In the film Gunfight at the OK Corral there are two men, Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday, who form an alliance and work along side each other. But, unlike other Westerns, there is not a classic alpha male/sidekick relationship between them. This is because both men exhibit traits of the alpha male cowboy and rely on each other in different situations. Wyatt Earp is on a mission to seek justice, which is an alpha male trait, but does so as a law-enforcing Marshall. In the Beginning of the film, Doc Holliday is seen as a disrespectful, gambler and murderer, making him seem more like a villain than anything else, but shows this his moral ambiguity. After Earp saves Holliday from getting lynched, Holliday begins to make a change to be a better man. Holliday follows Earp to Dodge City and after a bank is robbed, becomes a deputy to Earp as repayment for saving his life. He protects Earp's life when they are camping out, and also in the gunfight at the OK corral at the end of the movie, with his excellent marksmanship. In a classic Western, the alpha male does not need help from anyone when it comes to protecting himself because he has the fastest shot and most skill. But, Earp has an influence on Holliday when he doesn’t shoot Ringo for stealing Kate, whereas without Earp's influence I don’t think he would have hesitated. This shows that Earp does have a certain power over Holliday, but not enough for him to be labeled as a "sidekick".
In this film, Doc Holliday is not a static sidekick character because he is far too skillful and is treated as an equal to Earp when they are in conflict. In The Searchers, Martin refuses to leave Edwards' side and shares the common goal of finding Debbie. But, Martin always does what Edwards tells him to do because he knows Edwards is his superior. Edwards is the strong alpha male cowboy and Martin fills the role as the weaker, less important sidekick who Edwards does not even feel he needs. In the Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Pompey plays the same type of role to Tom Doniphon. Pompey is there for support to do what Doniphon asks.
In the film Gunfight at the OK Corral there are two men, Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday, who form an alliance and work alongside each other. But, unlike other Westerns, there is not a classic alpha male/sidekick relationship between them. This is because both men exhibit traits of the alpha male cowboy and rely on each other in different situations. Wyatt Earp is on a mission to seek justice, which is an alpha male trait, but does so as a law-enforcing Marshall. In the Beginning of the film, Doc Holliday is seen as a disrespectful, gambler and murderer, making him seem more like a villain than anything else, but shows this his moral ambiguity.After Earp saves Holliday from getting lynched, Holliday begins to make a change to be a better man. Holliday follows Earp to Dodge City and after a bank is robbed, becomes a deputy to Earp as repayment for saving his life. He protects Earp's life when they are camping out, and also in the gunfight at the OK corral at the end of the movie, with his excellent marksmanship. In a classic Western, the alpha male does not need help from anyone when it comes to protecting himself because he has the fastest shot and is the most skillful. But, Earp has an influence on Holliday when he doesn’t shoot Ringo for stealing Kate, whereas without Earp's influence I don’t think he would have hesitated. This shows that Earp does have a certain power over Holliday, but not enough for him to be labeled as a "sidekick".
ReplyDeleteIn this film, Doc Holliday is not a static sidekick character because he is far too skillful and is treated as an equal to Earp when they are in conflict. In The Searchers, Martin refuses to leave Edwards' side and shares the common goal of finding Debbie. But, Martin always does what Edwards tells him to do because he knows Edwards is his superior. Edwards is the strong alpha male cowboy and Martin fills the role as the weaker, less important sidekick who Edwards does not even feel he needs. In the Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Pompey plays the same type of role to Tom Doniphon. Pompey is there for support to do what Doniphon asks. Doc Holliday is free to do what he wants, but he choses to help Earp and become his friend. Earp does not force Holliday to help him, and Holliday does not have a necessary allegiance to him. As opposed to Martin and Pompey, Holliday is a strong character with alpha male characteristics.