The Mid 19th century into the first decade of the
20th is welded into our minds as the time of the cowboy, the local
sheriff, the town marshal, the outlaw, the murderous Indian, and the
frontiersman. It’s a time of myth in which the myth may well be reality, the
legend is history.
Bank robbers and saloon girls, cattle rustlers and train
robbers, card sharks and gunfighters are as real in our minds as are mountain
men and horse soldiers, Deputy U.S. Marshals and frontier doctors, preachers
and saloon keepers.
There are people performing basically the same work today,
but what’s missing is the romance, the immediacy, and the flavor that was
written into the history during its own time. The writers and poets of the time
flavored the history for us, gave it a cream topping that won’t be felt until …
well, maybe when we really do end up with classic space jockeys, and real
Captain Kirks exist.
What is it about the “cowboy” that so enthralls today’s
public? The cowboy is almost always portrayed as having loads of common sense,
impeccable manners, a sense of wrong and right, and personal responsibility
dominates. There is a duty to defend the underdog, to respond instantly to
danger, and to defend a lady’s virtue at all cost.
The frontiersman of myth dominated fiction and life during
the latter 18th century and then it was time for the cowboy. Is it
because the heroes are singular? We have heroes and myth surrounding war, but
those myths rarely involve individuals. But the frontier hero and the cowboy
hero are individuals. Even the anti-heroes, the outlaws such as bank robbers,
gunslingers, and rustlers are often singular.
What will writers of fiction use for heroes a hundred years
from now? Crime and mystery fiction also often features individuals, and sometimes
is based on fact, but not to the extent that western fiction is. My prediction
is that space cowboys are going to exist, because it’s what our mythical
cowboys are made of that made them heroes in the first place, and the goodness
of the human, when it is threatened makes for fine stories.
Until next time, read good books and stay regular
Johnny Gunn
Member, Western Fictioneers
Member,
International Thriller Writers
Will you join me on facebook from time to time?
Or Tweet with me, darlin’?
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