A film series on Westerns starts next week at the Barton County Arts Center, 1401 Main, Great Bend. Eric Monder, the Lindsborg movie buff who recently brought French films to the Arts Center, is back with "The Myth of the West(ern): Cowboy Movies to The Man with No Name."

This series will meet from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. on Thursdays, starting with "The Searchers" on Sept. 16, and ending Nov. 18 with the screening of "Dead Man" and a clip from "Blazing Saddles." Tuition is $120, or single night attendance and payments are permitted at $15 per session.

Payment may be mailed to Eric Monder, in care of Emorac, 202 South Main St., Lindsborg, KS 67456, or via PayPal using e-mail address SorrellM@aol.com. For more information contact Monder, 620-718-0165.

Monder said those attending the series will see a number of movies and film clips, read essays and join discussion as they explore the complexities and limitations of defining a well-established genre (not only in film but also literature, painting, radio, television and the other popular arts.) "As the only film genre rooted in a specific time and place, there will be an additional emphasis on such themes as American Western Expansion, Native American genocide and the tension between uncivilized and civilizing forces. Other related topics — race, gender, the impact of violence (including mob justice), and the politics of land rights, land grants, and the railroad system — will be discussed. Finally, by looking at the post-modern western, including European ‘Oesterns,’ the course will also consider whether this kind of film is inherently tied to the American West of the 1800s."