History Main / TwilightOfTheOldWest

The Twilight of the Old West is a trope invoked by stories depicting the changes that took place in Western UsefulNotes/NorthAmerica and UsefulNotes/{{Mexico}} during the closing days of the WildWest and the beginning days of the NewOldWest. This is roughly the period between 1890 (the year the U.S. Census Bureau announced the closing of the frontier and the year the Wounded Knee Massacre occurred, thereby marking the end of the Indian Wars) and 1920 (which marked the official end of UsefulNotes/TheMexicanRevolution when guerrilla/bandit forces operated along the US/Mexican border and the beginning of Prohibition in the U.S. which closed the last of the saloons).

[[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant Has nothing to do]] with ''[[Literature/{{Twilight}} cowboy vampire romance]]'' or ''[[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic a certain purple unicorn ruling the outback]].''

* ''Film/BiteTheBullet'' takes place in 1908 and features a 700 mile horse race. The reporter for the newspaper sponsoring the race drives in an automobile, which the heroes borrow to pursue escaped convicts who stole their horses. It's clear that the old west is seen more as a the stuff of novels than a way of life for most outside of the cowboy protagonist.

* ''Film/{{Draw}}'': In the final days of the Old West, a former desperado faces down a now drunken ex-sheriff, who was his long time nemesis.
* Creator/SergioLeone's last SpaghettiWestern ''Film/DuckYouSucker'' is set during UsefulNotes/TheMexicanRevolution, making full use of the Western landscapes that had been used his previous films, but now with 20th century weapons and transportation. In fact it all looks as if the Old West had already ended before the film began - especially after the first hour.

* An ad for the original [[CoolGuns Thompson sub-machine gun]] features a cowboy on the porch of a ranch house spraying the iconic weapon into a band of cattle rustlers. Indeed the first batch of guns seems to have gone out the large ranches along the border.

The Twilight of the Old West is a trope invoked by stories depicting the changes that took place in Western North America and Mexico during the closing days of the WildWest and the beginning days of the NewOldWest. This is roughly the period between 1890 (the year the U.S. Census Bureau announced the closing of the frontier and the Wounded Knee Massacre occurred thereby marking the end of the Indian Wars) and 1920 (which marked the official end of UsefulNotes/TheMexicanRevolution when guerrilla/bandit forces operated along the US/Mexican border and the beginning of Prohibition in the U.S. which closed the last of the saloons).

In stories set during the Twilight of the Old West, there will still be many elements of the WildWest present like [[{{Cowboy}} cowboys]], [[TheGunslinger gunfighters]], [[{{Outlaw}} outlaws]], [[BankRobbery bank]] and [[TrainJob train robberies]], saloons, and [[CattleDrive cattle drives]] but, as you get deeper into the 20th century, they'll gradually become less common. InjunCountry will not be seen at all, as the last spasmodic resistance by UsefulNotes/NativeAmericans ended with Geronimo's surrender in 1886 and the aforementioned Wounded Knee Massacre in 1890. Instead, stories involving Native Americans will be set on TheRez. Probably the most noticeable change is the shift away from horses as a mode of transportation in favor of trains and--especially--automobiles. The replacement of gas and oil lights in favor of electricity follows close behind as an indication of progress as do the appearances of new inventions like telephones, motion pictures, phonographs, and airplanes. Territories became states, and filled up the contiguous Union, starting with North and South Dakota in 1889, and ending with Arizona in 1912.

* [[UsefulNotes/TheMexicanRevolution The hunt for Pancho Villa]] had both the primitive setting of the borderlands and the high-tech for their time gasoline-powered trucks, airplanes, radios and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mondragón_rifle automatic weapons.]]

*** Evelyn Miller, an [[ExportedCharacter expy]] of Henry David Thoreau and Dutch's favorite author, routinely laments the dying of the Old West and the encroaching city life.

In stories set during the Twilight of the Old West, there will still be many elements of the WildWest present like [[{{Cowboy}} cowboys]], [[TheGunslinger gunfighters]], [[{{Outlaw}} outlaws]], [[BankRobbery bank]] and [[TrainJob train robberies]], saloons, and [[CattleDrive cattle drives]] but, as you get deeper into the 20th century, they'll gradually become less common. InjunCountry will not be seen at all, as the last spasmodic resistance by UsefulNotes/NativeAmericans ended with Geronimo's surrender in 1886 and the aforementioned Wounded Knee Massacre in 1890. Instead, stories involving Native Americans will be set on TheRez. Probably the most noticeable change is the shift away from horses as a mode of transportation in favor of trains and--especially--automobiles. The replacement of gas and oil lights in favor of electricity follows close behind as an indication of progress as do the appearances of new inventions like telephones, motion pictures, phonographs, and airplanes.

* Hergé completely failed to understand this trope when making ''Recap/TintinInAmerica'', and as such features [[TheWildWest cowboys]] and [[TheRoaringTwenties gangsters]] [[AnachronismStew in the same story]] and sometimes in the exact same location.

* Hergé completely failed to understand this trope when making ''[[{{Tintin}} Tintin In America]]'', and as such features [[TheWildWest cowboys]] and [[TheRoaringTwenties gangsters]] [[AnachronismStew in the same story]] and sometimes in the exact same location.

Sub-trope of TheWestern and EndOfAnAge that overlaps with the latter stage of the WildWest and the beginning of the NewOldWest. Opposite of DawnOfTheWildWest. The East coast equivalent would be the "Progressive Era", encompassing the socioeconomic reforms of UsefulNotes/TheodoreRoosevelt and UsefulNotes/WoodrowWilson following TheGildedAge. For the {{Samurai}} version of this trope, see works set during and immediately after the UsefulNotes/MeijiRestoration. Also compare to works set in UsefulNotes/TheSovietTwenties, which often had this feel out in the Soviet East.

* Parodied in the final story of a ''SelfDemonstrating/{{Lobo}}'' {{Elseworld}} that reimagined the Main Man as various Western characters. "The Last Despera-bo" is a wistful page of the character reflecting on how times are changing and there doesn't seem to be much place for him any more. Then he gets hit by a truck.

* The series ''Outlaws'' starts in 1899 where an outlaw has become a sheriff sent to bring in his old gang. The sheriff tells the gang that the old ways aren't going to work any more. Then a [[LightningCanDoAnything freak lightning storm]] sends them all through time to 1986, where they set up a detective agency and have to adapt to the modern world.

In stories set during the Twilight of the Old West, there will still be many elements of the WildWest present like [[{{Cowboy}} cowboys]], [[TheGunslinger gunfighters]], [[{{Outlaw}} outlaws]], bank and [[TrainJob train robberies]], saloons, and [[CattleDrive cattle drives]] but, as you get deeper into the 20th century, they'll gradually become less common. InjunCountry will not be seen at all, as the last spasmodic resistance by UsefulNotes/NativeAmericans ended with Geronimo's surrender in 1886 and the aforementioned Wounded Knee Massacre in 1890. Instead, stories involving Native Americans will be set on TheRez. Probably the most noticeable change is the shift away from horses as a mode of transportation in favor of trains and--especially--automobiles. The replacement of gas and oil lights in favor of electricity follows close behind as an indication of progress as do the appearances of new inventions like telephones, motion pictures, phonographs, and airplanes.

* ''Radio/TheSixshooter'' starred Creator/JimmyStewart as Britt Ponset, a [[TheDrifter drifting cowboy]] in the final years of TheWildWest.

Sub-trope of TheWestern and EndOfAnAge that overlaps with the latter stage of the WildWest and the beginning of the NewOldWest. Opposite of DawnOfTheWildWest. For the {{Samurai}} version of this trope, see works set during and immediately after the UsefulNotes/MeijiRestoration. Also compare to works set in UsefulNotes/TheSovietTwenties, which often had this feel out in the Soviet East.

** ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption2'' is a prequel to ''Red Dead Redemption'' but also emphasizes this point. The gang has been migrating farther and farther west in an attempt to stay ahead of encroaching civilization. Their leader Dutch is constantly preaching about the Old West ideals of freedom and independence, but it becomes increasingly clear that those days are dwindling, and his hold over the gang wanes.

* ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption'' takes place in 1911, with this trope in full effect. Federal agents have shown up to tame the Wild West. They repeatedly refer to the hero, RetiredOutlaw John Marston, as a remnant of a bygone age, even as they use him to track down his former gang mates. Indeed, one of the game's major themes is the incompatibility of the old west with "civilized" people, who are ever encroaching upon it. The point is hammered home in an opening scene, where the agents give Marston a ride in an automobile.
* ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption2'' is a prequel to ''Red Dead Redemption'' but also emphasizes this point. The gang has been migrating farther and farther west in an attempt to stay ahead of encroaching civilization. Their leader Dutch is constantly preaching about the Old West ideals of freedom and independence, but it becomes increasingly clear that those days are dwindling, and his hold over the gang wanes.

The Twilight of the Old West is a trope invoked by stories depicting the changes that took place in Western North America and Mexico during the closing days of the WildWest and the beginning days of the NewOldWest. This is roughly the period between 1890 (the year the U.S. Census Bureau announced the closing of the frontier and the Wounded Knee Massacre occurred thereby marking the end of the Indian Wars) and 1920 (which marked the official end of UsefulNotes/TheMexicanRevolution when guerrilla/bandit forces operated along the US/Mexican border and the beginning of Prohibition in the U.S. which closed the last of the old West saloons).

* ''ComicBook/BlazeOfGlory'' is set a decade before the above-mentioned miniseries (in 1885), but it still fits this trope to a T. ComicBook/TwoGunKid even says in the last issue that the way of the Old West is over, and that new villains require a new breed of hero.

* ''ComicBook/BlazeOfGlory'' is set a decade before the above-mentioned miniseries (in 1885), but it still fits this trope to a T. Two-Gun even says in the last issue that the way of the Old West is over, and that new villains require a new breed of hero.

* Hergé completely failed to understand this trope when making ''[[{{Tintin}} Tintin In America]]'', and as such features [[TheWildWest cowboys]] and [[TheRoaringTwenties gangsters]] [[AnachronismStew in the same story]] and sometimes in the exact same location.

* Hergé completely failed to understand this trope when making ''[[{{Tintin}} Tintin In America]]'', and as such features [[TheWildWest cowboys]] and [[TheRoaringTwenties gangsters]] [[AnachronismStew in the same story]] and sometimes in the exact same location.

* Creator/OHenry has several stories about the West set in this era.

* Literature/TheContinentalOp short story "Corkscrew" by Creator/DashiellHammett (written in 1925) takes a big city private eye to a small western town. Part of the story involves the Op telling the people of Corkscrew that frontier justice isn't gonna cut it anymore.
* Though most of ''Literature/BloodMeridian'' takes place in the 1840s and '50s (in other words, closer to the ''beginning'' of the classic "Old West" era), the final section jumps forward to 1878 and engages in some reflection on the end of an age. However, given the utter bleakness and brutality of the earlier parts, the effect is less elegiac than wearily nihilistic.
* The ''Literature/BenSnow'' stories start in 1890 (nine years after the death of Billy the Kid) and advance into the early years of the 20th Century. "The Edge of the Year 1900" takes place on New Year's Eve 1899.

* ''Series/TheAdventuresOfBriscoCountyJr'' takes place in 1893, as the old ways are changing, although unlike most versions of this trope, it's mostly played for laughs. The titular protagonist, however, is actually optimistic about the scientific advancements that are being made, calling them "the coming thing." He's also a lawyer in addition to being a bounty hunter and still trusts his horse Comet over a [[spoiler: a motorcycle]] because Comet has brains and loyalty to him, making Brisco an interesting contrast to the regular Western hero's reaction to the new age. Considering that [[spoiler: the Orbs come from the future and are capable of healing people and invoking [[HeelFaceTurn conversions in hardened criminals]]]], Brisco's optimism may be warranted.

* ''Series/{{Nichols}}'', a 1970s [[WesternSeries Western]] {{Dramedy}} starring Creator/JamesGarner, took place in 1914 Arizona and had the title character, a pacifistic sheriff, using cars and motorcycles rather than a horse.
* The series ''Outlaws'' starts in 1899 where an outlaw has become a sheriff sent to bring in his old gang. The sheriff tells the gang that the old ways aren't going to work any more. Then a [[LightningCanDoAnything freak lightning storm]] sends them all through time to 1986, where they set up a detective agency and have to adapt to the modern world.
* The ''Series/KraftSuspenseTheatre'' episode "Threepersons" is set on the Texas/Mexico border circa [[TheRoaringTwenties 1923]], with horses and automobiles sharing the streets. The heroes go after a gang who's smuggling booze across the border.

* ''VideoGame/CallOfJuarezGunslinger'' actually starts off in 1910. Most of the story, however, is told via flashback during the heyday of the Wild West.