telluride, Colorado, home of the famous Telluride Film Festival, is basically a permanently Old West town that happens to contain some modern technology.

* Parodied in a ''SelfDemonstrating/{{Lobo}}'' {{Elseworlds}} annual in which Lobo takes the role of various Western characters (Geroni-bo, The Main Man With No Name, Anne Bo-kley, etc). The final story is about "The Last Despera-bo" ... who promptly gets hit by a truck.

* ''Film/ShootToKill:'' The second and third quarters of the movie follow an FBI agent and his MountainMan guide chasing a killer through the mountains of Washington state, battling blizzards and treacherous cliffs with barely any technology in sight.