The Wild West

We all love stories about and from the era in American history known as the wild west. We love the clichés; cowboys and Indians, saloons, six shooters, outlaws etc. There's just something about the days of the old west that captures our imagination. Everyone knows about the lone ranger, Billy the kid, and Zorro just to name a few classic examples, but the genre is far from limited to just those. We're still fascinated with stories of the wild west to this day. The fact that D'Jango Unchained, Quentin Tarantino's fairly recent film, was such a fit is clearly indicative that the genre is alive and well. Even though all of the examples I've listed so far a very much made up of Hollywood romance, that doesn't make them any less significant. I feel that when delving into the topic of the wild west, it is one of the few subjects where fact and fiction are fairly equally relevant. While the real old west was very different from how it's portrayed in books and movies, the image that Hollywood has conjured up has, in a way, become real, at least in our minds and imaginations, and that makes it just about as relevant as the actual historical reality. Unfortunately, that reality is a lot less exciting, and much more disgusting than Hollywood shows. What do I particularly like about the old west? I really enjoy the romanticized image of hero sheriffs that take on outlaws in order to save their respective towns. That's just such an exciting and uplifting plotline that never fails to fill me with a sense of wonder and adventure. It's kind of funny, after doing a bit of research, I found out that much of what people around the world associate with the old American west, is actually more Mexican than American. That's not to say that there weren't any cowboys on the US side of the border, there were just a whole lot more on the Mexican side. Disappointing as it was to find that out, it did nothing to lessen my fascination with this period in time. No matter how popular other genres, eras in history, and concepts get, I sincerely doubt that the wild west will ever completely go out of style. Cowboys, as a concept, are the quintessential American icon in the eyes of most people around the world. Inaccurate as that stereotype may be, that doesn't change its relevance. It's somewhat strange how one particular era in one particular part of the country somehow turned into the main thing that people around the world think of when they think about the United States. However, I'm honestly not complaining. Cowboys are cool. That's basically this entire entry summed up in one sentence.