The man who loved the West helped destroy it. Oops.
An illiterate mountain man, Kit Carson was fluent in Spanish and five Indian languages; he twice married Native American women, yet led a brutal war against the Navajo. When the West was a mystery to most Americans, Carson mastered it, and his expertise made him not only famous, but also sought after. Eventually, by helping to spur a migration that would change the West forever, he unwittingly became an agent in the destruction of the life he loved.
Direction
Ives treats Carson as tragedy, not hero.
Writing
Narration lets contradictions breathe, no easy answers.
Production
Stunning Western landscapes that feel like eulogies.
Director
Stephen Ives
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Carson's 19th-century dime novel fame made him a celebrity before 'celebrity' existed—Americans bought his image before knowing his crimes.
Director Stephen Ives spent years on this; his father David McCullough narrated Ken Burns docs, making this a dynasty of American guilt-tripping.
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