June on the Range: Thoughts on Westerns
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- Опубликовано: 31 май 2024
- June on the Range Posse
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A pure MKV video! This video isn't just a perfect illustration of why June on the Range is so popular - it's a perfect illustration of why your channel just in general is so popular.
You blew your chance to say, "Excuse me while I whip this out!"
Thank you for this thoughtful discussion, Michael.
Wonderful video, Michael. I appreciate that you wrestle with the uncomfortable topics. There are many who would not. At any rate, I am highly looking forward to this month. My Westerns have been waiting and are ready to be read!
When I read Louis L’Amour for June on the Range for the first time a few years ago. I was struck how much he glorified man’s ability to change a person’s destiny with a gun. It was more than just a gun being an important tool for the situation. There seemed to be a genuine affinity for the gun. I wanted to make a video at the time but didn’t think I had the ability to state my thoughts in a coherent clear manner.
I usually have difficulty stating my thoughts in a coherent manner.
Also, thank you for the serious discussion of the "problematic" issues.
Thank you for the very thoughtful and heartfelt commentary on the state of gun violence and not simply blowing it off. My favorite genre is mystery and police procedurals but I can also acknowledge the fact that there are issues within that genre and the “copaganda” that comes from it sometimes.
Anyway happy June on the Range month and I’m headed to some of the local bookstores and flea markets today to grab me a few westerns.
I did Horror Mayhem last month as my first reading challenge and now I’m going to do a genre I don’t normally read.
June on the range is my fav booktube month.
Did Michael K. Vaughan singlehandedly revive the popularity of the Western novel? Could it be? Will June ever be the same again???!!!
Michael coming in and saving the West single handedly like a true Western hero.
I don't own a gun, but my wife does. She reminds me of that quite often.
I think you are totally right regarding guns. They are tools easily misused ( I am a vet trained in gun use) and elements in a dramatic action packed story. Before you mentioned Sword and Sorcery I was thinking thinking the same analogy. Great video.
An excellent video! I loved your thought-provoking take on the problematic issues in Westerns.
What a video to set June of the Range on the trail! Like a great western, I tuned in just to watch a fun video, but it quickly became so much more!
You mention that westerns are about people. I might also add that westerns are often, to a large degree, about nature, and living in a world that is both breathtakingly beautiful AND dangerous and deadly.
You are so right! Collectively, westerns are much deeper than they usually get credit for and.
Here on your channel, just like an ol' Pard, we can rejoice in their life and lament their passing. Bravo! I'll see you on the trail.
I watched all the westerns on the TV as a kid in the 70s I loved em John Wayne Jimmy Stewart Clint Eastwood good old fashioned good Vs bad tales of true valour and honour.
Well said! Thank you for your thoughtful comments.
I recently read Hondo for the first time and loved it. I look forward to diving into my JotR books soon.
Hey Michael, enjoyed the video and I'm you made this event! As I'm taking part in this for my first time! I will also be reading my very first western this mouth as well! I've watched western movies and played video games of the them too. But never tried reading any of them. Just because they didn't as much as SF or Fantasy. But anyway because of June on the rang I will be reading one of my Grandpa's western books this month and it is By Edgar Rice Burrough's, The bandit of Hells Bend!
Thanks for this very thoughtful take on Westerns!
Hell, there's probably more gunplay and bullets discharged in one John Woo movie than in all John Wayne and Clint Eastwood movies combined.
The most violent book I've read is the Iliad. Last time I checked there were no guns in the Trojan War.
I appreciate your thoughtful reflection on the genre. I've only read westerns sporadically, but I'm happy to participate in June on the Range. I'll have a couple videos up for it this month.
🤠 hee haw...I love reading Louis Lamour...i have that very same book Hondo. My favorite is a trilogy by Rosanne Bittner, Mystic Dreamers, Mystic Visions and Mystic Warriors. Very moving and beautiful stories of Native American life as it was and our ways.
I also Iove the westerns for many reasons but mostly because I grew up in a ranch, in the country the true range and its part of my culture. As an Indigenous mexican woman I take great pride in it all. Thank you for your thoughts on the matter. 🤗🤠
Superb episode!!
Some excellent points about all the positives and negatives in Westerns and stories in general. Thank you Michael. Interestingly have read 3 short stories (Grey, Brand, L’Amour) today and what stood out were themes you mention like justice and opportunity! The most descriptive ‘violent’ scenes of 2 of the 3 were brawls not gunfights. I can only equate this to the stereotype of lawlessness perhaps created by some films, being challenged by some of this fiction. Just as I have encountered in non-fiction previously which is pleasing.
This was brilliant, Michael. I would have thought racism would have been the first concern, but your talk about guns was insightful, (Keanu Reeves), as was your on racism in Westerns.
My husband, my sister (older) and I tried to remember all of the Western series that were on TV during the 1950's-70s. We didn't get to all of them, but we came up with about 40 just on our own.
You are on it; Gene Roddenberry sold the network on StarTrek by saying it was a "Western set in space". Star Wars kicked it to a while new level and the newer series are more like a sheriff coming in to clean up a lawless town than anything else.
I will indeed be going for at least on Westen and probably more.
Thank you, Michael.
'True Grit' in the garden with a beer in East Farleigh, Kent UK
Thank you for making this video. I like you have been shooting since I was a child. I appreciate the honesty from a person that owns a gun.
June On The Range
Just finished "Shane" 1949, Jack Schaefer / novella
5 out of 5 - not pulp fiction but literature - very good.
I never would of read this without this Book Tube event.
Michael, thank you for June On The Range!
Was not expecting you to pull out that gun; caught me off guard. Great video. I don’t mind controversial content in books when it makes sense in the context of the story. I think it’s important to acknowledge those topics rather than to pretend these things didn’t exist. I do understand that some people look to books for escapism though and wouldn’t fault them for avoiding something that they know they won’t enjoy.
I’ll need to decide on a western for June on the Range.
Kicking off the month with Longarm #1
Hey Michael, thanks for a video talking about the issues that folks might have with Westerns. Even as someone whose family has had direct tragedy with a gun, it is probably the perception of mythologizing history (Canadian for me) that has been the biggest stumbling block. That said, I'm participating this time, finally! "Alton of Somasco: A Romance of the Great Northwest' by Harold Bindloss (1905) -- a western??? hopefully, that falls within my own parameters for my reading this year. Thanks for the event!
Loved this even more thoughtful than usual episodes. I've got Gone To Texas ready to go, hopefully before the end of the month!
Another great video. Thanks Michael. The first novel I ever read was The Last Trail by Zane Grey. Westerns are my favorite genre, but I have read many different kinds of books, including E R Burroughs and Robert E Howard. If you like westerns, I would highly recommend Zane Grey’s West Society. The 42nd annual convention will be held at Lone Pine CA on October 14-17. Over 500 movies have been filmed at Lone Pine, including many westerns. A good time will be had by all.
"Weapons are enemies even to their owners."- James Gurney (DINOTOPIA: A LAND APART FROM TIME, pg. 77)
Seen from outside the US, your country's relationship with guns seems utterly insane. That being said, your take is excellent, and much needed I think. Thanks for another excellent video.
Love it! Thanks for a great video! Totally agreed, it’s human nature that’s the problem, not . We should not discard the good from the past just because our ancestors were imperfect in different ways that we are. We are not perfect today either, though we are likely blind to many of our errors, but our on descendants will not be, and we will hope that they can still find the good in what we will have produced.
Powerful defense of a timeless genre in my opinion.
I grew up on a farm around guns then qualified as an expert marksman in the army later as a paramedic I responded to so many shootings I lost count. When I was a kid I thought they were fun but after seeing what guns can do I've come to detest them
Just read Louis Lamour’s The Quick and the Dead. A great start to June on the range!!
Great video, well said. I have been reading North to the Rails by Louis L'Amour today.
There seems to be an interesting resurgence of movie westerns going on, probably on the heels of the Yellowstone TV series. I hear the Kevin Costner epic has some of the various problems you mention with the older novels, although there are a couple more coming down the path that are getting good reviews. If one is more inclined to WATCH a Western than read one. 🙂
You are too flipping cute MKV.
One of my favorite literary genres is wuxia (martial arts adventures taking place in ancient China), and I also love westerns, but only the movies, I have never read a book! Surprisingly these two genres have many things in common, what draws me to them is precisely what you described: freedom, justice, brotherhoods in a harsh dangerous world.
That’s the copy of Hondo I’ve been wanting to pick up 😍
I will be reading Shane this week!
Last thing I saw coming when I clicked on this video was you pulling an actual gun. especially when you start talking seriously about gun violence while wearing that outfit. thanks for keeping me on my toes!😂
Holy smokes forgot it was June on the Range! I’ll have to find something to do this month.
I respect your thoughts on Westerns and Guns. I agree on your take on how deadly they are. Some of them are pretty cool, should be glorified in story like certain swords that are badass and at least feature as small part of the driving plot.
What a great video. Westerns are awesome. Everything stated by Michael is spot on. Many are also about the character of a man, doing what’s right, overcoming evil and sometimes winning the girl.
Also, I play a game. It’s how many books does Michael have that I also own, which is quite a few. Those I do not…..I’m on the hunt for
Already half way through THE LONESOME GODS by Louis L'Amour
ruclips.net/video/0da3C2BLCro/видео.htmlsi=TPs-OkVl9vJfwhzZ. An interview with Louis L’Amour with his knowledge of the old west. Answers some of the things you mention.
How is it? I also want to read it
It’s really good. I don’t know much about California so this is very entertaining and educational. He’s a helluva storyteller
@@rickcroucher thanks. I’ll read it for sure.
Howdy folks, I've slipped a couple of Louis L'Amours into my holsters for June on the Range. The apocalyptic sci fi tale, Sea of Rust which I'm currently reading has a western vibe too. Yee hah!
Fifty years ago I read several Lous L'Amour westerns and enjoyed them. (Borrowed them from my step-dad's bookshelf.) Currently I only have a copy of Riders of the Purple Sage by Zane Grey. I may get around to it this month.
I picked up an old mass market paperback copy of How the West Was Won, so I'm going to give it a go. I don't know if a novelization is the best way to start, but that's what I'm doing.
That dripping faucet in the background sounds like a repair needing to be done at home on the range.
I will be reading The Pursuit by Nathan Wright.
🤠
Westerns are pretty much all I have read for the last 5-6 yrs. I like the newer ones, but prefer the older( pre-1968) ones. So many good Westerns back in the glory days.
I'm starting this June with Zane Grey's _Riders of the Purple Sage._ No plans after that yet.
_"Such a lot of guns around town and so few brains. You’re the second guy I’ve met within hours who seems to think a gat in the hand means a world by the tail."_
Raymond Chandler
I have Hondo on my reading list this month. Your cover is so much better than mine
Great video sir. I love westerns and completely agree with everything you pointed out. I watched with headphones on and you must have a clock or something behind the camera that gave the video a nice rhythm.
Unforgiven is the best western movie ever made
Well spoken Mike. Can't help thinking it might have come off better if you weren't wearing that hat!
Remember the song "The Devils Right Hand”? Love it
I saw your finger wasn't on the trigger, pardner, and your shooting iron was kept pointed in a safe direction. Well handled.
June on the Range update. Finished two books so far.
‘Heller With a Gun’ by Louis L’Amour - Fun, fast paced story about a man who follows a theatre troupe across the wilderness after he becomes convinced the troupe’s guide is up to no good. The characters were interesting and the story went off in a couple unexpected directions. 7/10 - recommended.
‘The Gun Fight’ by Richard Matheson - Damn. This is a tough one. Take a ridiculous circumstance, mix in overbearing parental figures and a total lack of reasonableness and you have the basis for one of the most memorable books I’ve ever read. The story of an ex-Ranger and a young man pushed into a potentially deadly situation by a lie told by a young girl to make her fiancé jealous. Reading this, I went from ‘you’ve got to be kidding’ exasperation to ‘please stop this’ frustration to gut-wrenching anticipation, and finally, to well…I don’t want to give away the ending. 9/10 - if you haven’t read Matheson, you should.
Comment here with your favorite western novel. I will be the first : lonesome dove.
I second that.
True Grit
I have a whole stack of Max Brand books that I found at a little free library. I’ll start later after I finish The Hobbit. Isn’t that ”western” Middle Earth? 🤠
Thanks for the thoughtful discussion, and responsible finger placement by the way whilst holding that gorgeous Smith and Wesson!
Not to be snarky, but I watch a lot of Firearm videos and its best to always show on camera that the gun is not loaded, RUclips will ding you for not doing so.
Depictions of violence in books and Cinema have always been with us, and it is a shame that some in our society have become so sensitive, and have a hard time keeping perspective and context in mind when consuming media, in years past as well as today.
Some of the most violent depictions of wholesale almost gleefully described slaughter is in the John Carter Books by ERB.
I am as pro 2nd amendment as they come, but still I cringe in reading depictions of John Carter self descriptions professing his love of battle and the smile that comes across his face as he literally stands atop "Mountains" of dead bodies of his enemies. I can remember reading those books as a kid but still thinking, "come on John you don't have to love killing that much and if you do, keep it to yourself you sound like a maniac! These dead mountains of bodies represent thousands of soon to be grieving loved ones" wipe the smile off your face!
Point being, Swords, Guns its all killing no matter the tool, Adults should be able to recognize fantasy is not reality.
The decline of the western is one of those subjects I often think about. I've come to the conclusion that the decline of the western has more to do with modern politics than anything. I understand the "problematical" aspect, but that can be found in any genre. As a reader of westerns since I was a child, I've come to the conclusion that most people who don't like western novels have never read one. As a GenXer, I was raised by parents who were fond of the western genre. In fact, my father knew the biggest western writer of all time, Louis L'Amour. My father found Louis to be one of the most enlightened, intelligent, down to earth people he'd ever met. He gave my father a library of signed, leatherbound books, and I read them all. I've since gone on to read other western writers including Elmore Leonard who dabbled in the genre before moving into the western-adjacent crime genre. Leonard only wrote a handful of westerns, but they are still regarded as some of the finest ever written. Then there is Alan LeMay, famous for his novel The Searchers, adapted to the screen by John Ford and starring John Wayne. One of the most prolific western writers of all time who could give L'Amour a run for his money in productivity is Elmer Kelton. Whereas L'Amour set his novels all over the country, and in some cases all over the globe, Kelton was always Texas centric, but he really painted on a very wide canvas and was a lot fairer in his treatment of Indians than most writers in the genre. Also, he featured black protagonists on several occasions, including Wagon tongue and The Wolfe and the Buffalo which is a masterpiece. Of contemporary practitioners of the wester, I would love to recommend James Carlos Blake, whose works blur the line between the western and the crime novel, often dealing with outlaws; Johnny D. Boggs, whose books are more fun than a barrel of caffeinated monkeys, and Mike Blakely. These are but a handful of modern western writers. I also want to mention the work of the late Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian in particular. Great novel, but only for the strong of stomach. But worth a read. And last but not least, a current practitioner of the western is the wonderful Loren D. Estleman. His westerns are out of this world. He also, like Elmore Leonard, writes in the crime genre, and between those two genres you can see the connections. Estleman writes truly badass cowboys.
Really interesting commentary. I've watched so many westerns on film and TV, but I'd be hard pressed to name a half a dozen westerns that I've actually read. I need to rectify that. I loved Lonesome Dove as a miniseries. Do you think I'd enjoy reading it. The last western film I saw that I found moving and powerfully done is Hostiles. I am going to pick a few westerns for June on the Range.
Boss Vaughan sports his Stetson like a buckaroo.
Mind if I ask what your favorite Western movie is Michael?
Holy hand cannon, Batman!
Watching this one for the second time. Why not? 🤷🏻♂️could be the third. Who’s counting? 😆
Does June on the Range include non-fiction westerns? I am currently reading Empire of the Summer Moon by S.C. Gwynne and loving it. It is about the Comanches and the centuries long conflict between them and the colonizing European peoples.
Hondo is argueably Louis L'Amour's best novel.
Do you have an opinion on A.B. Guthrie Jr.? His short story "Bargain" has stuck with me since grade school.
I appreciate your thoughtful, nuanced takes. As GenX Texan who grew up watching and reading these, I still struggle with the genre largely due to the multiple flavors of racism and xenophobia common within it. But Larry McMurtry and Cormac McCarthy have done a lot to move us past the John Wayne style of Western stories, and I still enjoy those.
It is interating to note when it comes to film westerns haven't completly died they just changed. No country for old man is often viewed as a western as well as the comic book movie Logan. There are been a great deal of movies over the last few years that have taken the themes and feeling of the western without being in thw rime period.
My problem with westerns is the lack of AI and spaceships.
One aspect of westerns that intrigues me as a girl who likes regency romances is that cowboy culture is a direct descendent of the underbelly of the regency era: duels/gunfights, gambling and gaming hells otherwise known as saloons, the importance of horses and good horsemanship, drinking, highwaymen/gangs, stagecoaches being held up. Of course , there are many differences because England is not like the west but there is a definite overlap.
Well said... though it's sad we're in a time when it has to be said at all. Looking forward to another JotR! Starting with Roger's pick, then moving on to leftovers from the last two years.
About guns in Westerns, I've seen episodes of The Virginian and, despite its name, The Rifleman where no one gets shot.
A lot of old Westerns were more nuanced on Native Americans than given credit. Also, some people romanticize them as peaceful people living in harmony with nature. They weren't anymore than settlers were noble bringers of civilization. If you study the history of frontier conflict it is really complicated and neither side covered themselves with glory.
People should be and are obviously free to read whatever they like, but I just don't understand those who write off an entire genre or type of story simply because it contains aspects they may find uncomfortable. That should be one reason why we read -- to explore topics and subject matter that make us confront and push our personal boundaries. One good thing about Westerns is that there are types for everyone -- from books that celebrate the romanticism and mythology of the West to books that utterly destroy them. I thankfully can enjoy both. I am rereading Blood Meridian right now but will also pick up more classic Westerns when I am in the mood.
Most of the territory west of the appalachians was considered “the west”. But the genre did not pick up until we had revolvers and repeating rifles
Excellent video! Sure, there are probably some (what young people call) "Problematic" things in westerns, as with all genres. But comparatively, I would argue there is more bigotry and nastiness contained in (for instance) one Modern American Rapping song than all the Western novels ever written; Long live the Western!
On your point about SciFi replacing Westerns. That was shown in the 1st story film with Woody being replaced by Buzz light year.
As a British person living in the UK we have very little access to guns. Only a small percentage of our police even carry them.
So, for many of us, Westerns are a fantasy world, not really in this reality. I feel there are very few historical Westerns. Most are based on a pulp like exaggerated version of the west where artistic licence has been applied to both the villans and the heroes of that time. As such enjoy the entertainment. But learn the history of a complex, brutal and unfair time and know that the stories and myths we make are in the fiction section for a reason. 😉
Really good point.
I always add Peter Brandvold, Thomas McNulty, James Reasoner and Robert Randisi to my list as well as Harry Whittington. But Wolfpack has a lot of great westerns.
This might go viral 🤠 I hate that Star Wars sidelined westerns, and now we have to put up with Phantom Menace.....The Rise of Skywalker.....The Book of Bobba Fett.....😭
Holy sh*t! I wasn't expecting you to be holding a real gun!
Was just reading an article about proving one's innocence in medieval Europe by combat with swords, since there was a lack of laws. Kind of like duels with guns in the wild West of North America. In Europe you could have a "champion" fight in your place. Do you know if that also happened in America's gunfights?
Anyway, I'm going to read Louis L'Amour's Son of a Wanted Man for June On The Range.
Son of a Wanted Man is a good choice in my humble opinion. 😉
I'm not an expert in dueling but the more formal style of it that you speak of was practiced in the eastern and southern states in earlier times however in the west what gunfights there were, were much more informal without seconds and no champions. There are some that say the typical gunfight on main street at high noon seldom if ever happened.
Im from England.There's still loads of guns on TV and Hollywood movie posters now it still sells movies. I think it's a general problem in the USA not just westerns
I enjoy Westerns but not all.
If more people were trained to use and respect guns, they'd be less stigmatized
Another theme of westerns is freedom - the pursuit of freedom but also the limits which make the pursuit of freedom often a quixotic one.
And I just don't think anyone cares about freedom anymore.
It seemed to be a part of the popular imagination for a long time, but now freedom seems totally illusory and I just don't think the concept of freedom captures people's imagination anymore.
Clear it on video
How many people were saved from being murdered because of a firearm? They don't keep stats on that.
Many, but people tend to use firearms to protect themselves from other people who have firearms. That’s just a fact, as are the number of people who have been killed and continue to be killed in the US by guns. Obviously, I’m not against gun ownership, but we are not helping ourselves as gun owners by pretending that gun violence is not a problem.
@@michaelk.vaughan8617 Gun ownership is not the problem. Evil people using guns for evil purposes is the problem.
No one seems to care about that part.
@michaelk.vaughan8617 Guns are the great equalizer. Where there are more guns among the general population there is less crime. Let's say that crime is the problem.
@@dbitgood1 Not true. Texas leads the country in gun ownership , and has a much higher than average violent crime rate
What is wrong with glorifying guns? Guns are very neat tools , and a well built revolver and/or lever action is an awesome piece of workmanship. Unfortunately they are also easy to abuse and millions of people do just that. Whether you love em , hate em or are indifferent they are here to stay , at least in the US.
Max Brand is odd. Some of his books are crazy racist. Others are surprisingly anti-racist... or, at least, trying to be. I read one about a black guy passing for white where the guy is pretty annoyed at how differently he's treated if he's seen as white, or as black. And he does get the (white) girl at the end. Brand also sometimes holds Native Americans in high regard... although he still upholds a lot of stereotypes. Brand is very strange. Definitely a product of his time, but sometimes he's ahead of it, sometimes behind it.
With Lovecraft I definitely felt hatred behind his racism. With Brand, he seemed to just be following stereotypes of his day without much thought behind it most of the time.
What you felt in Lovecraft was fear. As for Brand, I suppose it’s possible that his attitudes changed over time. Too bad he had so little of it. I wonder what we would have gotten from him if he had survived the war.
@@michaelk.vaughan8617 Yep, that definitely would have been interesting to see. Brand was very inconsistent. I think Lovecraft might have wised up eventually, if he had more time and more exposure to the world. Overall, the times they lived in let both men down.
Great video. It's a shame more Western writers don't focus on the human relationship with the environment, and the idea of working as stewards of limited resources rather than plundering nature for profit. I'm struggling with Zane Grey's 30,000 On The Hoof now. A good story, but with a character that kills every creature that even breaches near his precious crops and cows. It sickens me, but I'll finish it.. I'd rather see justice where the settler is gunned down by a mountain lion, skinned out, and HIS hide nailed to his own cabin. A western where turnaround is fair play. Yee-ha!
Silly comment
Is that a... range cooker behind you?
I have to say I'm not actually bothered about the issue of whether or not westerns glorify guns, cos I know the setting of the genre is (usually) somewhere in the past where they were common and, for better or worse, useful in the real world then. The modern world is... different, or we'd like to think it *should* be. Anyway, prepare for a bunch of clowns whining about you being WOKE now...
As much as I hate that nebulous word, as people project so many absurd characteristics to it, I am proud to be "WOKE".
Please stop being apologetic about aspects of our culture
I’m not being apologetic. I’m recognizing that certain things in our culture are bad. Racism exists in our culture and it’s bad. Gun violence is bad. To pretend otherwise is just foolish and unhelpful.
@@michaelk.vaughan8617 Racism does exist in our culture. But it's currently against white people. No one EVER talks about that. And gun violence is bad because of evil people using guns in an evil way. Unfortunately, evil people will always exist. (Until Christ returns.) Until then, protecting yourself, your family, and your property is why guns are necessary. I wish it wasn't necessary. But we have to live in the world as it is, not as we wish it could be.
@michaelk.vaughan8617 Racism is just a weapon used against white people. I like you and enjoy your videos but we don't care about the disclaimers and negative commentary about the writers we love. Now, I'm off to find some Max Brand (btw, his dad was jewish) books.
@@TheVanneo 🤯
@@michaelk.vaughan8617 💯%‼ This was a fascinating video, and I really appreciated your principled stance. Judging by the comment section so do a lot of your followers.