It is perhaps unsurprising that Westworld is Westworld; if American mythology is to be staged anywhere, the West is a natural locale. In the original Westworld, the West meant a zone in which certain kinds of adventures were facilitated: gun battles mostly, but also sex with perfect strangers who cared little for who you were andContinue reading “‘Westworld’ And The American West As Locale For Self-Reconfiguration”
Tag Archives: American West
Wanted: Presidential ‘Leadership’ In North Dakota (#NODAPL)
As I have noted on this blog before (here and here), America is not done with Native Americans yet. You might have imagined that banishment to impoverished reservations was the final insult to historical injury, but apparently much work, like the denial of clean drinking water–the provision of which in certain communities seems increasingly beyondContinue reading “Wanted: Presidential ‘Leadership’ In North Dakota (#NODAPL)”
Blood Meridian and The Nature of the Universe
Yesterday’s post, in which I excerpted a couple of passages from Samuel Delany channeling Foucault, is followed today by two excerpts from Cormac McCarthy‘s Blood Meridian or The Evening Redness in the West (Vintage International, New York, 1992). I’m going to call these ‘theological’ in nature. (The entire novel, I realize, may be termed a kindContinue reading “Blood Meridian and The Nature of the Universe”
The White Rim Overlook in Canyonlands National Park
Last August, my wife and I visited the Canyonlands National Park in Utah. We had driven to Moab the day before and put ourselves up in a small motel on its outskirts. A day’s hiking in Canyonlands lay ahead; we planned to spend in it the park’s elevated northern Islands in the Sky section, takingContinue reading “The White Rim Overlook in Canyonlands National Park”
Geronimo and the Cruel, Beautiful, West
Yesterday’s post on the continued presence of derogatory team names and mascots in American professional sports was, in part, prompted by my reading of Geronimo‘s autobiography. It is a short book, an easy read, and comes with an excellent introduction by Frederick Turner. (Geronimo: His Own Story, As told to S. M. Barrett, with introductionContinue reading “Geronimo and the Cruel, Beautiful, West”
Redskins and Indians: America Isn’t Done With the Natives Yet
Years ago, on ESPN, I saw a young African-American player on the Washington Redskins‘ roster interviewed about the periodic controversy over his team’s name. The interviewer asked, quite straightforwardly, ‘Do you think the team should change its name?’ The young man, looking worried–perhaps knowing he stood a good chance of offending someone and aware ofContinue reading “Redskins and Indians: America Isn’t Done With the Natives Yet”
Meek’s Cutoff and the Terror of the Beautiful
In the summer of 1998, during an epic road-trip out to the American West, I drove from Idaho into Oregon, heading for Eugene. I was still recovering from the surprise of having found out that the landscape of Idaho had been nothing quite like I expected it to be. (Idaho; potatoes, right? So, flat fields,Continue reading “Meek’s Cutoff and the Terror of the Beautiful”
The Heartbreaking, Transformative Effect of Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
This past summer, as my wife and I drove through parts the American West, we visited Badlands National Park in South Dakota. During our brief stay in the park, we made the obligatory visit to the visitor’s center: to pick up maps, refill our water bottles, and perhaps to pick up a book or twoContinue reading “The Heartbreaking, Transformative Effect of Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee”
Monument Valley and The Familiarity of the New
One of the strangest, and yet entirely unsurprising, reactions to seeing Monument Valley (my journey to which had served as occasion for rueful wonderment at the continued plight of the Native American), is a sense of familiarity: I’ve seen this before, somewhere, somehow. Among the curious welter of emotions too, that the Valley evokes isContinue reading “Monument Valley and The Familiarity of the New”
Lunch in the Navajo Nation
On 10th August, I drove north on US-163 toward Monument Valley (on the Utah-Arizona border). We had spent the previous night in Kanab, UT, and thus, in keeping with the Hollywood western theme, were headed for a rendezvous with John Ford‘s playground. I had noted that the Valley lay within the Navajo Nation, that theContinue reading “Lunch in the Navajo Nation”
Samir Chopra 