The reading material that we had for this week actually helped me to understand the actions of Billy in The Left Handed Gun a lot better. I feel like, according to the movie, Billy definitely fit the “western social bandit tradition”. Billy is forced into the outlaw lifestyle after he goes after he shoots Brady and Morton.The only reason that Billy killed was to revenge Tunstall’s death. He is considered a threat by the authorities, but many of the citizens help him when he is in need and even invite him to social gatherings. He is only caught when he is betrayed by the reporter who became upset with him after Billy pushed him.
In the movie, like I’ve previously mentioned, Billy seems to be very boyish. Having him portrayed in this way makes him seem more like a normal person than a criminal. Also this could possibly help with the audience’s sympathy for Billy and it makes him seem more innocent.
The thin line between vigilantes and bandits was also shown in this movie. Towards the beginning of the movie, you can see how the people gathered about killing Tunstall and they ambushed him and fired several shots at him. They also tried to do this for Billy the Kid, but they were unsuccessful.
Billy did not have the family support that other gang members had. He did, however, have certain families that he knew would help nurse him back to health and warn him of any possible danger. Also as shown in the movie, most of Billy’s supporters lived in more rural areas.
In the movie, there also some great signs of masculinity shown. Billy was able to protect himself, which was one of the most valuable traits when it came to masculinity. Billy also committed his crimes geared more towards personal things than political. The crimes that he committed was because he was revenging Tunstall’s death.
Also, according to White, “outlaw stories go out of their way to detach the social bandit from the ordinary criminal.” I would say that this is true in Billy’s case. Most of the time when you hear about Billy, you only hear about how he killed and the suggested number of people that he killed. Knowing that he killed for revenge makes him seem more like a bandit,which he was, than the criminal that he comes off as. Also like in other western movies, the good qualities of Billy is highlighted like his honor and loyalty, but his crimes are seen as distasteful, especially when he is shot at the end of the movie.