The Cowboy

MARCELA

American westerns

In my opinion kids are attracted to western movies because they liked cowboys and their clothing; they also watch cowboys and Indians riding beautiful horses and the interaction between them. Additionally, the view of beautiful landscapes and wilderness animals is so attractive. The films are also so exciting because the public enjoyed the fights between good and evil and the action and suspense when they use guns and bows and arrows.

On the other hand, Western movies don’t appeal to me because I don’t like violence and I consider this kind of movie a little boring. From my perspective, Igwe chose Oklahoma based on his goals and it was a coincidence that he found cowboys there.

Igwe’s adjustment to life in Oklahoma/YOUR adjustment

I found it interesting the way Igwe overcame the problem with the professor doing a change in his life trying to fit into the American culture but without let his professional goals apart. In contrast, the part of my adjustment which I found hardest was to understand that people in New York are very direct and confrontational. For example, if you want to inquire about something, people will answer directly without hesitation. In my culture, it is almost mandatory to say for example “Good morning, may I ask you…… “ and afterwards, ask what you want. Being so direct is an act of lack of manners and very impolite. However, the easiest part for me was talking with people from all around the world and share experiences. I adjust very easy to the city and I am so happy here.

Conflict with a professor?

No. I have never had a conflict with a professor in my life. I tried to overcome problems or disagreements by discussing in a friendly way.

Was Igwe pushy?

I agree that Igwe was pushy because he talked in a little aggressive way to the professor which can create a tense ambiance between them.

Therefore, the professor would feel uncomfortable with the way that Igwe pushed him to give an answer.

On the contrary, I do not consider myself pushy because I would rather wait for a good moment and speak with my professor in a very professional way to ask for something. Perhaps, if I found that the professor would not answer my inquiries with intention, and with the objective to block me to comply with my goals, I would become pushy.

Otherwise, Igwe had to understand the American culture and he should have to make a change in order to accomplish his goals. Furthermore, for me, it has been in the same way as Igwe, I had to change in many ways personally and professionally. First at all I had to understand the way American people resolve problems which is way different from my country because of the laws which actually work compared with my country when the corruption is pretty common. And finally, professionally because I can’t work in my profession and I had to change to another profession which is meaningful for me and would be a great option.

ONLY IN AMERICA. . .

I found the people walk and drink coffee at the same time even if they are on the bus or on the subway or on a boat. The rush in New York is incredible.

ELSAYED

Why was Igwe “amazed” at the cowboy he met in a University of Oklahoma classroom?

He was “amazed” because he never thought he’d actually see a cowboy in real life, let alone sitting next to him in class. To him, cowboys only existed in movies, so it felt unreal.

How did the “proud of my culture” conflict affect Igwe?

It made him feel caught in the middle—he wanted to hold onto his Igbo roots, but also didn’t want to feel left out in America. That inner pull sometimes made him uncomfortable.

How did Igwe compare the cowboy culture with his Igbo culture?

He saw both cultures as proud and full of tradition, but they showed it in totally different ways—cowboys through rodeos, hats, and horses, and the Igbo through language, customs, and community life.

What were Igwe’s goals?

He wanted a good education, to understand American life, and to make sure people respected that he was Igbo, not just another student blending in.

Why did he mention “eating meat” and “playing horseshoes”?

To point out the cowboy lifestyle that felt strange to him. Those activities were part of their culture, but they weren’t part of his own background.

WU XUE

American westerns

I think American cowboy westerns appeal to kids and me because for the kids, and especially for the boys, the fighting movies are always attractive. It’s cool and it shows manliness, bravery and individualistic heroism. Acting like a superhero is always an ultimate dream of a man.

Was Igwe pushy?

I think he is pushy in his professor’s opinion, after he gets dressed up like a cowboy, but he doesn’t mean to be pushy. It’s a coincidence. Meanwhile, it’s also a good idea when you want to get a job at the university because you have to show yourself, your confidence, your will. Because their first impression of you is important, you need to let the professor remember you. I think he should make the changes. On the one hand, he gets the confidence when he gets dressed up like a cowboy. On the other hand, he starts to fit in the environment and the culture. He has to do that if he wants to live here. For me, it’s the similar situation for me. I have to adapt everything new here. I have to get used to all the things. That is why I push myself to learn English. I think it’s a good way to learn the culture of the country when you are learning a language and you can’t do anything without English here.

Why was Igwe “amazed” at the cowboy he met in a University of Oklahoma classroom?

He met a real cowboy for the first time at the classroom. He was curious and he thought that the cowboys were not real anymore, they were only history because he loved to watch the cowboy movies when he was young in his hometown.

Do you think Igwe went back to Nigeria or stayed in Oklahoma? What reasons do you have for your guess?

I think Igwe stayed in Oklahoma. Because the picture of Igwe at the end of the film shows that he is standing at the cattle ranch in the cowboy style wearing. I can imagine that he is working there and getting used to the cowboy culture and the style wearing. In addition, his hometown seems to be having warfare. So, I think staying in Oklahoma is a much better choice for him.

TANYA

American westerns appeal to children because of how unusual and exciting they look, they find life of that kind of character in this film full of interesting events and adventures, and the aesthetics of these films make it hard not to be interested in them. In my case, I wasn’t interested in this type of movie as a child, because I preferred fantasy genres.

I think that Igwe moved to Oklahoma because of his love of cowboys; otherwise, he could choose another place with more opportunities.

Igwe’s adjustment to life in Oklahoma/YOUR adjustment

My adjustment to life in New York is not similar to Igwe, because unlike him, I was already studying online at a Ukrainian university in my last year. I don’t have the same kind of dreams that Igwe had about cowboys. However, I can understand his feelings about his country. Just like him, I heard that it is not worth returning home yet because it is dangerous, I read the news about the situation in my country. I worry whether my parents and friends are okay.

ZHENG

American westerns

Kids love American Westerns a lot! They think cowboy hats and revolvers are super cool. The fights between good guys and bad guys are exciting. And those free adventure stories in the wild just make them dream of being brave and exploring new things.

Conflict with a professor?

Many years ago, I had a conflict with my professor because my paper had different views on the end of the Qing Dynasty, the last dynasty of China. The final solution was that I changed it according to his views. There was no other way. This was because of political correctness.

SIDI

American westerns

I think the reason why Western movies attract children is that heroes show up wearing unusual clothes, riding horses with great skill, and acting calm before suddenly starting to shoot – and that’s what makes it so fascinating for some kids.

Did you have to change in any way since you left your native country?

Not exactly but I had to try to imitate some of the daily habits in people’s lives and try to learn what things are socially acceptable and considered normal to them.

EREK

Conflict with a professor?

When I was going to the University, back then in my hometown, I remember how teachers were not fair to me. My major was Sport Faculty. I was a runner and some of the students were runners as well. The majority of students were wrestlers. Others were soccer players. So runners had their own teacher, wrestlers had theirs and soccer players also had theirs.

My teacher was very weird, and he had no respect. The wrestlers’ teachers had the most respect!

During school days, we had competition. So every team went to a different place to participate. When wrestlers went, after that teachers helped them to finish their exams. When I went to competitions and I got good results, even in newspapers were written Student of KGU got 1 or 2 or 3 place. But after all teachers told me to make extra homework because I missed classes.

I always thought that this is unfair. I was really mad, and at the end, they fired me!! and I opened my business.😁
Then when teachers came to my store, they told me if we had not fired you, you would never be able to open such a great store!!

NATALIA

American westerns

I saw American westerns when I was a child. I liked to watch them because these movies always have a good music, a leader who defeats bad people and these guys weren’t afraid of anything, always strong and smart.

But I don’t like that people killed other people.

I thought that Igwe chose Oklahoma because it was a coincidence. Of course, Oklahoma is the second state with cowboys after Texas. Maybe this city attracted him the same way New York attracted me in my dreams.

Conflict with a professor?

I don’t like conflicts. I didn’t have any conflicts with professors at the universitу, but I remember one conflict at work. I worked as a store manager and I had a conflict with the new regional director about procedures at work

I asked about vacation and was refused. I took sick leave, I wrote a letter of resignation and left for another company.

She prevented me from becoming a regional director, but after one year my reputation helped me become a business coach!

JUAN

American westerns

Well, I think American western movies appeal to many people for different reasons. For example, people who like interacting with animals, since most American western movies show the connection between humans and horses, cows, and other types of animals in a wilder environment. That’s something unique for urban people. In addition, American Western culture has its own style and is very distinctive, which makes it fascinating to most people.

It is interesting that cowboy and cowgirl culture is present in many countries around the world and that each has its own style and customs, but most of them are not well known compared to the American one.  I guess that is because of the well-developed American film industry, which helped to quickly make it known to the rest of the world.

“Only in America”

Keeping the American western topic, I would say one unique thing I have seen here in the US is the evolution of the Native American people or the so-called American Indian people. The fact that a lot of them are owners of casinos is very curious and strange. I think it is a direct consequence of the power of capitalism the US reflects combined with the wild character or the not-fear attitude of Native Americans.

ANATOLII 

Why do you think American westerns appeal to kids?  Did they appeal to you?  If not, why not?  What is in the film that makes them so exciting?  And if Igwe loved these films while growing up in Nigeria, do you think he chose to move to Oklahoma because he would find cowboys there?  or was it just a coincidence? 

I watched THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY. It’s an excellent experience.

This movie appeals to everyone; it doesn’t matter the age of the viewer.

People discovered the lands in the western part of America a long time ago, but it was an unpopulated area.  The government existed at that time.  The sheriff was in that area and he could not cope with people who broke the law physically.

It was the time of brave people who moved there as well as a gap for criminal groups which controlled the towns and villages and collected money from the residents and treated them brutally. The residents had to defend  themselves. Most of the people had guns but it was not enough because these gangs had a lot of participants and villages had only a few houses.

It was necessary to be strong psychologically to fight against these gangs, and have an outstanding rifle skill. It looks like a jungle or a casino because any time you can be killed, and sometimes it can happen by accident.

Those times are gone, but the movie teaches us to be brave and unaided, count only on yourself, act quickly, improve our skills (because in an emergency, we have zero chance to survive without them.)

 

DENIS

 

Was Igwe pushy?

In the scene where the professor told Igwe that he was very assertive, Igwe was indeed assertive, but it’s just a difference in culture.   In my country, for example, assertiveness is a good thing.  In the United States, everything has to be polite, or so it seems to me. Of course, I had to change; I started listening to people more attentively and smiling more when talking.

“Only in America”

Only in America have I seen so many sociable people. Small talk can happen anywhere, in the elevator, when you’re walking home from the store, even on the street. In my country, people don’t talk on the street and are very sullen. On the contrary, if you talk to someone in an elevator or on the street, they might think you’re crazy.

What impresses me about America is the friendliness of the people.