The Covered Wagon (1923)

James Cruze's "The Covered Wagon"

In the same way that the later half of the twentieth century and the first two decades of the twenty-first century has been obsessed with World War II, the early twentieth century was obsessed with the civil war and the periods of expansion beforehand. With "The Covered Wagon," James Cruze tells a story of a group of American pioneers traversing the West trying to make it to Oregon. 

The film is able to showcase all of the elements that American audiences clung to in their vision of the 19th century's adventure in Western expansion. Some of these elements include cowboys that are peceived as being bad guys, only to reveal their true nature as a good man by the end - Native Americans attacking the innocent whites en masse - deciding whether to keep heading to Oregon or to head to California for the gold - and representing the foundation of America in their settling of a great, untamed wilderness. The reason for this fascination with the time period amounted to American society's fascination with the reconstruction period that needed to be built after the civil war. Through this reconstruction period, many Wild West shows showcased live productions of pioneers and covered wagons trying to make their way West and facing dangerous Native Americans in the process. Society began to paint a very romantic view of life in the ninteenth century as a way to prop up contemporary values and perspectives. Some of these perspectives were incredibly out of touch and even distorted. The demonation of the American Natives was just one of many demonizations by the early twentieth century. Another happened to be its obsession with the civil war. White supremacy groups tried to continue in lawful oppression of black Americans by romanticizing the Southern rebellion. The whole temprement of the early twentieth century was fueled by romantic visions of a past that has been altered to fit the narrative of a supreme race and status. 

"The Covered Wagon" added to this romantic outlook on nineteenth century pioneers and founders of a new America. It demonstrated the ways in which the brave men and women of the Westward Expansion envisioned a better world for their children and children's children. The audiences in 1923 who viewed the film praised the film for its amorous viewpoint of their grandparents and forefathers. The film became the highest grossing film in 1923 and was well received. Many film critics and historians call the film a continuation of the American epic, that has been propped up DW Griffith in his explosive films, encapsulated a perspective on its own history.