Myths In American Movies: The Old West Myth

Gunfights, cowboys, gold mines and ranches are probably the first thing that pops into your head when you hear The Old West, however was that actually what happened? The movies portray the west as an action packed, good vs evil utopia of sorts. There’s always an antagonist, a protagonist, some love interest, and a gun fight of course. This just leaves me with a few questions: what is a myth and why are they important?, how has the old west myth affected our society?, and why was the west so popular? First off, what is a myth? Webster’s Dictionary defines a myth as: “a story that was told in an ancient culture to explain a practice, belief, or natural occurrence”. Myths usually try to tie into the morality of the time period, and group of people they were designed for. When a myth is created it is based off the actual event, however it is warped to seem more interesting. The Old West was not the only myth in American history, we also learned about the City on the Hill myth written by John Winthrop. This myth helped shape the morality and lifestyles of the Puritan people. This myth is just one example of how folklore can shape a group of people. In the end, people take
There’s tons of movies, from all over the world and multiple legends and stories derived from it. The Old West gave Americans a sense of independence. The West was a place where you could live freely, unphased by all the large cities and problems of the world. It was a sort of utopia for the common man to dream about. It emphasized the idea of fight nature and brought upon the struggle of good versus evil. Furthermore, the idea of good and evil mixed in with cowboys was a really simple concept to recreate. No matter what part of the world a person lived in, they dreamed of something better and more adventurous than what they have. Therefore, it was very easy for other countries to take America's Old West theory and adapt it to their own movies and