When looking for westerns, the first thing I came across was a trailer for the 1953 western, "Shane".
In this trailer, major themes from most westerns are apparant. The heroic cowboys, the gunslingers, the tavern fights, and many things we consider to be "Western".
But was 'Life on the frontier' really as great as this? In reality, life in the American West during times of expansion was not 'All beer and skittles' (Yes, I did look up some Western slang).
People faced many hardships, and cowboys were no more heroes than entreprenuers are today. Yes, they set out for adventure, but they didn't go around killing indians all the time or rescuing the 'pretty ladies'. They set out to find a new home and a new way of life for their families.
Wow... I pray to God that this was meant to be ridiculous. This is a disgrace to people who headed west. The Homestead Act led to a massive rush to settle the west, but wagon trains often failed because of diseases or indian attacks. The quote 'The going gets might rough' is putting it lightly.
The last clip I want to show is an example of the early westerns. It is the 1903 film titled "The Great Train Robbery".
Maybe I enjoyed this film because I'm a big film junkie and enjoy looking at the history of film. I love the part where he throws the dummy off the train. Great "special effects". Ok, back on topic. This shows that the American film industry glamarized the West into making it appear so adventurous and exciting, when settling the west was a very long, tedious, and boring experience for the most part.
Yet, we seem to continue this Myth because it's entertainment. If they made realistic movies about the West they would probably end up on the History Channel and most people wouldn't watch them. Sometimes we twist realistic events and make them into much more than they actually were. Same with the Titanic, the 9/11 attacks, or any major event in our history. We don't know all the details, and we believe what we are told because, well, it's exciting.
Don't be fooled by the myth, the West was not as 'hootin' and hollerin' as it may seem. Now, 'Go Gettem Cowboy!'. (I had way too much fun with this article...)
