Gunfight BD

The film Gunfight at the O.K. Corral is dominated by two main heroes, Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday. While both of these characters are essential to the story line and both have hero-like qualities, this film still only have one alpha male cowboy who is Earp. Holliday cannot be labeled as the alpha male because he is in the film with Earp, thus making him Earp’s sidekick. He is overshadowed by Earp and his character as a man which makes him only a sidekick to Earp in the film.

Doc is a formidable adversary who is willing to resort to the gun first in almost all situations instead of talking a problem out. He knows how to use a gun proficiently and is even feared by most for his great skill using a gun and delivering fatal shots to his foes. These are qualities normally reserved for the alpha male cowboy in most westerns. However, Holliday also has many flaws and weaknesses that limit him from achieving this status. He is a sickly figure throughout the film which makes him at times to be incapacitated when he is needed the most. This evokes a sense of weakness to the viewer, something that is not generally a characteristic of the alpha male cowboy. Also, Holliday is consistently drunk throughout the film. While the alpha male cowboy is not absent to drinking, he is rarely shown incapacitated by the drink. There are very few times that the alpha male is shown to have a weakness at all.

If Doc Holliday were also considered an alpha male cowboy, then there would be less of a need for Wyatt Earp in his life as well Earp’s need for Holliday’s help. They both work off of each other because of the need for companionship; one that is only seen between the alpha male and his sidekick. They both feed off of each other and help to survive in the tough west.