Have Gun Will Travel?

Dead for a Dollar (2022)
Director: Walter Hill

These days, one of the things that parents fear when they drop their kids at school is not that they fall or get hurt but that a mad kid might go on a shooting spree with a semiautomatic gun. 

The debate on gun control will appear occasionally after every massive shooting, which is quite often; it dies as quickly as it escalates. Arguments like 'guns don't kill people, people do!' are not unheard of. Using archaic laws at a time when white men tamed the lawless Wild West, they justified their fights to bear arms for defence. Of course, it was for offence when the leaders of the initial thirteen states decided to expand their hegemony westwards. 

The Second Amendment of the Constitution support gun possession for defence but not with assault rifles and M16s. Repeated studies worldwide, including experiences in the UK and Australia, have unequivocally shown tight gun laws and stringent control reduce gun violence. In the USA, these results are not reproducible as different states advocate different levels of control. A flea market selling guns, rifles and assault weapons in a supermarket is accepted as the norm in some states. Going to a gun fair is more like a social event. Free movement between states makes any legislation laughable. The latest figure for gun ownership in the UK is 5.03 guns per 100 people compared to 120 guns for 100 Americans! 

The political will is, of course, wanting. When gun lobbyists are on the payrolls of most Presidential candidates, who wants to eat the hands that feed them?

Now, another idea has been put forward on why everyone, including the bench, is dragging their feet in putting a full stop to this tragedy. After growing up, generations after generations, with a staple diet of a good Western as a wholesome evening entertainment, Americans have been hardwired to perceive gun possession as a birthright. The fastest draw has no reason to face the law as the showdown (as in OK Corral) was fair and square, facing man to man. 

Imagine constantly being fed with the potpourri of strong, tall White men enforcing the realm of the white men's law in the land they infiltrated and justifying it with gunpowder. 'Gunsmoke', 'High Chapparal', 'The Virginian', 'Rawhide' and 'The Rifle Man' all went on for umpteenth seasons and are still viewed on dedicated Western channels and YouTube. The premise of most stories is that white men march west for a better life for their families. Their noble intention is marred with vicious savages who are hell-bent on causing misery. It does not matter that the natives were merely defending their abodes and way of life. The barrel of the gun is a justified manner to mete out justice. There is no moral ambiguity. Balance is preserved when the Cowboys get their way. 

Over the years, perhaps after watching the devastations that came with the Vietnam War, moviemakers started making fewer Western movies. 

This movie is different. A Western, no doubt, but trying to be as politically correct as possible. To counter the throb often associated with Westerns, the idea of machoism, white supremacy and male toxicity, the story has a strong female character; often, ladies are mere eye candy in this genre. Two African-American actors play essential roles. Cowboys are shown to have moral judgment, after all.

An 'honest' bounty hunter, Max Borlund, is hired by a wealthy businessman to apprehend his wife, who had allegedly eloped with an African-American army deserter. Riding with a black soldier, Max finally catches up with the pair in Mexico but deals with Mexican bandits. Meanwhile, one of Max's foes has a score to settle. It's a straightforward movie with a predictable storyline. 2.75/5.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.