How the Weird West Was Won

…or was it ever won ? I mean, Dear Readers, if you consider the term “the West was Won”, what does this mean ?

This is a title from a 1962 film (link here), which is basically five parts:

The Rivers….which is the expansion of the White Man under the ideal of Manifest Destiny.

The Plains….moving farther West trying to find Gold, work, etc.

The Civil War….Northern Army assassination attempt of Southern Army leaders.

The Railroad….Trying to keep peace with Native Americans…then rescinding treaties…then love triangle…then massacre of Native Americans. Oh yeah, a railroad gets built.

The Outlaws….Ambushes, gunfights, and stealin’.

Epilogue- The West has progressed thanks to frontiersman, adventurerers, etc. to its current (1960’s) greatness.

So, I wouldn’t say as much as “won”, as much as providing a very one-sided view of history under the guise of entertainment. Maybe that in itself is weird enough; or maybe its the history Hollywood presents that is weird. You be the judge.

Five Miles Downrange

The Weird West is a genre of writing that combines elements of Western tropes with a touch of other writing genre , like horror, fantasy, etc. Think Wild Wild West (steampunk), or Cowboys and Aliens (sci-fi). I think the best example of the horror end that I’ve seen played was put on by Critical Role - Undeadwood (Link here). J and E have been looking at me to start on the next series (as if I don’t have enough going on already with Slipping the Gears and finishing book 3 of Pair of Normal Girls). I think this comes from the combination of us getting our new cat, Clive, and way too many hours playing Red Dead Redemption. Thoughts on a Tabaxi bounty hunter in a Wild West scenario ? How would a D&D world play out with 1800 technologies ? What changes would happen with the Indigenous peoples ? SO many thoughts.

Coyote and Crow (Link here) is a new RPG coming out which asks the question if Manifest Destiney never occurred. Check it out !

-S