美国文化偶像:西部牛仔英雄与集体记忆里的田园牧歌

西部牛仔是美国崛起时期流行媒体塑造的偶像人物，也是风靡全球的美国本土文化象征。从19世纪下半叶到20世纪初，美国的工业化和城市化进程带来了重大的社会变革，普通民众经历着文化动荡和历史阵痛，而牛仔驰骋草原的光辉形象抚慰了美国人对边疆的眷恋之情，谱写了一曲民族集体记忆里的田园牧歌。本文认为，牛仔英雄超越历史和现实，书写了西部拓荒史诗的传奇篇章，是凝聚美国国民向心力、建构统一文化身份的重要媒介。

Western cowboy is probably the most powerful American cultural icon constructed by popular media against the historical context of the rise of the United States As the American society was undergoing radical changes brought by the advent of industrialization and urbanization from the late 19th to the early 20th century, legendary tales about the cowboy on the Western frontier satisfied peoples collective yearning for a free and adventurous life in the open land The article argues that the Western cowboy figure exemplifies the pursuit of a unified cultural identity in the process of Americas modernization.