Today we live in a certain type of monoculture that, As confirmed by the Harry Potter series to restart, nostalgia-lover has passed. But otherwise, things were never more broken. We are all on our own cultural trips, becoming immersed in various subcultures facilitated by the internet and social media. For this reason, Hollywood does not keep the kind of cultural swing he has ever done, as the rise in streaming platforms has sent the industry to fight to keep up with the increasingly fragmented public attention. When you consider the fact that, in 2025, Nielsen confirmed that YouTube became the number one distributor on TV content in the US, beating all other broadcasters and strimmer (including Netflix), you can get the true meaning of how the cultural landscape has changed so dramatically in the last few decades.

It's kind of something like someone like Johnon Wayne certainly couldn't have imagined. We've heard a lot about the death of the Starwar movie in recent years, and to some extent it is true (though putting someone like Timote Halamet in your film will not harm ticket sales). But there is definitely a feeling that the type of starvet shown by the Duke is simply no longer. Wayne was a monolith of pre-internet monoculture, where everyone had something in common. It was something fundamental to the way culture worked in the 20th century. Not only did the people went to see his films because they played Johnon Wayne, that was the way the actor came to embody certain values ​​and to be a common idea of ​​what it means to be a proud American - and maybe even a prominent member of society. As time went on, he became a polarizing figure, but there is no doubt that he remained an icon throughout his life.

It is difficult for you to find a modern equivalent, simply because we no longer have those shared ideas, so it is really fascinating to look back in a man's career as a lens through which we will see 20th -century culture. Take your first TV special, for example - grandiose NBC extravagance, packed with stars of any kind that just wouldn't happen today.

Despite the fact that he appeared in several small screen productions, Johnon Wayne was not the biggest TV fan. He had Disadvantaged TV -role you've probably never seenAnd The secret arrival of the Duke of "Gunsmoke" is a little -known treasure. But he primarily opposed the commitments to any episode series, preferring the big screen as a place to tell his stories and expand his legend.

By 1970, it was already well established as perhaps the largest movie starvet of the century. But he showed no signs of slowing down, and especially that year he was great for the duke. His return against paramount to sell TV -"real grit" TV caused legal battleBut he also won his first Oscar for his performance in the film as American Marshall Ruben J. "Rooster" Kogburn. Another first time came that year when Wayne hosted his first TV special-detalous Starwear affair that belongs so totally to the era of monoculture that it is now redirecting it is how to discover some kind of ancient curio.

Wayne hosted "Swing, Sweet Land", a celebration of American history that was light-but a respected affair that Newoux Times Called "patriot of patriotism". It shows vignettes that brought various moments in American history, with Wayne appearing among everyone and spoke by viewers through the story of their homeland using a huge map of the United States, which he tried to demonstrate the country's growth for decades. In addition to Wayne's novelty to agree to appear on the small screen in his first TV special, "Swing, Sweet Land" was noticeable about the incredible cast, dancers, comedians and musicians they collected, many of whom were contemporary Starsevils, while others were legends.

"Swing Out, Sweet Land" introduced so many big names that it is really amazing that NBC has pulled it out. George Burns, Glenn Campbell and Nyoni Cash were played, along with Jackack Benny as "a man who finds a silver dollar". The Starvala "I love Lucy" Lucil Bal has secured the voice of the Statue of Freedom, marking another collaboration between her and her good friend Johnon Wayne, who appeared on her beloved CBS episode in the 1955 episode "Lucy and Johnon Wayne". Other significant performances were Bing Crosby like Mark Twain, William Shatner as Johnon Adams, Dean Martin as Eli Whitney and Bob Hope like him. It's not even half of the ensemble.

The only time this type of Starseveli Assembly takes place today is at a prize ceremony or on Special anniversary "Saturday night live of 50". To see legends like Wayne, Cosby, Gotovina, the ball and other collected together in one production like this, it must be felt like a truly important occasion, the one who was no doubt a flash -membrane of the collective consciousness of that time. Indeed, "Swing, Sweet Land" became the highest ranked show on Sunday broadcasting and ending with Wayne delivering some patriotic words to inspire and elevate viewers to the cast "God bless America" ​​in duet.

Can you imagine something like this now? You may be very glad that we do not have to witness this kind of unstable celebration of American patriotism, but it is still fascinating as a cultural artifact. Just a year later, Wayne would try to dismantle his image by giving a infamous interview to Playboy in which he took the motion for civil rights and claims that indigenous Americans were selfish because they tried to retain their country. But at that short moment in 1970