The sidekick-alpha male relationship between Doc Holliday and Wyatt Earp is unlike any other witnessed. In The Searches, the relationship of Ethan Edwards and Martin Pawley is clearly dominated by Ethan in the alpha male cowboy role, and Martin merely follows him along on the search. Both age and experience prevent Martin from ever elevating to Edwards’s level of power, which places the control in Edwards’s hands, not Martins. On the contrary, Doc Holliday and Wyatt Earp have no power dynamic whatsoever in the start of the film; Doc Holliday is a skilled gambler and despised killer, whereas Wyatt Earp is a respectable marshal, neither having any obligation to one another. The sidekick-alpha male relationship only develops once Wyatt saves Doc’s life, a deed which Doc, as a gambler, swears he will return to Wyatt.
In Gunfight at OK Corral, Doc Holliday plays the role of another alpha male who dedicates the span of the film to paying Marshal Wyatt back for saving his life. What separates him from being merely the “other,” is that Doc is allotted his own personal storyline involving Kate and his desire to kill Ringo, and is not just involved as a character in the story revolving around Wyatt. Furthermore, Doc exhibits many of the characteristics of an alpha male and shows that he has no reliance on Wyatt for anything, other than to stay true to his word to repay his debt to him. Doc Holliday is extremely skilled with a gun, has a very ambiguous set of morals, and distances himself from Kate, refusing to admit he needs her until he is on his deathbed. All of these traits verify Doc as an alpha male, and he corroborates this fact that he is an equal to Wyatt, not an “other,” when he says “both of us live with a gun, the only difference is that badge.” Overall, the only thing that causes Doc to become a sidekick to Wyatt is his initial promise to repay the favor Wyatt did for him, since they are men of equal stature, for had this not occurred, Doc would not have been depicted as a character in Wyatt’s story.
The sidekick-alpha male relationship between Doc Holliday and Wyatt Earp is unlike any other witnessed. In The Searches, the relationship of Ethan Edwards and Martin Pawley is clearly dominated by Ethan in the alpha male cowboy role, and Martin merely follows him along on the search. Both age and experience prevent Martin from ever elevating to Edwards’s level of power, which places the control in Edwards’s hands, not Martins. On the contrary, Doc Holliday and Wyatt Earp have no power dynamic whatsoever in the start of the film; Doc Holliday is a skilled gambler and despised killer, whereas Wyatt Earp is a respectable marshal, neither having any obligation to one another. The sidekick-alpha male relationship only develops once Wyatt saves Doc’s life, a deed which Doc, as a gambler, swears he will return to Wyatt.
ReplyDeleteIn Gunfight at OK Corral, Doc Holliday plays the role of another alpha male who dedicates the span of the film to paying Marshal Wyatt back for saving his life. What separates him from being merely the “other,” is that Doc is allotted his own personal storyline involving Kate and his desire to kill Ringo, and is not just involved as a character in the story revolving around Wyatt. Furthermore, Doc exhibits many of the characteristics of an alpha male and shows that he has no reliance on Wyatt for anything, other than to stay true to his word to repay his debt to him. Doc Holliday is extremely skilled with a gun, has a very ambiguous set of morals, and distances himself from Kate, refusing to admit he needs her until he is on his deathbed. All of these traits verify Doc as an alpha male, and he corroborates this fact that he is an equal to Wyatt, not an “other,” when he says “both of us live with a gun, the only difference is that badge.” Overall, the only thing that causes Doc to become a sidekick to Wyatt is his initial promise to repay the favor Wyatt did for him, since they are men of equal stature, for had this not occurred, Doc would not have been depicted as a character in Wyatt’s story.