Manifest Destiny Vs Old West Essay

1105 Words5 Pages

The land that our feet bear upon was not at first in our grasp. Natives patrolled the land far before pioneers became an existence on the so-called American soil. What was once seen as a way of life for the Natives has been refaced into to the “American dream” of Manifest Destiny. In context, Manifest Destiny is the view of moving forth in the planting of one’s cultural reckless footprints into the metaphorical soil that embodies economic opportunity instead of what was portrayed on the Hollywood screen. On the contrary, the “Old West” also known as the “Wild West,” was not only portrayed inaccurately by Hollywood in the representation of the actual events that occurred in the West, but also the ill-advised actions the pioneers had once brought over in an attempt for individuals to improve one’s own condition in life. This paper will argue the causes of the westward movement and its the origins as well as the falsely invested adaption of the west that Hollywood has …show more content…

However, are these so-called western films and shows accurately portraying the events of what occurred in the “wild west?” In truth, Hollywood inaccurately exaggerated and romanticized the factual and fundamental truth about what occurred in the Old West for intended money purposes. Clichés such as cowboys, gunslingers, outlaws, and bonds with the Native Americans all made the cut for the western films and shows rather than what the Old West really consisted of. One man, in particular, William Cody, or most commonly known as Buffalo Bill, created Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Shows to give an insight as to what the western life was like. Though his shows were far from the actual truth of what happened in the west, they drew quite an audience. In an aspect, what can be drawn from theses hackneyed-washed that consisted of western films and shows were all for its intended purpose for earning