“The fascination that the Old West has will never die." John Wayne
The mythology of the Old West has
been denigrated by the people who set literary fashion. They say it is
idealized, simplistic, tired, and, above all, untrue. The good guys were never that
good. Frontiersmen and settlers displaced noble people already occupying the
land. Coarse immigrants came in droves to desecrate a pristine wilderness. Eulogized
heroics usually involved vigilantism, which offends those who honor the rule of
law.
The same
mythology escapes criticism in fantasy and science fiction, so why is it
disparaged in Westerns? They’re all made-up stories, but morality plays in these
other genres find acceptance. The battle between good and evil, selfless
sacrifice, idealized heroics, and venturing away from home are popular themes
in extremely popular genres. Few doubt that the Harry Potter series, Lord of the Rings, or the work of Arthur C. Clark and H. G. Wells are respectable literature. An argument could be made
that similar themes are even reflected in nursery rhymes. Could the difference be
that the Old West actually happened?
Before we answer
this question, we should take another look at the mythology of the Old West.
It’s about more than gun-slinging paladins. There are three major elements,
with many tributaries. The first is the romance of a new beginning. Second, in
this new world, the battle of good versus evil is clearly defined and won by
good. The last element is the lone warrior who sets things right.
The West,
outer space, the future, or a make-believe land represents a new beginning in a
fresh place away from home—the shedding of disappointments and a chance to start over. The romance and adventure of the frontier draw people desperate
to escape the travail of their current existence. We’ve seen this in real life with
the migrations to the New World and the Old West, but today many people satisfy
this longing vicariously with fiction. If you’re poor, your family makes you
miserable, you’ve committed an act that offends society, or wanderlust has gripped
you, then the adventure and limitless opportunity of a frontier beckon like a
siren’s call. Emigrating to a frontier means you get a do-over in a land with
no rules, no fences, no referees.
Real life is
a greyscale, somewhat skewed toward the darker side of the spectrum. A new life in
a new world wouldn’t entice us if we had to bring our old baggage. As envisioned,
the new world is black and white. There’s strength in righteousness,
perseverance and risk are rewarded, good people do right, and bad people get
their just deserts. This is a world of hope. Hope for riches, hope for justice,
hope for a different path in life. Good fights evil and good always triumphs.
This is a theme that has been part of storytelling in every society since the
first cave drawings.
A raw
frontier is dangerous, so good needs help. Elements and carnivorous animals
threaten at every turn. People fight ruthlessly to claim a piece of terrain for
themselves. No civilization means no restraint on bad people doing bad things.
Help comes in the form of an idealized hero, possibly an anti-hero who overcomes his moral deficiencies to help the innocent. This is usually
visualized as a lone warrior, like the one eulogized by Tom Wolfe in The Right Stuff. The hero is capable of
violence, but he is essentially good. The gunman in Westerns carries a
simple solution on his hip. Frodo has the ring and Potter his wand. In these
mythical realms, the hero risks his life to save the day and demands nothing in
return.
Western
mythology beguiles us because it promises a world different from our own. Hard
work gets rewarded. We have freedom of movement by horse and train. We get vicarious revenge against the unpleasant
people in our lives. And riches. Wealth comes from the land and the land is
free. The whole package is wrapped in idealized virtues that make us feel safe
and hopeful.
And we can
experience it all by reading in our favorite easy chair.
Which brings
us back to our question. Are these themes less acceptable in Westerns because
the Old West actually existed?
Yes.
History
shows that the idealized frontier was
a myth. This gives fantasy and sci-fi a huge advantage, since they aren’t bound
by reality. In the real Old West, bad guys often won. More accurately, the
strong and willful won, many times using bullying tactics. In the gritty real
world, Native Americans were vanquished by hordes of pioneers. Miners raked the
surface of beautiful countryside and then ran off when there was no more easy
money. Historical records make it easy for someone to say, “but it wasn’t like
that.” Does this mean that Western mythology is inappropriate for fiction?
Not entirely.
Authors need to approach Westerns as historical fiction. Larry McMurtry and
Cormac McCarthy already did. They told stories that incorporated elements of Western mythology, but they used gradation in their storylines and nuanced
stereotypical plots. Their books are populated with realistic characters, and they
get the facts right.
Fantasy and
science fiction can get away with an idealized, binary world, but Westerns must
navigate the nineteenth-century frontier with realism and respect for the genuine experiences of pioneers and Native Americans. The mythology of the Old
West is dead … but the stories continue.
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| Honest westerns. Full of dishonest characters. |
