Appunti storia della cultura nordamericana

INTRODUCTION

What is a Western?

It is a genre that has a very long history in the United States: we can see it reproduced in movies, books, comics, cartoons and also videogames... It has to do with geography, identity and history. This genre has existed in America for so many years that has travelled the world and has entered our culture in Europe: everybody now has an idea of what a Western is, even though they can't name a particular piece of Western art.

The Western was so important that some examples can be found also outside the United States. For example, in Italy during the 1960's there was the work of the directors of films as For a Few Dollars More and Il Buono, il Brutto e il Cattivo. His works had a great impact on the United States too.

THE MYTH - Richard Slotkin

Slotkin describes the myth as something that is not reality: it is certainly connected to it but could be defined as a summary of the complexity of reality. Because of its circulation within culture,

it has then become a sortof historical memory of the whole nation: however, it has nothing to do with reality, but with ideology. The ideological summary of history is not history. 1. Karl Marx, According to ideology is "the system of ideas that explains, or makes sense of, a society: it is the mechanism by which unequal social relations are reproduced". Since society is unequal, there are people who have more power and people who are subordinate. Those who have the political and economic power in a society, also have the power of making some ideas circulate: that's the moment when they can become hegemonic, accepted as values. According to Marx, ideology has a social meaning: it has to do with the powerful people imposing their ideas on the weak. 'false conciousness', This misrepresentation of meaning and social relations is referred to by Marx as or a false view of one's 'true' social condition, something that has a coercive power over

1. According to Althusser, ideology is something that provides people with a sense of identity and security through structures such as languages, social codes, and conventions. It is something we are all "born into": it's a set of ideas we take for granted without even realizing it.

2. According to Slotkin, ideology is what justifies the political power of someone else. It is "an abstraction of the system of beliefs, values, and institutional relationships that characterize a particular culture or society".

By describing a myth, Slotkin makes an important distinction between:

Story

It's a narration: something you create to achieve a certain result, a perspective on history.

History

The reality of facts, usually complex.

The repetition of a story happens so many times that it becomes a tradition (ideology), losing its historical basis. It can be invoked without the necessity of explaining it and becomes common sense: we don't

evenquestion it, we take it for granted.

For example, from history (the English colonization of the West territory of America) a story has been created: that of cowboys, men fighting Indians. In history, cowboys are nothing important: they are just men who carry after cows. But the repetition of stories about them, made them heroes. The figure of the cowboy becomes important for the American culture for the narration of its independence, the idea of freedom, expansion and white masculinity. It becomes a mean of entertainment.

Frontier.

In his text, Slotkin uses a key word: It is an important part of the American history, and it's different from boarder. It can be considered both as a historical and as a metaphorical event that reminds the course of American history and to the development of a peculiarly American character. The frontier is that in-between space, from civilization and the wilderness and the Indian territory specifically. We could imagine the frontier as a line that moves

conquista del West americano: in certe occasioni era una colonizzazione spontanea da parte dei bianchi, in altri casi era sponsorizzata dal governo degli Stati Uniti (vendita di terre a prezzi molto bassi), in altri casi era una sorta di corsa per reclamare terre (Oklahoma). Le persone erano interessate ad andare in queste nuove terre che non erano selvagge ma abitate dagli indiani nativi. La Frontiera era quel luogo dove le persone potevano dimostrare il loro valore, dove i cittadini della democrazia potevano svilupparsi e creare uno stato nuovo da includere progressivamente nella nazione. Si fa una differenza significativa tra: - Confine: ciò che separa diversi Stati sovrani. - Frontiera: ciò che separa la civiltà dalla natura selvaggia. - Video: Storia americana dal 1800 al 1848. La crescita (e l'espansione) è uno dei concetti chiave di questo periodo: è l'era del nazionalismo, quando gli Stati Uniti iniziarono a crescere sia dal punto di vista filosofico che fisico. Gli Stati Uniti furono la prima nazione a sviluppare un nuovo modello di democrazia.Durante questi anni è stato necessario cambiare rapidamente le istituzioni per adattarle a questa ideologia. Gli americani hanno avuto l'idea che Dio gli avesse dato il diritto di abitare il paese da costa a costa e diffondere il Manifest Destiny. Chiamavano questa democrazia: gli europei potevano rivendicare il diritto di possedere quel territorio perché erano civilizzati, mentre le persone che vi abitavano non venivano considerate parte del mondo civilizzato. In generale, durante il XIX secolo, c'era una visione dell'Ovest come terra di opportunità, senza limiti. Con l'acquisto della Louisiana nel 1803 da parte di Thomas Jefferson (che l'ha comprata dai francesi), gli Stati Uniti hanno quasi raddoppiato le loro dimensioni: una grande parte del territorio a ovest del fiume Mississippi è stato coinvolto in questa negoziazione. Nel 1819 la Spagna ha accettato di cedere la Florida agli Stati Uniti e nel 1823, con la Dottrina Monroe, il presidente Monroe ha dichiarato che i continenti americani sono da quel momento vietati alla colonizzazione da parte delle potenze europee. Con la guerra messico-americana...

of the 1840's, the country continued its geographic growth in the southwest and California. The geographical expansion of the United States went together with their growth as a nation, developing an American identity:

The second key element is that of the expansion had much to do with this development. Its rapid expansion forced America to take a real introspective look at itself: problem of slavery (Abolition Movement), religious problems (different religious view from area to area), fighting against corruption.

Andrew Jackson was the president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. He started to change the attitude of respect of native Americans that was used until that moment: usually lands were conquered peacefully. He didn't want to recognize native Americans' sovereignty on American lands: the general discussion was that Indians could not continue to exist. There were two different opinions about what to do with native Americans:

• They were assimilated.
• They

that it was the destiny of the United States to expand its territory from coast to coast. He believed that it was the duty of the American people to spread their civilization and way of life across the continent. This concept became known as Manifest Destiny. O'Sullivan's ideas were influential in shaping American policy towards Native Americans and other groups. The belief in Manifest Destiny justified the removal and displacement of Native American tribes from their ancestral lands. It also led to the annexation of Texas and the Mexican-American War, which resulted in the acquisition of vast territories in the southwest. The concept of Manifest Destiny was deeply rooted in notions of American exceptionalism and the belief in the superiority of American culture and institutions. It provided a moral justification for the expansionist policies of the United States and the displacement of indigenous peoples. Overall, the history of Native American removal and Manifest Destiny reflects the complex and often troubling relationship between the United States and its indigenous population. It is a reminder of the injustices and hardships faced by Native Americans throughout history.

that the United States had this divine mandate to expand through North America; he talks about providence. O'Sullivan's Manifest Destiny was an ideological take on historical processes: he was morally interpreting something that had to do with politics. He never talks about practical and political matters.

He was the person who used the term Manifest Destiny for the first time in 1845 to promote the annexation of Texas and Oregon to the United States. It was used, basically, to explain the ideology behind the geographical expansion of the US: according to this ideology, it was right for the nation to expand because of its exceptional ideals of liberty, democracy… The moral superiority of the United States in comparison to the native populations should have been clear to everyone (it was ): that's why O'Sullivan considered that Indians should have been happy to become part of the US because of its values of equality, independence, freedom…

In his article,

O'Sullivan considers the United States' national birth as the beginning of a new history: he stresses the fact that the American nation is completely separated from the past and from Europe, from its crimes, antiquities, injustices, oppressions. He assumes that the US has a moral superiority and is "destined to be the great nation of futurity": strong connection with the future, but little connection to the past.

What O'Sullivan is providing is of course a partial vision of history, that he uses to create a moral excuse for the conquer of the West. It has to do with a form of individualism, that is typically American: this idea that nothing and nobody can prevent a person from achieving their results.

This idea of Manifest Destiny has lasted so many years that has become a sort of common knowledge: it was a visuality of how the United States saw themselves.

John Cast: America Progress 1872 Emmanuel: Westward - The course of the Empire takes its way

history, arguing that the frontier played a crucial role in shaping American identity and character. According to Turner, the frontier was not just a physical boundary but also a symbol of opportunity and freedom. It was a place where individuals could escape the constraints of society and start anew. The frontier experience, Turner argued, fostered individualism, self-reliance, and a spirit of democracy. Turner also emphasized the impact of the frontier on American democracy. He believed that the constant westward expansion and the need to adapt to new environments created a unique form of democracy in America. The frontier, with its challenges and opportunities, shaped the American political system and encouraged a participatory and egalitarian society. Furthermore, Turner argued that the closing of the frontier in 1890 marked a turning point in American history. He believed that the frontier had been a safety valve for social and economic tensions, and its closure would lead to the emergence of new challenges for American society. Despite its controversial nature and criticism from other historians, Turner's frontier thesis had a lasting impact on American historiography. It shaped the way Americans understood their history and influenced the development of American studies as an academic discipline. In conclusion, Frederick Jackson Turner's thesis on the significance of the frontier in American history highlighted the transformative role of the frontier in shaping American identity, democracy, and society. While not without its critics, Turner's ideas continue to be influential in understanding the American experience.history.According to Turner, the frontier is the place for