The author investigates how narratives are constructed through visual culture to better understand her own history. Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show acts as a case study demonstrating how “history” is often a narrative established by those in power. These narratives often essentialize their subjects, leading to erasure and exclusion. Sitting Bull and Annie Oakley are used as examples of figures that have become caricatures in service to a greater narrative about the American West. This paper argues for the inefficacy of considering any one narrative as “history” instead recommending a close reading of many different narratives. Three different Western figures, all associated with Buffalo Bill’s West Show, are introduced and analyzed. The author argues that much of the nuance of history is lost when we favor only the narratives found in popular culture.
","abstract_html":"<p>The author investigates how narratives are constructed through visual culture to better understand her own history. Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show acts as a case study demonstrating how “history” is often a narrative established by those in power. These narratives often essentialize their subjects, leading to erasure and exclusion. Sitting Bull and Annie Oakley are used as examples of figures that have become caricatures in service to a greater narrative about the American West. This paper argues for the inefficacy of considering any one narrative as “history” instead recommending a close reading of many different narratives. Three different Western figures, all associated with Buffalo Bill’s West Show, are introduced and analyzed. The author argues that much of the nuance of history is lost when we favor only the narratives found in popular culture.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Hawkes, Sarah A"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Illustration & Visual Culture","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Graduate School of Art","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2025,"date_issued":"2025-05-07T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2025-05-07T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T06:12:17Z","subjects":["wild west","western","cowboy","buffalo bill","western history","western culture","Art and Design","Oral History","Public History","United States History"],"languages":["English"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/mfa_illustration/37","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Hawkes, Sarah A"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2025-05-09T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Graduate School of Art"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Illustration & Visual Culture"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["wild west","western","cowboy","buffalo bill","western history","western culture","Art and Design","Oral History","Public History","United States History"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["English"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/mfa_illustration/37"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The author investigates how narratives are constructed through visual culture to better understand her own history. Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show acts as a case study demonstrating how “history” is often a narrative established by those in power. These narratives often essentialize their subjects, leading to erasure and exclusion. Sitting Bull and Annie Oakley are used as examples of figures that have become caricatures in service to a greater narrative about the American West. This paper argues for the inefficacy of considering any one narrative as “history” instead recommending a close reading of many different narratives. Three different Western figures, all associated with Buffalo Bill’s West Show, are introduced and analyzed. The author argues that much of the nuance of history is lost when we favor only the narratives found in popular culture.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Buffalo Bill and the Great Western Story"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Hawkes, Sarah A"],"dc:date.available":["2025-05-09T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["The author investigates how narratives are constructed through visual culture to better understand her own history. Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show acts as a case study demonstrating how “history” is often a narrative established by those in power. These narratives often essentialize their subjects, leading to erasure and exclusion. Sitting Bull and Annie Oakley are used as examples of figures that have become caricatures in service to a greater narrative about the American West. This paper argues for the inefficacy of considering any one narrative as “history” instead recommending a close reading of many different narratives. Three different Western figures, all associated with Buffalo Bill’s West Show, are introduced and analyzed. The author argues that much of the nuance of history is lost when we favor only the narratives found in popular culture.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/mfa_illustration/37"],"dc:language":["English"],"dc:subject":["wild west","western","cowboy","buffalo bill","western history","western culture","Art and Design","Oral History","Public History","United States History"],"dc:title":["Buffalo Bill and the Great Western Story"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Graduate School of Art"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Illustration & Visual Culture"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T06:12:17Z"}