Modern day cowboys

Today many of the movies, TV shows, video games, and books have had an underlying influence from the traditional western and cowboy style films. I Immediately thought of the film the Book of Eli which gives a modern spin on the classic western. It takes place in a post apocalyptic world where a war has left the world in ruins with very few lives remaining. Eli must take matters into his own hands and save humanity by traveling only with a machete, pistol, and the last bible on earth. He has been walking for 30 years trying to find a safe place where its message can be shared. This is to give people something to believe in because life isn't really great in the post apocalyptic world.  He finds a town which seems to be well established and decides to stay there before he continues his journey but is faced with a power hungry dictator who has declared himself as the mayor of the town. The mayor is searching for the bible and figures out Eli has it but the mayor wants it for himself. I do not want to spoil the movie but things get complicated for Eli and who knows if he will ever make it to his destination. 

The main character Eli shows very familiar aspects to a cowboy-esque type of character. In the beginning scenes he is shown as this lone warrior machete wielding badass who will let nothing stop him from reaching his goal. It just reminds me of a cowboy riding through towns on his horse weilding a pistol and a whip defeating all the bad guys. The protagonist in this movie being the mayor shows comparison to a classic western leader such as mayor or sheriff. He shows disregard for the people and will do things that only help himself. Throughout this Eli and the mayor deal with a power struggle as the townspeople start to realize how corrupt the mayor is and that Eli is just trying to help them. 

The video has been deleted so I am unable to watch it to pull out specific points. The overall character attributes show an influence of the western genre as well as the physical setting. The setting takes place in a world that has been left in ruins but is slowly rebuilding itself, there is nothing but dried out land for miles with the exception of these ramshackle settlements. These settlements are deteriorating not from the war but from the corrupt leaders of the town. This is very similar to what you would see in a traditional western with very few towns with corrupt leaders and nothing but dried out land. Eli is similar to a cowboy in the sense that he is this self-sufficient badass who just wants to bring order to the community.