Migrant Mother- May the odds be ever in your favor, by Brittany N. Cozzens

When looking at Dorothea Lange’s Migrant Mother photograph I couldn’t help but feel despair for this poor woman and her children.

This image, while taken during one of the most turbulent times in our nation’s history, does not reflect the “American Dream” that I picture in my head. For many, the foundation of their vision of the American dream for lies in having shelter, family and money. But when looking at Migrant Mother and reading Carter Revard’s autobiography Winning the Dust Bowl, it made me wonder about Revard’s reference of the Dust Bowl being a game. How is it that those that truly needed help, like Florence Owens Thompson (Migrant Mother) weren’t getting it? Was getting some kind of government assistance a stroke of luck?

From here, my mind threw together all of these different images of being a poor farmer, doing a grueling trade every day all day even though no significant money was really being brought in; a mother with hungry mouths to feed; a widow; and other people in other parts of the country having resources but not giving them away.

And then it clicked.

Florence Owens Thompson and her situation is very similar to that of Katniss Everdeen’s family in the Hunger Games. Mrs. Everdeen, like Florence Owens Thompson, was a widow who had children to fend for, though she could barely provide for herself. Her family lived in District 12 and was known for coal mining and migrant mother was a pea picker like many others in her area. Both worked tirelessly but couldn’t leave. This is not the ideal image of the American Dream.

Meanwhile, there were people in the Capital (in both places) that were well off; eating food served by those that had nothing. These people in the Capital were living the American Dream, while others who were much worse off got no aid. Is this how we understand America to be? Those who have resources choosing to maintain their unrestrained lifestyle rather than give to those who are desperately in need in, such as the coal miners of District 12, the pea pickers and orange grove farmers in California?

Part of the problem of poverty, as addressed through Dorothea Lange’s photo, in Revard’s poems, and in the Hunger Games is that those with resources are not willing to give them up in order to better support someone else. This is not how I want American to be pictured through any medium. Getting assistance shouldn’t be a stroke of luck, or “if they odds are in your favor,” it should be because someone is in dire need and because people care. The American dream is something that Americans should help their fellow Americans try to achieve rather than just leaving people out in the dust.

February 12, 2015

The Great Depression, Poverty, and the American Way by Nicole Thomas

If I had to define the American Dream, I would define it as being able to have the opportunity to be successful (however you might find fitting), having the opportunity to be free to express yourself, and being able to live independently. These things require some financial stability. The migrant mother photo contradicts my own idea of the American Dream, and I’m sure it also does so to the rest of the world. The Encyclopedia of American Studies entry on “America Perceived” states that “The perception of America as a land of economic opportunity was broken only during the years of the Great Depression.” The migrant mother photograph does a really good job in representing that sudden change in view of America with the coming of the Great Depression.

The Depression was full of inequality between the rich and the poor, and whites and blacks. African Americans were hit very hard by the Depression, and because of discrimination, they often had to give up their jobs to white workers. The image below is from the Depression, the background shows the happy all white family of four as the “American Way,, and in the foreground is a line of jobless African American and migrant workers.

In the Migrant Mother photo, I see poverty and depression, but I also see strength and perseverance. In the selection of readings from Carter Revard, he mentions “bridges” frequently. On page 132 in the Going to College section he says “we should remember that a small group of persons who have shown themselves unusually able to learn from the regular curriculum what their teachers want them to learn are supposed to include the bridge-builders, the language-translators, the power-transformers who will help us get across time and space and the rivers of Babylon to significant others, even as we are swinging dangerously into the future.” Revard is trying to get a certain point across about the Great Depression. The hard working impoverished people in the United States, like the Migrant Mother, were able to survive, even when the odds were against them. They were able to build the bridges to the future by surviving the Dust Bowl. The people were able to push the widely ridiculed President Hoover out, and bring Roosevelt in. After elected, President Roosevelt promised his “New Deal”, creating several programs to help end the depression, including an effort to eliminate discrimination.

Although I define America as a land of opportunity and success (overall), the “American Dream” and the ability to live the “American Dream” did not come without sacrifice. Going back to the America Perceived entry, although the rest of the world viewed America as “young, fresh and full of possibility,” they also viewed it as “immature” and “lacking history.” The Great Depression is a prime example of our “New World” and the flaws that were (and still are) in it. Because America was youthful and young and new, it made many mistakes. And through those mistakes, America created its own history and learned what was good and what was not good for the nation. After spending some time with the Migrant Mother and the Great Depression, I have come to find that as Americans, we really are (as Revard puts it) a nation of “bridge-builders” and “language translators” and we continue to pave our way into the future, trying our best to decide right from wrong. We strive to learn from the people of our past, like the Migrant Mother, in order to build more bridges towards the future of America. At first glance, America (easily and simply) seems like the land of opportunity and independence, but when we take into consideration what we had to go through as a country to get to where we are now, that is what defines America.

February 12, 2015

The American Dream and Poverty in the U.S. by Sarah Butler

The American Dream to me is the idea that you have to be successful and have money to be happy. The American Dream has many facets that change over the course of US history as well as facets that contradict each other.

There is the idea that with hard work, you can come from nothing and achieve the dream life of a happy family and successful career. The iconic Migrant Mother photograph from 1936 during the Great Depression paints a picture of poverty in the West during this time period. This photo is hard to relate to the American Dream. The mother, Florence Owens Thompson is working as a crop picker to provide her 7 children with food. This family doesn’t have a home all they have is a tent and an old car.

It is hard to relate my idea of the American Dream to this family because they are in such dire conditions. Their mother is stressed and worn down because she is unsure of where their next meal will come from. She is caring a heavy burden and wants to care for her children. Because The United States was so poor at this moment in history it was hard to pursue the American Dream without an income. Thompson could hope to achieve the American Dream but in the state she was in, as well as the state the country was in, it was more about survival than dreaming.

The problem with poverty during the Great Depression according to Dorothea Lange and Carter Revard is that it was so severe. Poverty was on a new level and when people would go to California for jobs they were met with low pay and increasing debt. This level of poverty relates to the American Dream in that the dream becomes unattainable. These people were putting in hard work with nothing in return. They were not slowly climbing the ladder to happiness through hard work. The American Dream becomes distant because during the Great Depression it is unrealistic because of the high level of poverty.

The American Dream relates to how we understand the ideas of America in the ways that America was founded. America was built on the ideal of freedom. Europeans moved to America to be free but at the same time that was a contradiction in that there were slaves and women didn’t have equal rights. This is similar to the American Dream in that the American Dream can be a contradiction. In the case of the Migrant Mother hard work didn’t lead to overall happiness and success, which is the basis of the American Dream. The American Dream is an idea that creates what America is, but its complexity has to be fully understood to find the deeper meanings of what America stands for.

Photo: http://gogetfunding.com/project/helping-families-overcome-poverty

February 12, 2015

The American Dream: A Fallacy for Some by Angie Indik

The American Dream is said to be attainable by anyone. Politicians boast about this notion during campaign speeches. “If you work hard enough, you will achieve your ambitions in America!” Movies throughout time, such as The Pursuit of Happiness, Cinderella, or Arthur, portray the “rags to riches” story that attract a sizable audience. Famous people like Oprah Winfrey, Steve Jobs, or Sam Walton have all come from financially meager backgrounds but they acquired great wealth in their adult lives. It is these stories, fact or fiction, that give life and hope in the American Dream. For some people, the American Dream does not have to mean huge riches. It could involve living in a comfortable home. It can entail providing necessities like food and clothing for a family along with attaining some extras like toys and the ability to take a vacation every year. This American Dream is certainly a reality for many people, but for others like Florence Owens Thompson pictured in the famous “Migrant Mother” photograph, the American Dream is an absolute fallacy.

The “Migrant Mother” photo was taken by Dorothea Lange in 1936. Florence Owens Thompson is the focal point of the picture. The woman is surrounded by three of her children. Thompson carries a worried expression. Two of her children hide their faces from the camera, perhaps out of shame. The third child is an helpless infant. The photograph displays depravity. These people are wearing old, torn clothes. They appear unbathed. The message is the mother and her family are poor. This picture is iconic for not only presenting what poverty looked like in the 1930s, but because of the emotional response it received. A parent’s job is to provide necessities to his or her family and it is apparent that Thompson was unable to do so. Lange took this picture to show the inhumanity of being one of America’s poor. For the people who were not devastated by the Depression, Lange was telling them the American Dream is not alive. The message was the system is broken and we as Americans need to do something about it. As photographer Jacob Riis brought awareness of the horrors of child labor (and poverty) around the turn of the century, Lange was doing the same with her pictures as she was exposing the degradation of poverty. Both photographers were motivating people to act. The “Migrant Mother” was an important picture then as it is today. While America has not experienced this grand level of poverty since the Great Depression, this photograph is a reminder of the time when we did. It reinstates that poverty is real and that the notion of the American Dream does not exist for all.

February 5, 2015

The Political Undertones of The Wizard of Oz by Alexa Morgan Bricker

Though I hadn’t read the book as a kid, to me the movie The Wizard of Oz seemed to be nothing more than a simple fairy tale about a girl who travels to a faraway land and meets a number of characters, ultimately learning the lesson that home is the best place to be. But now, having learned a great deal more about American history, it seems obvious that not just this story, but the majority of stories, are reflections of their time periods. I am always really fascinated to find out when the stories I grew up watching or reading have a deeper, hidden meaning, so I was excited to know The Wizard of Oz does too.

Many children’s books, both old and contemporary, are riddled with political undertones. Though some messages are more subtle than others, it is pretty evident that The Wizard of Oz is a clear reflection of the state of America’s political system at the time it was written.

Nearly every character and theme can relate directly toward the Populist movement and its players the years leading up to the publishing of the book. In his essay, Henry Littlefield argues that each beloved character and theme from the story can be linked to the environment of the late 1800 and early 1900s in America. The scarecrow represents the farmer, fighting for the introduction of silver into the economy to boost the dollar, and the Wizard represents politicians themselves and their trickery. I find it hard for the points Littlefield makes to be no more than coincidence when everything from the silver shoes to the twister seemingly finding a tie to something in the real world.

In 1900, when the book was first published, the political and economic state of the U.S. wasn’t that bright. Money and jobs were scarce, and like we’ve seen at other points in history when times are tough, people turn to politicians to resolve the problems but are often disappointed when they realize the politicians have their own interests in mind, not those of the people. In this political cartoon originally published on Bizzaro Comics, Dorothy asks the Cowardly Lion, the Scarecrow and the Tin Man that they must be politicians since the things they “need” are a heart, brain, and courage. While not the original intent of the characters, the images of Dorothy and her crew have been utilized in new ways to reflect many different eras of political distress.

In this more recent cartoon from Righttoons.com, big business is still depicted as sneaky and conniving and having an upper hand in the political scene over the people, just as it was depicted in in the time of The Wizard of Oz. Though it cannot be known for sure if this is the true intent of the story, it shouldn’t really matter. This story and many others have been used to better explain political affairs that may otherwise be confusing. To me, allegories are more than comical comparisons, they can be an important tool into seeing a part of society that needs to uncovered.

http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/736x/b5/59/6e/b5596e939586e577cc01ff888998b69f.jpg

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_9VGZjBQHr0s/S9FeChAogoI/AAAAAAAAFAk/aqgEOo_4HhQ/s1600/2djw7du.jpg

February 5, 2015

Alternate View of OZ: The Wiz by Calvin Thrall

The image I’ve selected is a promotional poster for the 1978 musical The Wiz, an alternate take on The Wizard of Oz with an entirely African-American cast. To understand why this film exists, and why the fact that it exists is relevant, we have to examine the conditions under which L. Frank Baum created the original Wizard of Oz story in the final years of the 19th century. Baum was a member of the Democratic Populist party, and in the 1890s he ardently supported Populist William Jennings Bryan in both his 1896 and 1900 presidential campaigns – obviously, both were unsuccessful (Littlefield, 49). Henry Littlefield proposes that The Wizard of Oz is an allegory for the political climate during the time Baum was writing it: Dorothy is the common citizen, the cowardly lion is Bryan, and the Wizard represents the U.S. government leadership (the emperor has no clothes). Though Bryan’s dual losses in the presidential election proved that Baum’s Populist party was in the minority, The Wizard of Oz has a happy ending, with all of the characters realizing that what they were looking for was inside themselves all along. If Littlefield is right about the allegory, we can see The Wizard of Oz as a story that Baum wrote with the intent to empower and motivate his fellow Democratic Populists to pick themselves up, dust themselves off, and perhaps be a bit smarter and braver the next time around. Baum was writing for a minority group that didn’t have the political or social clout that it desired.

Flash forward almost eight decades to the conception of The Wiz in the late 1970s. Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5 are superfamous African-American pop stars in a nation that had only been desegregated fairly recently. It would be disrespectful to say that L. Frank Baum’s Democratic Populists were ever in a situation as dire as that of African-Americans in the mid 20th century; however, enough parallels can be drawn that I believe it is fair to say that The Wizard of Oz and The Wiz were created with a similar goal – to empower and encourage a minority demographic that lacks social and political power. The Wiz feautures a Dorothy who is from Harlem, not Kansas, but both locations were chosen with the goal of appealing to the common citizen as opposed to the elite. Additionally, the Wizard himself in The Wiz turns out to actually be a failed politician, which is probably a symbol for the numerous ways that the U.S. government has failed and mistreated African-Americans throughout the country’s history. If The Wizard of Oz was an attempt to rally and reinvigorate the downtrodden and few Democratic Populists, than The Wiz was an attempt to empower African-Americans, who suffered awful injustices at the hands of the government trusted with protecting it. Both works succeed in these goals while simultaneously delivering a fun, entertaining musical.

February 5, 2015

Oz Wars by Carlee Cantwell

After our class discussions on The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and its use as an allegory, I got to thinking about other movies that could have employed the same method. Some further research revealed theories about Star Wars and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz being essentially the same story. Although created in completely different eras, the resemblance between the two works is startling.

Once I found out about the theory I was curious to see if any images had been created representing the story book and science fiction movie. Sure enough, I stumbled upon an artist rendering by Denis Medri of what he calls “Oz Wars.” The image depicts Dorothy walking somewhere with a Wookie, who represents the lion, a cross-over between C3P0 and the scarecrow, r2d2 as the tin man, and Toto mixed with Darth Vader.

There are two levels of similarities between these two works: the characters and the allegory they represent. The main protagonist in each story, Dorothy and Luke Skywalker, both leave their home with their Aunt and Uncle in search of something. On their journey both have a companion with them. For Dorothy, Toto takes this position and for Luke it is R2D2. The interesting part about these companions is they cannot communicate directly with the protagonist but both help move the story along.

Then there are the three companions the protagonists meet along the way. In Star Wars, Han Solo is searching for wisdom in the same way that the Scarecrow is hoping to get a brain. The Lion’s quest for courage is replicated in Chewbacca the Wookie’s search. Both also happen to be furry creatures. Finally, while the Tin Man is looking for a heart, C-3PO desires love among all things. There are also unnamed sources of evil in both stories, represented by the flying monkeys and Storm Troopers of Darth Vader’s forces.

Beyond the realm of the similarities in characters, both the story book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and the film Star Wars, both have a secondary allegorical meaning. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, whether intentionally or not, serves an allegory for the Populist movement in the 1890s and early 1900s. With the gold standard mimicking the Yellow Brick Road, the silver shoes showing the Populist solution to economic troubles, and the Cowardly Lion representing William Jennings Bryan among other things, there is clear evidence to the allegorical nature of the story book.

To the same tune, George Lucas the creator of Star Wars, has come out in recent years stating that the film, originally aired in 1977, was meant to represent the Vietnam War in many ways. While the film did not make it to the screen before the conclusion of the conflict, the screenwriting process took place at the height of the fighting. Many have said they can see the resemblance of Han Solo to a guerilla on the run from the Viet Kong. It also has followed suit that during most of the releases of future Star Wars films since the original film, America has been involved in some form of armed conflict, most recently in 2005 when Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith premiered during the United States controversial involvement with the war in Iraq. While L. Frank Baum may have unintentionally written about Populism and George Lucas outright says he is presenting an allegorical film, it is clear to see the similarities between these two works.

http://denism79.deviantart.com/art/Oz-Wars-182287947

February 5, 2015

“So Much Happened Before Dorothy Dropped In” by Elizabeth Yazvac

In my young twenty years of life, I have been dragged to see A Musical Christmas Carol on more public school field trips than any person should have to endure. But, despite these unhappy visits to the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera, I have managed to preserve my love of musicals by way of Wicked: The Musical. Four t-shirts, one sweatshirt, two Collector’s Edition Grimmeries, one bootlegged soundtrack (oops), four shows in Pittsburgh, and one show in San Francisco later, my mother has forbidden me from purchasing more tickets to see Wicked, and has certainly stopped buying me overpriced clothing with the word “popular” on it.

I’m not sure what sparked my obsession with Wicked: The Musical, especially considering I had never been obsessed with The Wizard of Oz – the film or the book. Certainly, the cast of the Broadway production is absolutely fabulous, and the songs are ridiculously catchy, but no other musical has ever cost me (read: my mom) so much money. In addition to the powerful message of believing in yourself and the importance of knowing the whole story before making judgments, the sheer creativity and modern political allegory that warns against the power of those in charge are what makes Wicked resonate so well with audiences.

Wicked: The Musical is based off of a book (by Gregory Maguire also titled Wicked), that follows a girl named Elphaba and describes how she eventually became known as The Wicked Witch of the West. The name Elphaba is a play on the sounds of L. Frank Baum’s (author of original The Wonderful Wizard of Oz) initials – LFB. This is only one of literally hundreds of references to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the children’s book that Wicked is based upon. Wicked opens as the townspeople of Oz are rejoicing in the death of The Wicked Witch of the West. Glinda The Good Witch arrives (traveling via bubble) and tells the townspeople that they should not be so quick to hate the Wicked Witch, and reveals that a long time ago she was friends with The Wicked Witch, whose name was Elphaba. The rest of the musical is a flashback to Glinda and Elphaba’s time at Shiz University.

Wicked: The Musical is full of creative reimagination, and this helps transform the message of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz into a message that resonates with today’s audiences, although the underlying theme of being hesitant to trust those in power remains. For example, Elphaba’s sister Nessarose receives a pair of silver slippers as a gift. Later in the musical, Elphaba enchants the slippers, turning them red. In this way, the slippers pay homage to both the original book and the film (the book had silver slippers, and the film had ruby red ones). Another interesting example of this re-imagination is the flying monkeys. In Wicked, Elphaba is told to cast a spell to prove her magical abilities, not knowing what the spell will do to the monkey she is casting upon. After successfully completing the spell, she realizes in horror that she has caused all the monkeys in the room to painfully and permanently sprout wings.

Many other characters and plot elements play on the original universe created in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and this makes watching Wicked a much richer experience for audiences who are familiar with the story of The Wizard of Oz. Although the political messages are much more apparent in the book Wicked, they are also present in the musical. Animals (with a capital A) can talk, until they are stripped of their speaking abilities, and put in cages “where they belong.” Plot elements like this are a way to translate the old allegory of populism into a modern-day political message. Audiences today wouldn’t pick up on allegory about the silver standard, so the transformation of the story to, instead, send messages warning against the subjugation of groups or the trickery of those in power makes Wicked just as powerful as the original, while still maintaining the underlying theme of distrust in government. By using both the themes found in the original L. Frank Baum book and 1939 film, as well as themes for today’s audience, Wicked is definitely a mix of the best from the old and the new.

Wicked Poster: The Image Kid. http://imgkid.com/wicked-the-musical-logo.shtml

Flying Monkey: “Trouble in Oz?” The Upstager: all the world’s an upstage. 1 April 2014. https://theupstager.wordpress.com/2010/04/01/trouble-in-oz/

Elphaba and Galinda: Mitchell, Keri. “Want to see ‘Wicked’? Buy tickets now!” Advocate. 15 January 2013. http://lakewood.advocatemag.com/2013/01/15/want-to-see-wicked-buy-tickets-now/

January 29, 2015

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid–Iconic of the West by Sarah Klein

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is unique in that the iconic movie is based off of the true story of outlaws Butch Cassidy, born George LaRoy Parker, and the Sundance Kid, born Harry Longbaugh. I had the good fortune of watching PBS’ documentary on the men just a few weeks ago. Brilliant timing. The film chronicles the history fairly accurately, but as one might expect, glosses over their very beginnings and perhaps the less exciting parts of their lives.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid captures a snapshot of American history in a thrilling and telling way. Condensing their story into a film just under two hours required the film to work over time inferring and bringing to life what life was like in the late 1800s Wild West. The film begins in sepia tone, looking aged and brown, as one might imagine the West to look–antiqued. The browns of the wood-built Western town and the dirt roads blend with the sepia tone to create a perfect depiction of a stereotypical frontier town. The film opens with Butch and Sundance smoking, drinking and gambling in a saloon, emblematic of Wild West happenings. Within the first few moments, a horse is seen pulling a wagon and Butch and Sundance look like the quintessential cowboys of the era.

Throughout the film, iconic images of the West are included, such as steam powered trains traveling across vast open space, huge bank vaults, debauchery in saloons and brothels, train robbing, riding horseback through open fields with canyons in the background, a Marshall urging townspeople to take action against the outlaws, and a chase scene on horses, just to name a few. Due to these images, and the panoramic scenes of the land, obviously the West, it is quite apparent that this film is indeed a Western.

The primary themes from the film include outlaws/bandits and the idea of making one’s own in a rather lawless world. Perhaps the iconicity of the West lies in the idea of it, and that it represents a way of life akin to Butch and Sundance’s where they live for ultimate freedom and adventure. The epitome of the West nowadays is Las Vegas, where one goes to lose their inhibitions, win money, have fun and go wild. Freedom. Americans have always yearned to make it on their own, from rags to riches, the American Dream, and all of those images associated with obtaining success through hard work on American soil. The West is no different–it represents the attitude that adventure and freedom lies beyond our hometowns, that success and riches is obtainable on one’s own terms.

January 29, 2015

The American West: Glorified, Capable, and Adaptable by Nicole Thomas

The Western Film I chose to watch was Once Upon a Time in the West. This movie was made in 1968, and it is set in a made up-town somewhere in Utah called “Flagstone.” It was filmed in a studio in Italy and in the Spanish desert. The overall theme of this film adheres to what most, if not all of America, believes to be stereotypical of the American West. We drew many of these same themes on the back of our maps in class on Monday. The idea of the American West was created to glorify the American people, especially white American men. And most of these ideas have made their way into popular icons and themes created by the media through film.

First, I want to discuss the setting. The movie poster really does say it all. The movie is set in the frontier. The land is barren, harsh, and the town of Flagstone is very much isolated. It is equipped with all of the fantastic structures and furnishings that popular culture believes the west should have such as saloons, train stations, and old dusty wooden houses. The setting describes the life of the American Frontier. There are horses, railroads, covered wagons, and dirt roads. Everything that we believe to be “the west.” The American West is dirty and wild, and in order to survive Americans had to adapt to the wilderness, or die, which makes us a strong and powerful people (maybe/maybe not).

Next, I want to discuss the characters. The characters of this western exhibit certain roles and icons of the “American West” including the role of men, women, and Indians. There are four main characters: three men and one woman. First, there’s Frank, played by Henry Fonda. Frank is a notorious murdering, gang-leading cowboy. Frank is the villain. Then there are the two hero figures, Cheyenne (Jason Robards) and Harmonica (Charles Bronson). Cheyenne is a bandit who has been wrongly accused of committing Frank’s crimes, and of course, he wants Frank dead. Harmonica is a mysterious, sharp shooting, stranger who speaks little and frequently plays sad songs on the harmonica. He also wants Frank dead. The lives of the men in this movie are quite glorified and fantastic.

Then there’s Jill or Mrs. McBain (Claudia Cardinale) who is the only female role in the film. Unsurprisingly, she is a beautiful buxom ex-prostitute who married one of her clients for his money. She plays a helpless role in the film. She ends up getting taken advantage of by Frank, and the only reason she’s alive is because Cheyenne and Harmonica protect her from harm. Remarkably, throughout the movie there are also African American and Native American slaves as well.

This brings me to my point of the idea of the American West being the ideal world for white American men. The idea of the American West avoids all of the contradictory parts of history such as Native American enslavement (driving them out of their lands) and Women’s rights. In this film, and many other western films, the Native Americans and the women are more than happy to be slaves to white men, and everyone seems pretty ok with it.

Much like Betsy Ross, I think the idea of the American West is kept alive because it is made to seem simple, easy, and entertaining. The idea of good vs. evil, cowboys vs. Indians, and the “final frontier” is entertaining to America, and to the world. I think the reasoning behind the idea of the West makes sense, because although it isn’t really historically accurate, it seems to make America…well… American. In avoiding certain parts of history that make us look bad, through the media and through movies like Once Upon a Time in the West we can bring the image of the America we want everyone in the world to have, which I think is the idea of a durable, adaptable, and capable people.