Monday, March 28, 2011

Gunfight at the OK Corral

In Gunfight at the OK Corral, I do not believe the character of Doc Holliday can be described as an "other" in western film.  Although Doc plays the role of a side kick in the film, he expresses all the traits of an alpha male cowboy.  He, in turn, projects him not as a side-kick, but almost as a co-protagonist, but he much like women, ultimately fail in becoming the alpha.

Firstly, Doc comes with morally ambiguous backround.  He is a former gambler who has fallen on hardships in his life, and also he is terminally ill.  This may seem as evidence that he is the alpha male, but upon further examination one can see that his vices have control over him.  It is his imperfections and personality that control him, not his personality that controls the world around him.  He falls victim to drinking and gambling many a time, and he seem to be at the will of other things.  Doc has no maral code explaining the abusive nature with Kate, and his honor of lies within what he owes to people.  The only motivation he has is to repay his debts.  It is the only reason why he helps Wyatt.  Doc is also overly emotional and he does things out of impulse, which would never be the actions of an alpha mle cowboy.

Doc, overall, seems like a very brave yet imperfect person.  He preforms many brave and daring actions, almost to seem like he is a brave and fearless alpha male, but in the end he fails.  He is the one who is controlled by the world around him, he does not control the world.

No comments:

Post a Comment