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Reviews
The American West (2016)
Accurate history? Enough of it sure is!
Many reviewers' comments dismiss this gem of a series in broadstroke as "inaccurate to the point of appalling" and "complete garbage". But without being specific, those comments are fallacious. The worst thing I could complain about is the lack of resemblance between the actors and their real life counterparts; the exception being Jesse James. What I AM impressed with, however, is how motives were juxtaposed in the timeline: President Grant's reasons for pushing West when the Civil War was close to starting up again; and later his very reluctantly changing policy abt the Lakota's land after the Panic of 1873 (great details there!); the pov of Chief Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull when they rejected the 6 million dollars offered them for the Black Hills; and Jesse James' obsession abt getting the "Northern invaders" out of Confederate territory after the war. Then there were the robber barons like, Thomas Durant. These overlapping upheavals that threatened the nation's fragile stability captured SO much crucial history! Parallels between the people of different regions defying perceived invaders. IMO, comments that criticise this series for inaccuracies are frivolous at best. On the whole, outside of occasional "glitches", I found it to be a profoundly absorbing viewing experience; I DID learn a couple of things I wasn't aware of before - having looked it up. (How many audiences knew abt the causes of the Panic of 1873 and its impact on the nation before they saw this series?) So, if we claim that the episodes make mistakes with the facts, we need to be specific. Otherwise, we're just blowing soap bubbles! Maybe some viewers feel that their long-cherished beliefs are being attacked; in which case, they aren't going to qualify their arguments. But these events did happen!