The Life of Modern-Day American Cowboys

05/19/20 • 62 min

Cowboys are as American as hot dogs and apple pie. But what is life like for the modern-day American cowboy?

Filmed on eight of the nation’s largest cattle ranches across ten states in the American West, Cowboys: A Documentary Portrait (2019) provides an intimate look at life in the modern world for this most American of icons.

A cowboy’s life has always been one of solitude and hard work. This is still the case.

Even as they adapt to modernity, the modern-day cowpoke provides us with lessons in how to cope with isolation. But with cell phones and the internet becoming commonplace on the range, some long for the “good old days”.

The filmmakers behind this ode to the modern-day cowboy join Factual America to tell their compelling story. How did the filmmakers create such an intimate portrait? How did they gain ranchers’ trust while capturing the magnificence of the American West?

Director Bud Force is a former rodeo cowboy. His co-director, John Langmore, is a former working cowboy who spent five years photographing life on “big outfit” ranches.

Bud and John are joined on the podcast by Feli Funke, creative producer and author of Gathering Remnants – a Tribute to The Working Cowboy (2020), Emmy award-winning editor Lucas J. Harger and Ian McLeod of Cleod9 Music.

So join us, as we enter into the life of the modern cowboy...

“We’ve created this career out of trying to create cinematic footage in difficult conditions in the field. Whether it’s cowboying, ice climbing, or shooting scuba diving, you have to operate light and fast.” – Bud Force

Cowboys are as American as hot dogs and apple pie. But what is life like for the modern-day American cowboy?

A cowboy’s life has always been one of solitude and hard work. This is still the case.

Director Bud Force is a former rodeo cowboy. His co-director, John Langmore, is a former working cowboy who spent five years photographing life on “big outfit” ranches.

So join us, as we enter into the life of the modern cowboy...

Previous Episode

I Am Not Your Negro: Racism in the US

Narrated by Samuel L Jackson, I Am Not Your Negro (2016) uses James Baldwin’s unfinished manuscript to tell the horrific history of racism in America. Following the lives of three slain civil rights leaders, Medgar Evers, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King Jr, Baldwin’s words still resonate today.

Since the beginning, race has defined America and racism permeates its politics to this day. To discuss the issue, Dr Richard Johnson, lecturer in US politics and international relations at Lancaster University, joins the podcast.

Richard’s work examines the US’s increasingly racially polarised politics. He draws parallels between contemporary America and the end of the post-Civil War Reconstruction. Richard believes we are living in the twilight of the ‘second reconstruction’ – an era that began with the civil rights movement. Are there signs that a ‘third reconstruction’ is dawning?

Despite the election of Barack Obama in 2008 – the US’s first black president – the 2010s were a decade of increasing racial polarisation. But with white, working class voters searching for an anti-establishment voice, could there be a glimmer of hope?

“There are racial dimensions to all issues.” – Dr. Richard Johnson

Next Episode

The Hart Family Tragedy

The Hart Family had the perfect American life. At least, that is what their social media accounts showed the world. But the reality was very different.

A Thread of Deceit: The Hart Family Tragedy documents a family’s spiral into abuse and despair. Ultimately, Jennifer and Sarah Hart decided to drive their family SUV off a cliff, killing them and their six adopted children.

How could this happen? The Harts’ social media accounts were full of beautiful images – playing in the garden with the kids, trips out on a frozen lake or cozy nights by the fire. And everyone thought they were living the perfect American life.

As the film reveals, however, Jen and Sarah Hart carefully curated their family’s online personas. As a result, they were able to hide a life of mental illness and abuse. That life eventually led to the tragic loss of their six innocent children.

We caught up recently with the filmmakers, producer Rachel Morgan and executive producer Chuck Lewis. As they point out, A Thread of Deceit: The Hart Family Tragedy provides us with valuable lessons about social media, our society and the American adoption system.

Rachel and Chuck note that our society’s addiction to social media is damaging our mental health.

“This story needed to be told. There were a lot of people speculating, a lot of very strong feelings.” – Chuck Lewis