Better than a lot of westerns, but still there's really nothing there.
I suppose the irony is that this "vanishing way of life" was really only around for about sixty years (ca 1850-1910). It really wasn't that well known east of Missouri outside the popular press, and isn't now outside the movies.
If the western epitomizes the American experience, that's nice, but there have probably been more movie cowboys than there ever were working cowboys. Much more story than practicality.
So, if the above is true, the end of the cowboy way of life is... unlamented, unheralded, and probably unnoticed except for a few.
I suppose the irony is that this "vanishing way of life" was really only around for about sixty years (ca 1850-1910). It really wasn't that well known east of Missouri outside the popular press, and isn't now outside the movies.
If the western epitomizes the American experience, that's nice, but there have probably been more movie cowboys than there ever were working cowboys. Much more story than practicality.
So, if the above is true, the end of the cowboy way of life is... unlamented, unheralded, and probably unnoticed except for a few.