Cowboy Apocalypse

In "Cowboy Apocalypse," Rachel Wagner critically examines the disturbing trend of mass shooters who perceive themselves as vigilante saviors, drawing connections between this phenomenon and the motifs found in American media. She explores how narratives from video games, movies, and literature construct a mythos around the "cowboy messiah," who protects his own while seeking to cleanse society. Wagner also highlights the relationship between Christian apocalyptic beliefs, American gun culture, and the glorification of a white male frontier identity, proposing alternative cultural myths that can reshape the conversation around guns in America.