What is it about Westerns people love?

What is it about Westerns that people love? I believe it’s the simplicity of life, the quietness of that era, the rawness, the freedom, and the grit. Westerns portray a picture of what life might have been like long ago after our ancestors first came to America and settled. It was a time when there was no gray, only black and white, and our heroes would fight to their death, if needed, for what they believed in. A time when you could find land, settle down on it, and build your life around it—a home, farm, ranch, family. Many admire a cowboy's way of life: riding the ranges, never staying at the same place for long, traveling from ranch to ranch for work, sleeping outside under the stars, eating what you caught or shot, and cooking over an open campfire. Can you imagine striking the mother load in California? Or what about a gunslinger fast at the draw? Risky, but the confidence they must have had. Being a bounty hunter could be interesting work, but it is also a risky lifestyle. What about a lawman like Matt Dillon in “Gunsmoke” or Wyatt Earp after he turned from his outlaw way of life? A schoolteacher in a tiny one-room building in the middle of nowhere instructing children of all ages and backgrounds would have been fulfilling but also hard work in the Wild West. What about A preacher or nun spreading the good word? Helping to build the Great Northern Railroad across the vast wilderness might have been interesting work. A bartender, barmaid, or a lady of the night in the red-light district? It’s a tough way to make a buck and stay alive to talk about it. Own a business like a mercantile, hotel, saloon, dress shop, blacksmith, or manage the bank or post office. What about A rancher or farmer? Hard but fulfilling work. The options for employment were not like they were now in the 20th century, but they could find honest work if they wanted to. Many preferred the other route, where the “bad guys” came in—the bandits, thieves, cutthroats, and cowboys. Yes, the Cowboys were not always known as the good guys in history. I grew up watching Western sitcoms and movies in the 1960s and 1970s, and now, many years later, they are still my favorites to watch and read. I especially like them if they have a good romance tied to the story, like John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara in McClintock. I also prefer stories that have strong family ties, like Bonanza, 1883, and 1823. The stories are usually simple in context, and it is easy to figure out who the “good guys” are versus the “villains.” And who does not like to root for their favorite heroes? The scenery in most Western movies is breathtaking, and we long to be there riding horses, with the wind rushing through our hair as we race with wild mustangs across long grassy hills. The water is so clear we can drink straight from the river. The sky is so vast and clear you can see for miles, and the sunsets are so gorgeous with reds, yellows, and purples that you long to sit in the back of a hay-filled wagon and share kisses with your favorite cowboy as the sun goes behind the mountains. Many people like Western movies and books because of the history of the wild frontier. They love to learn about the past and the strong people who lived, loved, bled, conquered, and died building our great country.

In the last few years, Westerns have made a massive comeback. Yellowstone, 1883, 1923, and Deadwood greatly impacted the revival. Do you agree? What is your favorite Western movie or book? Why do you love Westerns? Thanks for reading, my friends! Take care.