Studio 360 With Kurt Andersen

This was the American spectacle that colonized our dreams. He was the most famous American in the world — a showman and spin artist who parlayed a buffalo-hunting gig into an entertainment empire. William F. Cody’s stage show presented a new creation myth for America, bringing cowboys, Indians, settlers, and sharpshooters to audiences who had only read about the West in dime novels. He offered Indians a life off the reservation — reenacting their own defeats. “Deadwood” producer David Milch explains why the myth of the West still resonates; a Sioux actor at a Paris theme park loves playing Sitting Bull; and a financial executive impersonates Buffalo Bill, with his wife as Annie Oakley. (Originally aired November 5, 2010) Bonus Track: Indian or Native American?   Artist and scholar Arthur Amiotte offers his opinion on the names given to — and chosen by — his people.   Video: "Buffalo Bill's Wild West"   There's not much video of Buffalo Bill; William Cody couldn't quite figure out how to adapt his "Wild