Priya Sharma
Taylor Sheridan, the genius co-creator behind the hit series, Yellowstone left an indelible impact on its audience. From perfectly capturing the spirit of America to working on trivial details to make the show relatable, he nearly perfected what ranch life really is. But, adding an entertainment element is quite crucial which was what made that show slightly different from what real-life ranchers face in real life.
For the unversed, Yellowstone revolves around a generation of the Dutton family who indulged in a civil war against themselves at the largest ranch in Montana, the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch. Given that the co-creator’s vision led the series to develop into a wholesome franchise, a real-life rancher, Jessie Jarvis shared her insights on what’s depicted wrong about ranch life in particular, in the show.
Real Life-Rancher Pointed Out at The Unrealistic Element in The Yellowstone Series
Jessie Jarvis, who herself is a big-time fan of the Yellowstone franchise, shared her thoughts on the show’s realistic and unrealistic elements parameter. Despite the show gaining critical acclaim, she reflected on which elements exaggerated the depiction of ranch life.
She mentioned that the resources the Dutton family showcased in the series were far from the truth, and did not do justice with the ranch life.
She shared in an interview with Variety,
“The Duttons are very wealthy, and that does not track with the majority of farms and ranches in America right now. We don’t own a helicopter. A lot of the pickups and trailers that are featured, they are top of the line, like Dodge Trucks and Bloomer Trailers. They are used in our industry, but they’re actually more on the Western sports side of things, not necessarily what you would find if you were to walk into a family farming and ranching operation.”
She further continued stating that some investor-owned ranches may have access to the lavish resources portrayed in the film, “but that is a very small percentage. Their money isn’t necessarily a good depiction of what ranchers and farmers are working with financially.”
While the resources factor is surely a crucial element that highly affects the Dutton family’s life portrayed in the series, there is another factor that further pushes the show into unrealistic criteria.
Yellowstone’s Profanity Makes the Show Distinct from Real-Life Ranch Life
Jarvis continued in the same interview,
“The violence, obviously, is something that is not accurate whatsoever. Sometimes it seems like someone is getting shot every single episode!”
She further explained her take stating,
“‘Yellowstone’ is also kind of crude with its language, which would be, aside from the violence, the thing that does not track whatsoever. I mean, I’ve yelled some curse words at a cow before, and we always joke that when you’re sorting cattle with family, no one’s going to come out without having been yelled at. But it’s nothing like this. Honestly, and I hate to say this because I do love the show, and I’m not a prude by any means, but after a while I would like a normal conversation without any cursing.”
While she is not in favor of the show exaggerating these elements, she also asserted the positive aspect of the Kevin Costner-led series. She highly praised the show for making it near-realistic by covering major issues often faced by real-life ranchers like land encroachment and family drama.
Due to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, Yellowstone is now airing on CBS. Meanwhile, the four completed seasons and half of season 5 are now available on Peacock right now.
Source: Variety
