The American Cowboy

In 1939 John Ford masterminded a classical western film by the name of Stagecoach. This film has the integrity of a fine work of art. Being that it could be considered a work of art, the impression left on a viewing audience could differ relying on the audience's demographics. However, it is conceivable to all audiences that Ford delivers a cast of characters that are built on stereotypes and perceptions conjured from 'B' westerns that preceded this film's time. Each character is introduced to the audience in a stereotypical genre, as the film progresses, these stereotypes are broken down and the characters become more humanized. This is apparent with a handful of characters being

John Ford built a standard that many future directors would follow with his classic 1939 film “Stagecoach”. Although there were a plethora of western films made before 1939, the film “Stagecoach” revolutionized the western genre by elevating the genre from a “B” film into a more serious genre. The film challenged not only western stereotypes but also class divisions in society. Utilizing specific aspects of mise-en-scène and cinematography, John Ford displays his views of society.

Masculine’s definition is stereotypically twisted. The myth and reality of the cowboy shaped today’s definition of masculinity because they have this high and strong structure they need to uphold. Masculinity is having the traditional acts as a man, such as being strong and secure. In today’s world man and women have two different mindsets. Even though we are all humans, our gender defines the way we should act due to how society makes it. The myth has affected males physically, emotionally and mentally. The idea is that they are supposed to act accordingly. In reality, everyone wants to grow up differently, so why would they be forced to act/be a certain way?

Saddle blanket; a blanket or pad is required under the Western saddle to provide comfort and protection for the horse.

Does the race/ethnicity of Saint Mary’s students affect the interactions to the Sodexo workers? This question was inspired through a book called, The Hungry Cowboy, by Karla A. Erickson, who participated in her own observations in a restaurant viewing the social interactions among the people in the restaurant. The idea of observing and participating in social observations involved more than just asking people questions or sending out a survey, it is actively being a part of the observation and interacting with others that are also being influenced by the social norms of the restaurant. Race/ethnicity at Saint Mary’s is an issue being ignored by many, but also being addressed in small ways which provokes an interesting concept in viewing interactions among the people who work for the students versus college students who may or may not take it for granted.

Later in Charles's life he makes big accomplishments. Some accomplishments Charles has done in his life are improving the side saddle for women, inventing the chuck wagon for easier traveling, saving the buffalo from complete extinction, and ran many businesses involving cattle drives. Charles was considered one of the best cattle drive ranchers in Texas at the time. Later on, Charles finds what is to become the very first Texas Panhandle ranch, the JA ranch, in the Palo Duro Canyon. This

One of the chief culprits, he concludes, is Wyoming's manufacture of a false history around cowboy mythology. While the bucking horse is one of Wyoming's most identifiable symbols (it's on every Wyoming license plate), Western notes that Wyoming's key early settlers were, in fact, wealthy merchants who, from the beginning, had an

When he was 15, Sitting Bull showed honor and valor in a battle with the Flatheads in 1847. He flew past their front line, yelling taunts at them. Despite the barrage of arrows and the rain of Flathead bullets that stood in his way, Sitting Bull sustained only a minor wound. This convinced everyone that not only was this man brave; he was skilled in medicine as well. “Because his father was so proud of his son’s early victory, he gave the name Sitting Bull to his son that the Buffalo God had given him. The Indians thought of the Buffalo as a

On the ranch, Mollie was able to accomplish a number of things, but most notably she started the Goodnight buffalo herd by first only adopting a few orphan buffalo, but eventually the group grew until she had an entire herd. Ms.Goodnight also started the Goodnight college, which was established in 1898, besides the college in their name the Goodnight also has a town named after them in Colorado. Later in Mollie and Charles’ life, their house became a tourist attraction for the occasional passerby to pop in and look at their house as the years went on and the old western years started to disappear. Mollie and Charles lived in their house for the entire 56 years that they were married until Mollie started failing in health in the early 1920’s, eventually dying in in early April of

Sitting Bull was born sometime between 1831 and 1837 there is not an accurate record of his birth he was killed on the fifteenth of December 1890. Sitting Bull became the Leader of the Sioux tribe in his mid twenties. Sitting Bull had been living on the Standing Rock reservation in the Dakota Territory since 1883. In the fall of 1890 General Nelson A. Miles caught wind of Sitting Bull taking an interest in the Ghost Dance Religion. He wanted Sitting Bull arrested immediately so just before daylight on the fifteenth of December 1890 the Indian Police surrounded Sitting Bulls cabin. One of Sitting Bulls followers fired a shot at the Indian police when this happened the officer returned fire at the man who fired the first shot then he fired a bullet that struck Sitting Bull in the head. The man who said his bullet was the one that killed the chief was a sergeant of the Indian Police at Standing Rock named Red Tomahawk. Before his death Sitting Bull stated “I wish it to be remembered that I was the last man of my tribe to surrender my rifle.”

Many recognize the classic image of the cowboy in an old western movie: the fearless, stoic hero that stays calm in moments of crisis. In Cormac McCarthy’s All the Pretty Horses, readers witness the protagonist, John Grady Cole, attempt to revive this famous archetype. Beginning as early as when the first pilgrims came to the new continent, Americans have always had a desire to “settle” Native American lands. In the time that followed, the West became a sort of proving ground for the Europeans and their decedents. During the nineteenth century, the image of land being settled by men on horses, who literally took the law into their own hands through their shotguns, became pervasive in the American mind. By

Sitting Bull had many jobs to do as the chief of his tribe. One of his careers was to be the Sash Wearer, the leader of a group called the Strong Hearts. The Strong Hearts were a group of Sioux chiefs. They were in charge of the safety of the Sioux. (Black, 26) Later in his life he went on tour with Buffalo Bill on the Wild West show. He enjoyed it but he got homesick and went back to South Dakota to be with his family. (Black, 115)

The southwest is a region of the United States that makes our country unique. Without the southwest, we would undoubtedly lack the spirit, hope, beauty, and truth that this vast region brings to the rest of the United States as a whole. The southwest represents many things, such as journeying, racism, violence, the clashing and cooperation of cultures, and spirituality, as well as primitivism and pastoralism. All of these elements that the Southwest is comprised of is perhaps the reason why the rest of the country feels so captivated by it; why the southwest is considered a place to “find yourself” or to “regenerate”; and why literature and film regarding the Southwest has been and continues to be of the most popular genres. The western film was one of the most popular during the first half of the twentieth century. Audiences far and wide were mesmerized by actors such as John Wayne and Roy Rogers, and their roles as heroes who fought to tame the American frontier. This very concept, ‘taming the frontier’, gives way to a larger theme that was prevalent in many western films and literature of the southwest: ubi sunt, or rather “where are those who came before us?”. Director Sam Peckinpah’s The Ballad of Cable Hogue portrays this idea better than any other western film; the concept of ubi sunt is undeniably the film’s overarching theme, clearly seen through its components.

Typically referred to as ‘Indians’ in popular culture, Native Americans were traditionally seen in Westerns as the antagonists. The Western genre typically tells the story of the colonisation and discovery of America, which saw the major Hollywood studios revive the interest in the Western. Westerns draw on “historical actuality, a romantic philosophy of nature, and the concept of the […] savage” (Saunders, 2001, p. 3). Westerns often split the “depiction of the Indian, with the cruel and treacherous [Indian] balanced by the faithful [Indian]” (Saunders, 2001, p. 3) which resulted in the portrayals of Native Americans witnessed in films today.

Saunders of the Texas Trail Drivers Association that of the 50,000-75,000 cowboys who helped to created the West, 25 percent were black (Porter, 1971). However, to merely state that there were 13,000-19,000 Black cowboys is inaccurate simply because the American definition of a cowboy has become distorted. To understand the role of the blacks in the West, one must first comprehend what the cattle-industry workers or cowboys truly did.