cover image Rodeo Cowboys in the North American Imagination

Rodeo Cowboys in the North American Imagination

Michael Allen. University of Nevada Press, $29.95 (248pp) ISBN 978-0-87417-315-4

The eternal struggle between the frontier and civilization is at the core of our national heritage, and that's what makes rodeo an important component in the creation of American popular culture. Allen, associate professor of history and American studies at the University of Washington, Tacoma, clearly explains our continuing interest in rodeo through his combined examination of its history and its cultural interpretation. Rodeos evolved from the curious townspeople who gathered to watch goings-on at the local ranches. As the plains cowboys began to disappear, the rodeo cowboy provided audiences with an image of the real thing. If the cowboys of old liked to drink, carouse and tear things up, today's rodeo is serious business; its participants are organized, sometimes even well paid and refer to themselves as professional athletes. Although movies (e.g., The Lusty Men, The Misfits, Hud) may have been the main entree into the national imagination, Allen notes that the prevalence of rodeo in the arts, literature and even ballet is not so far-fetched. The oral, storytelling tradition of the cowboy has translated well to art, and its folk traditions prevailed during the Vietnam era of counterculture. Allen gives thorough critiques of the books, films, artworks, music and other outgrowths of rodeo, and if he sometimes gets bogged down in detail, this is nonetheless a well-researched, heartfelt study of the roots of an American fascination. ""There is no logical explanation for the rodeo-cowboy hero's behavior, nor is there an explanation for the respect and adulation he commands in a modern, high-tech North American society."" His question, ""Are rodeo cowboys real cowboys?"" is moot, he concludes, because what they represent--the thrill of danger--is the real thing. (Sept.)