The nights are long now. Since I gave up TV a few years ago I sometimes get a hankering for videos and will pull some from the library. The selection is very limited so I was surprised to see the DVD’s of Anthony Bourdain’s old show No Reservations*. By chance, it had the episode on Montana with painter, Russsell Chatham**, and author, Jim Harrison. It was focused on Livingston, Montana and the nearby Paradise Valley. Steve knew all three of them and they are unfortunately all gone now. Harrison described how he turned up there in the early 70’s and how it was a rowdy place with fist fights in the bars, etc. I had only seen a small snippet of the show when it was current around 2010. I remember telling Steve about it. It was good to see the whole thing. It was also good to get a better feel for the area which I have been reading about since I was a kid, it being a fishing Mecca as Harrison said.
It was quite the contrast with another DVD I pulled called Yellowstone (American TV series). Its setting is very, very loosely based on the Livingston area. I had friends tell me it was good and they liked it. I looked up reviews and there were 5 star reviews in the tens of thousands. I had the 4th season and I played that first before the Bourdain DVD. It started with the protagonist laying half dead in the road and escalated to machine gun and grenade fights in seconds. The video above will give you the idea of it.
This was featured heavily in many camera shots in case you missed its first product placement.
* “Montana” August 24, 2009
Tony travels to the state of Montana in the United States, where he visits a ranch and learns the struggles of being a rancher. He eats local specialties like beef, pasty, trout, and buffalo. Tony gets an understanding of why fly fishing is so addictive and meets with writer and local legend Jim Harrison, and artist Russell Chatham.
**In addition to his work as a painter, Chatham also authored several books. a series of short stories “Dark Waters” in which he detailed the exploits of his hunting friends, like the author Jim Harrison. The stories were Rabelaisian, vulgar, and exquisitely written (one suspects with a little help from his literary friends) From Wikipedia
Ouch!
As a resident of the state to the south, in which most of Yellowstone National Park is located, I’ve refused to watch Yellowstone. But then I avoid almost all contemporary depictions of the Rocky Mountain Region, as they’re so incredibly bad.
I suspect (and now I know) that I’m not the only one. Prior to this blog entry I just posted on an item myself involving Chuck Todd and John Tester, the Montana farmer/senator, https://lexanteinternet.blogspot.com/2022/12/senator-john-tester-is-more-politce.html . It was pretty clear from that awkward moment that Tester probably does’t watch Yellowstone either.
I don’t know what to make of these Hollywood depictions of the modern west, other than that the west remains in the national conscience in a near mythic form. I suspect that the fascination remains because modern urban life is pretty much dispiriting crap.
FWIW, don’t watch 1883. I tried to, but its departures from historical reality were too much to take.
Knew there is a good reason I do not have a TV.
Enjoy Harrison and Chatham (who could paint AND write).