"American Primeval" On Netflix Is One Of The Most Violent And Realistic Depictions Of Life On The Frontier Ever Shown, And I Have No Clue How People Survived Back Then
If, like me, you’ve ever wondered how the early settlers of the American West managed to survive its punishing landscapes, unrelenting weather, and insane violence, Netflix’s American Primeval will leave you with more questions than answers.
And probably nightmares.
American Primeval feels like a show thats a The Revenant-style deep dive into the grit and gore of frontier life. I finally finished the series and my mind is still spinning.
The show combines fictional protagonists, like a resilient mother on the run and a Shoshone-raised frontiersman, with real historical figures like Jim Bridger and Brigham Young. It also depicts real-life battles and conflicts over Fort Bridger and the Utah War.
"The Mountain Meadows Massacre", part of the so-called "Mormon War", provides a chilling backdrop to the series. Even if the show cranks up the drama (and the body count) for entertainment, the real history is fucked up and disturbing enough to make you question how anyone lasted more than a few weeks out on those plains.
The term "the wild west" exists for a reason.
There really was zero law and order out there.
The shit this series showed was crazy. How cold-blooded and ruthless the Mormons were. How violent the Shoshone were - scalping and skinning people alive. And how you couldn't trust a single soul- even young children- out there on the frontier.
Between militia-led ambushes, savage native American tribes, dangerous predators, harsh winters, and the constant fear of starvation, it’s a marvel that entire communities survived at all.
I'm so far behind on catching up to tv shows, so I just finished this a couple days ago. But I am still marveling that, somehow, enough people found the will to endure and build new lives under such brutal conditions.
A lot of people on twitter told me that if I thought this show was nuts, I really need to read Killers of the Flower Moon, because that's much worse. So I added it to my list.
