I'd like to capture the spirit of the phrase "the Wild Wild West" in one word, if possible. For instance "As I stepped back outside, I was shocked to see everything change to --a scene much like the Wild Wild West---".
I would like to capture the feeling of chaos or frenzy, violence or danger, and lawlessness. What would you suggest?
From dictionary.com...
bedlam - a scene or state of wild uproar and confusion.
(Archaic, an insane asylum or madhouse.)
A word that is sometimes associated with the wild, wild west is "untamed" since historically, the far western regions of the continental United States were the last to settle down and become a civilized society. It took time, people and resources to build up the frontier with cities, citizenry and infrastructure, so initially, it was a combination of intrepid adventurers and even people seeking to live in a place with fewer laws and societal constraints that helped create the reputation of the "wild, wild west".
"The Untamed West" is a book title of three short novels written by the most iconic names in western lore: Zane Gray, Max Brand and Louis L'Amour
I think the word you want is "frontier. Placing it into your example sentence, "As I stepped back outside, I was shocked to see everything change to a frontier scene--one much like the Wild Wild West---"
As I stepped back outside, I was shocked to see a world descended into anarchy.
Anarchy literally means without government, and thus is a good match for the "lawlessness" portion of your request, and additionally has connotations of chaos, violence and danger.
Consider a Dodge City shootout. Dodge City, KS is “famous in American culture for its history as a wild frontier town of the Old West” [wikipedia]. In the modern age, this image was reinforced by the 1939 film Dodge City. A review of that film at imdb.com says it inspired Mel Brook’s ‘Blazing Saddles’; you might also consider the phrase a Blazing Saddles shootout if that better fits your desired tone.
