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