How the Westerns evolved from history to folklore to myth to legend

I really cannot explain why I enjoy the Western genre so much. Even though these movies are a complete lie historically I still watch them whenever I come across one on television. I find them exciting and fun to watch. My life is boring so I enjoy watching some loose cannon tough guy who does not play by the rules. Whenever I see actors in a saloon with swinging doors drinking, playing cards, and shooting each other I get this great nostalgic feeling for what was and will never again be. On the real people in the Old West: they dreamed of living our life but of their life we can only dream.
At first I was disappointed that Midnight Cowboy was the not archetypical Western I had thought of but I can think of no better consolation prize. In a sense that also demystified the American Old West because it showed that cowboy life is not as glamorous as one might think. Although it was set in 1970 New York, which can hardly pass for the Old West, Joe Buck is not the stud he envisioned in Texas. In the archetypical Western the drifter is usually a tough guy who kills the less tough (but not weak) bad guy and gets the girl. Joe Buck is exactly the opposite. He is a clown in a cowboy hat who has a problem attracting women. Maybe the life of a cowboy is not what we thought it was.
Anyway I was greatly pleased Mr. Bennett showed a more traditional Western last week. There were saloons and shootouts, the sines qua non of any Western. When Will Munny says, “It’s a hell of a thing killing a man. You take away all he's got, and all he's ever gonna have.” In every other Western shootouts and duels seem to be glorified but never does a cowboy pause amid the chaos and think about what it means to kill a man. This quote which is from another Clint Westwood Western offers a clue to Will Munny’s, the Schofield Kid’s, and Ned Logan’s motivation: “Where life had no value, death, sometimes, had its price. That is why the bounty killers appeared.”
As far as the distortion of history goes in Unforgiven, in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence a man gains legendary status after getting credit for something he never did, and the man who deserved the credit fell into obscurity. I hate to spoil this movie but most of us including myself probably have no desire to watch this film. By the way I do not like John Wayne but this is the first Western I ever saw so it will always have a special place in my heart. After a city slicker goes into the Wild Wild West Liberty Valence terrorizes this town and eventually challenges the Eastener to a duel. This duel takes place at night in the shadows next to the saloon. Several shots ring out and after the smoke clears Liberty Valence is dead. Wayne reveals that he shot Liberty Valence and goes on to live a sad lonely life. The Eastener becomes a Senator and eventually a legendary part of the territory's folklore as The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence.
Here some questions I come away with after seeing Unforgiven. Although I am no expert one would probably not want to be drunk when expecting a shootout. Also in my genius memory of The American Pageant, cowboys herded cattle on the long drives from Texas or Oklahoma along the Chisholm Trail or Western Trail to the cities that had the transcontinental railroads running through them such as Abilene or Dodge City. Maybe they shot wild animals for food and to keep their cattle safe but I doubt any cowboy much less homesteader rode around the Old West looking for people with rewards on their heads.
Since I have a deep admiration for classic movies and absolutely no social life I made some spaghetti and meatballs and saw several Linguine Westerns over the weekend. The first two were entertaining but The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly was absolutely outstanding. Besides hearing the perfectly composed movie song (according to Sandbag) I was able to make several quasi-pseudo-original imbroglios, excuse me, observations. One thing I noticed about The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly is that Eli Wallach’s performance as Tuco (The Ugly) is as comedic and endearing as Johnny Depp’s Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean. Both play comedic double-crossing outlaws who will do whatever it takes to get their payday. Both are good at what they do but they can never seem to beat The Good (Blondie or Turner) to the money or girl. They also try to double cross the good but they always team up again after they are double crossed by The Bad (Angel Eyes and Barbossa).
Mr. Bennett himself suggested that The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly are ironic titles for the three stars. Mr. Bennett noted that the first time we see The Good he shoots three people and uses Tuco to collect several thousand in reward money. This is hardly what one calls good.
The Good and The Bad remain enigmas throughout the film. They are both nameless because Blondie and Angel Eyes are dubious names for anyone. Rather, they are nicknames so people have some way of addressing them. We also do not know their families or where they came from so it is difficult to warm up to these characters. However we get to know Tuco well throughout the film and he is the person who breathes life and comedy into this otherwise dry but still exciting film.