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Analysis Of The Article 'The Mountain Man And American Anguish'

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The Article "The Mountain Man and American Anguish." Journal of Popular Film & Television (Winter 1997), Is an in-depth psychoanalysis of the portrayal of American Mountain Men in cultural media. The author Mr. Patrick McCarthy primary argument/thesis is that the depiction of the quintessential mountain man has been subconsciously distorted by cultural media. The western landscape was inverted and turned into the "extreme West," and the "mountain man" was used as a scapegoat of the American psyche in relation to current events. The author Mr. Patrick McCarthy’s refers to over 30 examples of the "mountain man," in films and television programs or “telewesters”, as he calls them. The author also mentions the theory of “the shadow”- by Jung's …show more content…

This supports the Authors statement that there are four them that occur in society as consequences of the Vietnam War. Trapper symbolizes the Vietnam combat soldier. Two there are repression effects from the Vietnam War. Three men view themselves victims of war, government. Lastly number four, men have fear and/or hatred of women and loss of individual liberties. This is most evident in Kelly’s statement. "I'm a mountain man, when humanity starts crowding' me.... [I] has to get off by myself." In summary, as much as I would like to elaborate more giving support to Mr. Patrick McCarthy’s Article I simply cannot abide. I read this article multiple times and still find it to be lacking in sufficient evidence to support the thesis. In my personal opinion when you’re trying to peace things together like this you will most certainly make some of them fit, like with any old conspiracy. I understand and completely support the author’s idea that media may have portrayed the mountain man differently due to events like Vietnam that is simply our nature, Events like that changed almost everything one way or another. The argument that the mountain man s true character has been tarnished by media I simply can't see. Any portrait of a mountain man that I have see I have only viewed as one man under his own actions never judging as a

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