Low Level Distortion

Trey Smith

It's not uncommon for conservative types to wail uncontrollably about the evils of Hollywood. In their view, tinsel town shoulders much of the blame for our increasingly "godless" and hedonistic society. While I think this is nothing more than feigned hysteria aimed at raking in donations from other conservatives, I actually do agree somewhat that Hollywood, in many instances, has had a negative impact on western society.

One chief area is in the distortion of history. Why worry about facts when fiction offers far more compelling drama?

People from my generation and earlier mislearned a lot about American history by watching films and reading popular books. Often these were presented as a careful retelling of history when, in fact, they lacked a good deal of rigorous research.

Let me offer an example: the Pony Express. The other day I did a brief survey of a few people I know. I asked them what they think they knew about the Pony Express. The general consensus was that the Pony Express was a branch of the US Postal Service and that it was in existence for 10, 20, 30 or more years. The riders of the Pony Express were heroes and scores died trying to deliver the mail. It ended due to the advancements and increased usage of the railroads.

Here's the problem, one helped along by Hollywood: Not a one of those "facts" is correct!

The Pony Express was a private enterprise undertaken by a nearly insolvent company that wanted to steal the western mail subsidy from a competitor. Despite the lofty projections used to lure investors, this company never game close to turning a profit. In fact, according to famed western historian Dee Brown, said company ended up losing hundreds of thousands of dollars and went bankrupt.

While the movies make it seem that the Pony Express was a fixture in the American West, this enterprise was nothing more than a faint blip. This service existed for a mere 18 months (1860-61)!

While being a rider for the Pony Express could be an arduous job, very few riders died in the line of duty. Records show that only one or two riders died while in the employ of this private enterprise.

Finally, it was not the railroad which made the Pony Express obsolete; it was the telegraph! In October 1861, the first transcontinental telegraph line was completed and the Pony Express folded the very next day!

By and large, Americans seem ignorant when it comes to the history of our own nation. While Hollywood is not solely responsible, it does play a significant role. If so many people misunderstand the role of the Pony Express in the history of the American West, think of the countless other things that they THINK they know that they really don't!!