Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/519957
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 31 MAY 2015 Opinion 24 I 've always been a sucker for old Westerns. Can't think why, really. It's the sort of universe I probably wouldn't last a day in myself. Not quick enough on the draw, you see. And those swinging saloon doors… just bound to come swinging right back in your face. Nah: much safer to live in a society where the rule of law actually exists, if you ask me. Especially when it is implemented with even-handed justice by a dependable and professional police force… Shame, really, that no such place actually exists. But back to those old Westerns. I think we can all agree they have left a certain indelible imprint on the Maltese psyche. Ask any Maltese male over 50 to name the archetypal cinematic embodiment of 'toughness' and 'masculine self- sufficiency', and their answer will not be Chuck Norris. No, not Bruce Willis either (though it might be Vince Bongailas). Most likely, it would be John Wayne. Slightly younger generations might name Clint Eastwood instead – or maybe Charles Bronson, if they ever watched Once Upon A Time In the West. But long before the days of Rambo and Rocky and Arnie and Stephen Segal, it was the lone taciturn gunslinger from the Old West who lorded over the box office. He it was who compounded the (typically male) aspirations of entire generations brought up on that timeless maxim: 'A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do…' So deeply ingrained is this connection that we even use the word 'cowboy' – here and there varied to 'kye-boy' – as a by-word for any behaviour that calls to mind the lawlessness of the Old West. Anything from a motorist muscling his way through a busy traffic intersection, to a construction mogul using his weight to bludgeon all legal impediments aside. 'Such cowboys,' we mutter with distaste. 'We really have become the Wild West…' This is, of course, terribly unfair on the real cowboys, who were actually the good guys in nearly all the early Westerns. Leaving aside that many of these films employed a straight 'good versus evil' ethos anyway – 'cowboys and injuns', leaving us in no doubt where our moral compass should be oriented – even within the more complex later examples, the word 'cowboy' was always aligned with the right side of the law. Consider the classic iconic movies of the genre. John Ford's 'The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance', for instance. A young idealistic lawyer (James Stewart) travels to a remote town in the lawless West: to be accosted, beaten and robbed by the baddie in the movie title (played by Lee Marvin). This hardens his resolve to instil law and order in the community; but he can't do that without the aid of a tough old retired gunslinger (John Wayne) who now wants to settle down to a quiet life on a farm. Lawless though the town is, the demarcations are nonetheless clear. The 'cowboys' in this context are the ones who work peacefully raising cattle on their ranch; they would benefit the most from the reliable justice system embodied by Stewart. Bandits like Liberty Valance, on the other hand, thrive on lawlessness. And it is in fact the 'baddie' category of Western stereotype – the cattle rustlers, the bandits, the gangs of bank robbers and the lone alcoholic hired guns – that would fit the 'cowboy' label we use today. There are admittedly exceptions. In 'Tombstone' – and for that matter all of the dozens of films based on the shootout at the OK Corral – 'the Cowboys' is actually the name of an organised gang of criminals against whom Wyatt Earp (Kurt Russell) unleashes divine retribution. ("Tell 'em I'm coming, and hell's coming with me…", etc.) But in any case: what is it, exactly, that makes (or made) this genre contribute directly not only to our mind-set, but also to our language? There is probably more than one answer, but my guess would be that part of the attraction concerns an unspoken yearning for that 'even-handed justice' I mentioned earlier. Even if we have somehow mistaken the 'cowboys' for the villains of the piece, our constant invocation of John Wayne's ghost strikes me as a stark reminder that – just like the Old West – our ability to depend on the law for protection is to say the least shaky. Each time we darkly mutter something about 'cowboys' in this country, the animosity will not be directed merely at that restaurant which blocked the pavement with unlicensed tables and chairs… or the well-connected developer who got his illegal, ODZ villa extension approved by MEPA. It will also be targeted at all the institutions that are supposed to counter such practices, but which very often seem in cahoots with them. Just like so many old Westerns, where the Sheriff 's office often doubles up as an extension of the criminal racketeers who keep the forces of law and order in fee. All things considered, then, it is hardly surprising that it had to be a real Old Western gun- slinging cowboy (albeit missing his shooting hand) to forcefully remind us of our subliminal connection to the shady underworld of Western law and order. Not sure if he had a name – like Eastwood's character in 'High Plains Drifter', he was more of a mysterious presence working his quiet magic in the background – but until this week he was always there, standing forlornly at the corner of Sliema Road in Gzira. Lonesome Cowboy Bill, I called him, in honour of the Velvet Underground track that was probably never played in the local saloon. Anyway: by now you will have heard of his ignominious fate. The town of Gzira, it seems, just wasn't big enough to contain both Lonesome Cowboy Bill and the hidden forces that had amassed against him. And in true Western fashion, a posse of some 10 policemen, accompanied by Malta Tourism Authority inspectors, descended guns blazing on Gzira this week to have him forcibly removed. Lonesome Cowboy Bill was an outlaw, you see. He didn't have a permit to be there. Yet like many 'outlaws' from the Western canon – John Wayne's character in 'Stagecoach' springs to mind – he was arguably the only one in the entire movie not to ever behave in any illegal or reprehensible way. Sure, he may not have singlehandedly foiled a raid by Geronimo's Apache, while ensuring safe delivery of a precious Wells Fargo cargo… but he sure as heck didn't stick up the local bank, either. Like (nearly) all cowboys, Bill was one of the good guys. So in a world where the only law is the law of whom you know at the local Sheriff 's office, he obviously never stood a chance. Right, that's it. I'm buying the rights to the movie. It's the perfect opening to a classic Western: not so much because I can easily see Bill, the one- handed gunslinger, played by Joacquim Phoenix… but because the entire plot immediately The Ballad of Lonesome C Raphael Vassallo European Union - European Structural and Investment Funds Operational Programme II – Cohesion Policy 2014 – 2020 Investing in human capital to create more opportunities and promote the well being of society 3URMHFWPD\EHFRQVLGHUHGIRUSDUW¿QDQFLQJE\WKH(XURSHDQ8QLRQ European Social Fund (ESF) &R¿QDQFLQJUDWH(8)XQGV1DWLRQDO)XQGV The REACH HIGH Scholars Programme Scheme aims to support Post-Doctoral research programmes which are forming an increasingly important part of the country's economic and social agenda. Malta aims to strengthen the research performance, through investment in Post-Doctoral research programmes to increase the human capital supply that can eectively contribute towards R&I investment. The research project is expected to contribute towards Malta's economic, social environmental and cultural development as well as to maximise the potential of individuals and to provide new career perspectives. If you are eligible, you may apply to follow a Post-Doctoral Research Programme. The REACH HIGH Scholars Programme is administered by the Scholarships Unit – Programme Implementation Directorate Closing date of applications: 19 June 2015 noon (local time) FURTHER YOUR RESEARCH! APPLICATIONS FOR POST-DOC RESEARCH PROGRAMMES ARE NOW OPEN Lonesome Cowboy Bill – a posse of some 10 policemen, accompanied by Malta Tourism Authority inspectors, descended guns blazing on Gzira this week to have him forcibly removed