NP Star Maidens ...

[Otto Sell]

Stereotype, no, not at all.

I have forgotten who had said it but someone once said that if Karl May had
said to the generation of 1914: Don't go to war - the First World War would
not have happened. This guy had a big influence on the German male of the
20th century. The massive input of American movies after WW-2 was a second
step. We all grew up with more knowledge about the pioneer-period of
American history than about our own past. Every German boy of the last 60-80
years played cowboys versus Indians, so "Sitting Bull" and "Geronimo" are as
familiar as "Roland" or "Dietrich von Bern."
It's true that some grown-ups too "play" it (instead of watching soccer,
biking, going fishing or breeding rabbits or doves), having camps and
gatherings but I think it's a little strange and the romanticism is stronger
than the historical interest. "Freedom" will be the "most frequent word" if
you talk to them. The plains are great and in Germany everything is small.
But generally I would consider those "Western Fans," as we might call them,
as kind and friendly people, even if they're more interested in Karl May
than Dee Brown, still preferring "Winnetou" and "Rio Bravo" to "Little Big
Man."

What came first - The novel or the Sparks-song (both 1973)?
"(...) emitting high-pitched German-accented Westernisms like "This town
ain't big enough for both of us!""
(GR 534)

Otto

> In a message dated 01/08/2001 9:55:22 AM Pacific Standard Time,
> monroe at mpm.edu writes:
>
> << But you were right about those German "Indian" films, kai.  Is is a
>  stereotype to note the fascination with Native Americans in Germany?  It
>  does seem common amongst the tourists here, at any rate.  One might
>  argue that modern anthropology to some extent begins with this
>  fascination, though I believe that seminal figure here Franz Boas was
>  actually Austrian.  No doubt rooted in that famed German Romanticism? >>
>
> I remember seeing a story on Deutsche-Welle (English Version) TV about a
> group of Germans who like to dress up like cowboys & Indians, having mock
> battles, some of which are remarkably accurate in a superficial way.  It
was
> fascinating & a little unsettling to see how well they could mimic the
> atmosphere of the Wild West.