In the film Gunfight at the OK Corral, both Wyatt Earp and John “Doc” Holliday can be seen to carry the traits of the alpha male cowboy. These can include the skill of gun shooting and running solo. However, there can only be one true alpha male, and in this case that role falls to Wyatt Earp. Doc, while not an alpha male, is still a crucial character to the movie. He can be seen as Wyatt’s sidekick of sorts.
First off, Wyatt is physically strong where Doc is weak. Doc has an awful cough all through the film, leading to him almost dying towards the end, when Kate has to take care of him. Both men have love interests, but are without the women for almost all of the action. Their treatment of women also shows a lot about their character. Wyatt, though condescending to Laura, never lays an unwanted hand on her. They have a relationship built on love. Doc and Kate on the other hand, have a relationship of desperation and fear. Doc is abusive to her, both verbally and physically – throwing a knife close to her head, and shoving her. Not what comes to mind when one thinks of a fundamentally “good” man such as the alpha. This leads to the moral code that the alpha male has for himself. Wyatt is a good man, he tries to do the right thing by people and stand up for justice. He does not fall into the temptations of bribery or gambling. Wyatt follows duty ethics, and tries to bear the responsibilities of his town, his marshal position, and to his family (when helping out his brothers in sacrifice of his own happiness). Doc on the other hand, only really follows one duty – settling any debts he owes. This is his reasoning for sticking with Wyatt for so long and helping him out. Doc is at the mercy of his emotions, drinking, and gambling. He is known for killing, and outlawed from most towns.
Aside from not being an Alpha, Doc does show some extremely loyal feelings toward Wyatt. When Doc wanted to kill Ringo, he restrained himself because Wyatt had asked him not to. Though Doc does not take the initial stand, in many of the fighting scenes he comes in part way through to help Wyatt out (like at the dance). Finally, even though on his death bed, Doc still came out to help Wyatt in the big fight, though it was not his battle to win. Doc recognizes himself as in a lower position to Wyatt, saying to Kate, “You and I, we don’t matter”. Doc, while his own man and certainly not the typical sidekick, can be considered one in a broad sense of the word.
In the film Gunfight at the OK Corral, both Wyatt Earp and John “Doc” Holliday can be seen to carry the traits of the alpha male cowboy. These can include the skill of gun shooting and running solo. However, there can only be one true alpha male, and in this case that role falls to Wyatt Earp. Doc, while not an alpha male, is still a crucial character to the movie. He can be seen as something between Wyatt’s sidekick and an alpha figure.
ReplyDeleteFirst off, Wyatt is physically strong where Doc is weak. Doc has an awful cough all through the film, leading to him almost dying towards the end. He must rely upon Kate to take care of him. Both men have love interests, but are without women for almost all of the action. Their treatment of women also shows a lot about their character. Wyatt, though condescending to Laura, never lays an unwanted hand on her. They have a relationship built on love. Doc and Kate on the other hand, have a relationship that consists mainly of desperation and fear. Doc is abusive to her, both verbally and physically – throwing a knife close to her head, and shoving her. Not what comes to mind when one thinks of a fundamentally “good” man such as the alpha. This leads to the moral code that the alpha male has for himself. Wyatt is a good man; he tries to do the right thing by people and stand up for justice. He does not fall into the temptations of bribery or gambling. He follows duty ethics, and tries to bear the responsibilities of his town, his marshal position, and to his family (when helping out his brothers in sacrifice of his own happiness). Doc on the other hand, only really follows one obligation – settling any debts he owes. This is his reasoning for sticking with Wyatt for so long and helping him out. Doc is at the mercy of his emotions, drinking, and gambling. He is known for killing, and outlawed from most towns.
Aside from not being an Alpha, Doc does show some extremely loyal feelings toward Wyatt. When Doc wanted to kill Ringo, he restrained himself because Wyatt had asked him not to. Though Doc does not take the initial stand, in many of the fighting scenes he comes in part way through to help Wyatt out (like at the dance). Finally, even though on his death bed, Doc still came out to help Wyatt in the big fight, though it was not his battle to win. Doc recognizes himself as in a lower position to Wyatt, saying to Kate, “You and I, we don’t matter”. Doc, while his own man and certainly not the typical sidekick, can be considered something in the gray area between sidekick and alpha.