Western Cinema Course | Troubadour Studio

INVENTING AMERICA:
The Western, Cinema, and the Myth That Shaped a Nation

A 12-Week Online Course in Honor of America’s 250th Anniversary

Wednesdays at 6pm PT/9pm ET
April 1st - June 16th, 2026

2026 marks the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States as an independent nation. At the same time, American culture is filled with efforts to define and redefine what America is. Competing visions of the nation’s meaning, past, and future are put forward constantly. These debates feel urgent, but they are not new. They echo much older stories America has been telling itself for generations.

This course approaches the question of America from a different direction. Rather than beginning with present-day arguments, it looks to the past, specifically to the Western film, the artistic form that more than any other shaped how America imagined law and order, violence and legitimacy, civilization and the frontier.

By examining these stories closely, we can see how American ideals were formed, tested, and strained, and begin to recognize which of those ideas still shape our instincts today, often without our realizing it.

Art is one of the most powerful ways to understand ourselves, our values, and the world we live in. Long before ideas are argued in essays or debated in politics, they are lived and remembered through stories. Art reveals not only what a culture claims to believe, but what it assumes and justifies without noticing.

What this course offers

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By taking this course, you will gain:

A deeper understanding of America as a myth-making civilization, shaped as much by stories as by laws
The ability to see how cinema creates meaning differently from literature, and why that difference matters
A clear grasp of how genre works—not as a label, but as a system of memory and expectation
Insight into how ideas about violence, order, and legitimacy became emotionally persuasive rather than merely argued

Inventing America is a guided, twelve-week exploration of the Western as America’s central modern mythology, and of cinema as the medium that gave that mythology its most enduring form.

Beginning with early frontier literature and moving quickly into

film, the course traces how cinema replaced narration and interior explanation with image, motion, editing, landscape, and genre expectation. Over time, these techniques allowed powerful ideas about violence, legitimacy, heroism, and authority to be communicated intuitively—often without explicit argument.\

Across twelve major early Western films, we will watch a complete mythic arc unfold: the rise of the American hero, the consolidation of order, the growing moral strain within the myth, and finally its inversion, when the hero himself becomes a problem rather than a solution.

By the end of the course, participants will not only understand why the Western faded as a dominant genre, but also why its logic continues to reappear in later forms—crime films, vigilante stories, and superhero narratives.

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Instructor

This course is guided and taught by Kirk Barbera, writer, filmmaker, translator, and educator whose work has long focused on the literary canon and the relationship between myth, art, and cultural formation.

Kirk holds a degree in film production from the University of Colorado Denver and has spent years working across artistic forms, including filmmaking, fiction, poetry, and performance. He has written novels and short stories, produced and analyzed film and video, and performed in Shakespeare plays with Austin Shakespeare. His work consistently explores how stories shape moral imagination and cultural memory.

In addition to his creative work, Kirk has led extended courses and seminars through the Literary Canon Club, guiding participants through works ranging from Homer and Greek tragedy to Dante, Shakespeare, Milton, Melville, and much more. He has also produced hundreds of videos and podcast episodes teaching poetry, drama, literature, and cultural history to a broad public audience.

This course brings those strands together. It approaches the Western not only as cultural history, but as art, paying close attention to how film trains perception, emotion, and moral intuition, and how myths persist by working on us long before we consciously reflect on them.

Art, Myth, and Consciousness

This Western course is inspired in part by the work of cultural historian Richard Slotkin, whose studies of the American frontier myth remain foundational. Several of Slotkin’s books will be recommended for those who wish to go deeper, though none are required. Where Slotkin approaches the Western primarily as cultural history and ideology, this course places additional emphasis on art itself as a formative power, shaping not only political assumptions but the habits of perception, emotion, and moral intuition that make those assumptions feel natural.

The guiding question is not only what these films say about America, but how they work on us as viewers. Drawing in part on Ayn Rand’s insights into art and consciousness, the course treats art as a training ground for the soul, a way cultures teach people what to notice, what to admire, what to fear, and what kinds of action feel justified or inevitable.

Each week, participants watch one assigned film in advance. Our live Zoom session combines short lecture, guided analysis, and open discussion. We focus closely on how meaning is created through cinematic techniques such as image, movement, editing, landscape, repetition, and genre expectation, rather than treating the films merely as historical documents or entertainment.

Sessions are live, interactive, and discussion-based. They are also recorded and made available to enrolled participants who may need to miss a class. For those who want to engage more deeply, three optional short writing assignments are offered over the course of the seminar. These are reflective and interpretive, not academic, and are entirely optional.

The aim throughout is not to tell participants what to think, but to help them see more clearly how art has shaped American consciousness, and how those older stories continue to operate within us today.

Course details

Weekly viewing: One assigned film per week, watched on your own before the live session

Film access: All films are widely available on Amazon and other major platforms, typically for rental at around $3.99 (USD)
Reading:
- One required short story
- Several recommended (not required) books and essays for those who want to go deeper
Live sessions:
- Weekly, 90-minute live sessions on Zoom
- Each session includes short lecture, guided analysis, discussion, and Q&A
Recordings:
- All sessions are recorded and made available to enrolled participants
- If you miss a class, you will still be able to follow the course
Writing (optional):
- Up to three optional short writing assignments over the course
- Reflective and interpretive, not academic
Participation:
- Discussion-based and interactive
- Speaking is encouraged but not required; thoughtful listening counts as participation
Time commitment:
- Approximately 3–4 hours per week (film viewing plus live session)

Inside Look

Western Films in the Course

Join the Live Sessions

Week 2

Stagecoach
Year released: 1939
Director: John Ford
Main star: John Wayne
Where to watch: Rent or buy on Amazon, Apple TV, Google Play

The film that crystallized the Western genre, turning landscape and archetype into a fully formed cinematic myth.

Enrollment and pricing

Enrollment for this course is limited to 12 participants in order to preserve the quality of discussion. Once the course fills, registration will close.

You may enroll using either of the options below. Both options grant full access to the course.

Payment options:

Pay in full — $395
A single payment for the full 12-week course.

3-month payment plan. Three monthly payments of $132. This is not a recurring subscription, but a fixed payment plan that makes enrollment easier while reserving your place in the course.

Because enrollment is capped, your spot is secured only once you enroll. Payment plans do not extend or delay access, and all participants receive the same course experience.

Registration

Inventing America Course (Pay in Full)

$395

395

Twelve live, 90-minute seminar sessions

Weekly guided film analysis and discussion

Access to all session recordings

A private course forum for continued conversation

Optional Reading Recommendations

Three optional writing assignments for deeper engagement

Register Today to Reserve Your Seat!

Best Value

Inventing America Course (payment plan)

$132

132

Every month

Break up the payments into 3 months. This plan has all the same access as the pay in full option.

Valid for 3 months

Frequently Asked Questions

How much time does this course require each week?
Most participants spend about 3–4 hours per week, including watching the assigned film and attending the 90-minute live session.

Do I have to attend every live session?
Live attendance is encouraged, but not required. All sessions are recorded and made available to enrolled participants.

What if I miss a week?
If you miss a class, you can watch the recording and stay fully caught up. Many participants miss an occasional session due to travel or scheduling conflicts.

Do I need any background in film theory or literature?
No prior academic background is required. The course is designed for thoughtful, curious adults, not specialists.

Is this a film history class or a political discussion group?
Neither. The course focuses on close attention to the films themselves, the myths they express, and how they shape perception and values, rather than on contemporary partisan debates.

How long will I have access to the recordings?
Recordings are available to enrolled participants throughout the duration of the course and for a reasonable period afterward.

How large is the class?
Enrollment is limited to preserve the quality of discussion and interaction.

INVENTING AMERICA: The Western, Cinema, and the Myth That Shaped a Nation