Jackson Martin

#1
The Myth-and Symbol School is generally regarded as the first theoretical contribution of American Studies to scholarly interpretations of the past. Richard Slotkin is part of a group called “Old West” historians who ascribe to the Myth-and-Symbol School when interpreting American history. This thought-process stresses a collection of popular sentiments of the Frontier era in order to create an environment that has some structure. A result of this approach is that it allows continuity to the reader when studying the frontier. For instance, Slotkin notices in his analysis of “The Adventures of Col, Daniel Boone that:
“Filson creates a character who becomes the archetypal hero of the American frontier, copied by imitators and plagiarists and appearing innumerable times under other names and in other guises -- in literature, the popular arts, and folklore -- as the man who made the wilderness safe for democracy” (Slotkin 268-69)
This shows how his character became an archetype to himself and all other frontiersmen. Because of this, the circumstances may change in the frontier, but its actors do not. As Slotkin describes the character of he furthers this argument and identifies “the most distinctive trait of Boone’s character was his love for the wild land” (Slotkin 298).
While this approach is valuable due to minimal historical documentation, its methodology is intrinsically too simple to be taken seriously. Additionally, “Old West” perspectives usually only interpret the traces of the “white imperialist”. However, starting in the 1960’s a new wave of American historians sought to uncover the “untold” immigrant and minority past as well as exposing the truth of the “American Experience”.
These “New West” historians refer to Slotkin and others as part of the "consensus school" because their narratives of American westward expansion are so tidy. For instance, in contrast the so-called virgin land of opportunity “that was relatively unsettled”, Limerick takes a more proactive stance on the symbols of the American West in her book: The Legacy of Conquest: the Unbroken Past of the American West. She describes the land as much more urbanized-“ there is very little rural, wild west, land left” and as an exploitive place for minorities, women and immigrants. She details that women were very present in the frontier and often took the roles of their male-counterparts.

Additionally, because these ‘New West” historians approach history in a complex manner, they cannot simply replace minority mythic characters like Joaquin Murrieta in place of Daniel Boone. Instead, they analyze the characters, environment and agents at play for who and what they are. For instance, director John Sayles creates a mythic relationship between the recently deceased, Sherriff Buddy Deeds and the town, in his movie Lone Star. However, he does not keep Sherriff Buddy Deed’s character static, despite his death. We learn about Buddy and his reputation through Sam’s investigation into the murder of Sherriff Charley Wade. The audience soon learns the dark side of sheriff Buddy Deeds, however Buddy is not publically perceived this way because he is so much better than his predecessor, Sherriff Charley Wade. This complexity is emblematic of the “New West” approach because “Old West” thinkers would liken Buddy’s life to that of a magnificent Sherriff instead of the man he truly was.

#2 ‘
The Sherriff Sam Deeds, is a man living in the shadow of his father, the well-respected (and dearly departed) Sheriff Buddy Deeds. While no one in the town would ever speak ill of Buddy and almost everyone seems to celebrate the legend that he has become, his only son doesn't think of him as fondly. Despite this, the younger Deeds follows his father into law enforcement. One Afternoon in the dessert, Sherriff Sam Deeds after uncovers the remains of the forgotten corrupt Sheriff Charley Wade. The younger Deed’s leads an investigation into the events. He assumes his father, the successor of Charley Wade, is the culprit- due to the circumstance of Buddy being Wade’s successor and the subsequent non-investigation. He soon finds out that his father did not commit the murder, but to Sam, Buddy is a mean, immoral person who not only victimized the town and profaned justice, but also never understood his son. In addition, Buddy took away the one thing Sam ever held dear in his life when Buddy destroyed his son's relationship with his teenage lover, Pilar Cruz. Near the end of Lone Star, Sherriff Sam Deeds juxtaposes his past self when he mutters, “Buddy Deeds is a… legend”. Although ‘New West’ historians would agree that Buddy Deeds is a ‘legend’ in the “consensus” school, they would dispute the accuracy of this claim because they do not acknowledge ‘legends’ but rather characters and personalities

New West’ thinker, Patricia Limerick would interpret this saying as a precursor to the years of oppression that Mexican-Americans and African-Americans will incur. If for example, this town where “nineteen out of twenty people are Hispanic and the other one is black or white,” continues having white-politicians year in and year out; the same social relations in the community endure. In this case-which has become a reality for many present communities in Texas - her interpretation of this quote would also stress that the effects of the frontier are ongoing; as she characterizes the west as a "place undergoing conquest and never fully escaping its consequences" (Limerick 26). Additionally, she would point out how Sherriff Deeds got away with poor treatment of minorities because he is only seen as good in comparison to his predecessor.

Since Kingston interprets the past through archetypes and molds, she would see this movie scene as emblematic of the wider social structure in the frontier. She could imagine a Buddy Deed’s in every city and town. This is because, she does believe in certain archetypes to represent actors. Additionally, she would dispel this statement because legends, in her sense, are people with good intentions- each of her immigrant ancestors came to America with people at home in mind.

Director and writer John Sayles intent in this statement is to show the impacts of misinterpretation of history. As Sam challenges the history of Buddy Deeds, the nature of his interpretation of Buddy changes. For example, People remember him as a good cop, but this is only people in the intermediate that compare him to his predecessor, Charley Wades. This change shows us that our knowledge of the present is predicated on the knowledge of the past creates our knowledge of the future.
Their stories are more encompassing, in that they feature interactions with minorities, women and children. The ‘New West’ thinkers also suggest many of these “mythic” characters led the exploitation of the frontier through ethno-based imperialism.