The first couple of seasons were good. When it became wildly popular, it slipped a bit. Even though it's annoying at times, I still watch it, it has some value.
White People Fighting
BY JOSH DOGGRELL · PUBLISHED JANUARY 7, 2022 · UPDATED JANUARY 7, 2022
“Let me tell you what fair means. Fair means one side got exactly what they wanted in a way the other side can’t complain about. There’s no such thing as fair.”
So explained the character of John Dutton to his young grandson on a recent episode of the television series, Yellowstone. He was using an account of buffalo, Indians, and the U.S. Army in American history to teach the young boy a life lesson.
There is much about popular culture I struggle to explain and most of what I cannot understand I do not desire to learn. But I do think I have put my finger on the reason this program is so wildly popular.
Yellowstone is virtually unique. It is scandalous, when a popular television program today presents something you will be hard pressed to find anywhere else in contemporary entertainment — white people fighting.
The storyline follows the Dutton family of Montana. Patriarch John Dutton (Kevin Costner) refers to the massive ranch he owns as “my kingdom” and not only declares, but demonstrates aptly that he intends to fight for it and keep it in spite of the multitudinous and consistent attacks he, his family, and his subordinates have encountered in the four seasons the show has aired. These attacks come from the likes of national parks, land developers, and an Indian reservation with whom he subsequently makes an alliance.
John Dutton is almost the epitome of what the left hates the most. He is white, male, over fifty, conservative, extremely wealthy, and staunchly possessive of the land he owns. And it’s not the financial value of the land that stirs him. When pressed by his daughter to sell the ranch to avoid the price of defending it, he tells her this is something he cannot do. “I made a promise…not one inch.”
A very poignant scene from the second season elaborates on this promise. A younger John Dutton is comforting his 90-year-old father while the two gaze across the beautiful mountainside on the property. The father speaks of the land that has been passed down through the generations. “Don’t let them take it from you son. Not a godd***ed inch.”
John puts his arm around his father’s shoulder and tells him he will miss him. “No, you won’t. You’ll miss what I was a long time ago. And when you get to my age, only thing you miss is being young. The chance to do it all over. See the look of wonder in your grandchildren’s eyes. The look in your eyes when you were a kid.”
John Dutton is a man who cares deeply for his family and his heritage. And that is not something white people are supposed to do in 21st-Century America. Indoctrination through the public “education” system has always been with us, but with the effects of electronics and social media the idea that white people should hate themselves and their ancestors is now hammered into young brains from the first moment they are able to put together rational thoughts.
To the “progressive” left, a disbelief in what they call “progress” is a top-level sin. In the most-recent season, John Dutton announces himself as candidate for Montana governor at a press conference by declaring:
“…there is a war being waged against our way of life. They’ll tell you all the reasons why our way of life is bad for Montana, bad for this country, bad for our future, how it’s immoral that you live here, work here, grow their food here. They will tell it so much you might even start to believe it yourself, question what you do and who you are. They’ll tell you that the land’s only hope is for them to be its steward. The ugly truth is they want the land, and if they get it, it will never look like our land again. That is progress is today’s terms. So if it’s progress you seek, do not vote for me. I am the opposite of progress. I am the wall that it bashes against, and I will not be the one who breaks.”
Sweet Ethiopian eunuch, I was about ready to grab my checkbook and write a campaign contribution from my couch.
We also have the appealing character Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser). Rip is the head ranch hand at Yellowstone. He is at the same time the unequivocal leader of the hands while also reverentially respectful, loyal, and obedient to John (his father figure). Rip is not afraid to use fists and weapons to get his point across, and fits in with the Dutton family for his propensity to fight for what and who he loves.
Being chided by his girlfriend, Beth Dutton (John’s daughter), for not stopping John from entering into a dangerous situation, Rip counters, “Beth, I can’t stop your father from doing anything. He does what he does because he thinks he’s right. I can either help him or I can watch him.”
Yellowstone is not without its faults. It will take moments to burn the incense to the politically-correct gods. There is a token black ranch hand who, of course, carries on an interracial affair with one of the three petite women who also, inexplicably, are physically able to perform ranch labor on par with the men. The profanity is repetitive, terrible, and unnecessary. Beth Dutton could more easily be admired for her grit and tenacity if she was not such a foul-mouthed, crass, poorly-dressed tramp. But these are bearable negatives.
So what gives? Why aren’t the leftists screaming and boycotting outside the set? Why are there no protestors and no political commentators on CNN bemoaning such an open display of toxic masculinity, of white people so boldly exhibiting forbidden traits such as self-respect, family loyalty, heritage preservation, and standing their ground? Dear heavens, they even wear cowboy hats, rise early, work hard, and listen to country music. How is it the Paramount network is allowed to continue to poison woke minds in such a vile way?
Because this is Hollywood. While those people will habitually pay tribute to the social-justice causes of the day, The Almighty Dollar still rules. And, as it turns out, there must remain a huge contingent of people who really enjoy seeing a white family portrayed in a positive manner. Some of them have lost that nerve themselves. Many of them would never say so in polite company, or espouse such dreadful things at work or places where there may be ramifications for such impermissible expressions.
But they will retire to the privacy of their homes, kick back in the recliner, and deliciously watch the rare spectacle of white people fighting.
fleming.foundation |
