Modernity in TV Drama

One of the most engrossing shows in recent times is the Kevin Kostner starring Yellowstone. Set in modern Montana, it follows the affair of the Dutton family that owns a major ranch in Montana, with Kevin Kostner playing the family’s head. What’s particularly interesting in the show is the constant theme of modernity vs. tradition. The Dutton family land is prime real estate. All kinds of builders, developers etc. eye it to turn it into a place for resorts, corporate parks, hotels and the like. At the same time, the native Indians this land once belonged to harbor intentions to claim it back. The Duttons have to find a way to preserve their ownership, their family legacy, against such onslaught and amid fading interest in their own family’s next generation.

It reminds us that when we rail against modernity, we often forget that the first victims of it were Western societies themselves.

All the problems we may list about modernity, from the breakdown of family ties and communities to the utter divorce of man from nature - happened first to families in USA and other “developed” nations. Tragic, but makes for great TV!