“Don't ever call this work, ok? Ever.” I can't help but think of this line, which Beth Dutton shouts to her husband, Rip Wheeler, in Season 5, Episode 6 of “Yellowstone,” America's most watched television series. They’re on horseback overlooking a golden Montana meadow, as he leads the team of ranch hands on a cattle drive, moving hundreds of animals across the mountain. Cut to me, suddenly in their shoes.”
How did I, a Black woman from Washington, DC, end up in what could be a scene from “Yellowstone”? The modern-day western drama starring Kevin Costner as John Dutton, a man determined to protect his family's multi-generational Montana ranch from developers, has been incredibly popular among audiences since its 2018 release. Talk of its popularity seemed centered among viewers in gun-toting red states.
Yet I was eventually drawn to “Yellowstone” out of curiosity, and from the first episode, with its aerial scenes of honey-hued prairies and pristine rivers; intimate look at the hardships on Native American reservations; and John’s daughter Beth’s sassy, shit-talking attitude, I was hooked. What began as an unexpected obsession with the show quickly took me on a journey to experience it firsthand.
Collection
[
|
...
]