The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is the name of a 2018 anthology western film by the Coen Brothers, Ethan, and Joel. Just one of the anthology tales follows the deeds, of cowboy anti-hero Buster Scruggs.
You just know this tale is going to get more and more ridiculous from the outset when you see this pristine white-clad cowboy, with a whimsical, if the quizzical smile on his face, who espouses his philosophies, plays his guitar, sings, and shoots faster and more accurately than anyone else... for now.
He rides a white horse called Dan, plays the guitar, and his spurs jangle as he fearlessly promotes himself as ‘The Misanthrope,’ on the ‘Dead or Alive,’ wanted posters. And what is a misanthrope you ask?
Well, a lengthy deliberation of my own resolved, among other analyses, allusions to an antisocial malevolent presence, a cynical, somewhat selfish egotist. In other words, despite appearances to the contrary, a sceptical soul, or maybe that should be sole, as they are destined to be lonely, and alone and who, from a murkier, more psychotic perspective, sees themselves as self-loving, but is in fact self-loathing.
It is a very clever story. Beautifully filmed, and because the ridiculousness of the character leads the viewer towards levity initially, it comes as a shock to find that... wow, the dude can... actually... shoot... and suspends disbelief as he finds unique ways to kill his antagonists saying, “Don’t let my white duds and pleasant demeanour fool you. I too have been known to violate the statutes of man... and not a few of the laws of the Almighty.” It’s well worth a look, and the dialogue, or maybe the series of soliloquies, are worth the price of the admission, alone. “I don't hate my fellow man,” he says to his horse, “even when he's tiresome and surly and tries to cheat at poker. I figure that's just human material, and he that finds in it cause for anger and dismay is just a fool for expecting better. Ain't that right, Dan?”
Having earlier caused the death of the (now) late Curly Joe, Scruggs shoots off all five digits of Curly Joe’s brother’s right hand, and when that ruffian tries to clumsily draw with his unharmed left hand, Scruggs exclaims, “Whoa, it sure looks like they made this fella, they forgot to put in the quit.”
Then, using a hand mirror, Scruggs turns his back on the miscreant and debates his last shot saying, “Let me see here. His heart would be on the left, but in the mirror, it'll be on the right, but we’re both facing the same way, and my gun is upside down, so... best not play too fancy,” and promptly shoots Curly Joe’s also now late brother... dead, muttering, “Hmm, that’s cause for reflection.”
In the end, though, Scruggs gets his comeuppance as a young feller, ‘The Kid’ comes to town, and in the resultant duel, Scruggs notes both that ‘The Kid’ appears unpunctured, and his own previously spotless white fedora, or cowboy hat, has a bullet hole in the front, and a bloody bullet hole at the back, and offers the opinion that, “that ain’t good news!” And it ain’t! You see, there is always someone younger, faster, better... eventually...
And where is this leading... One young East Londoner, with the wonderfully grandiose name of Bacari-Bronze O’Garro, calls himself Mizzy as he seeks to achieve internet stardom. Truth be told he’s already there... He’s making headlines... been to court, was fined, and got a two-year criminal behaviour order against his name which just add to his street cred, and why? He is a Tik-Tok intruder. As ridiculous as it sounds... He gets into other people’s cars, houses, and lives, films it, and posts it on the internet, all in search of cheap fame.
Oh, he’s becoming famous all right, or more correctly... notorious, because he prays on the elderly, the weak, and the white, so he can hide behind, and be protected by his ethnicity. He doesn’t confront his own community, probably because he knows he would get a cuff around the ear, and he doesn’t pick on big, strong fellas either... at heart, he’s no more than a misanthropic bully... and one day, his ‘Kid’ will come along, and his fame won’t seem worth it anymore.
There is only one way this ballad will end... the same way as Buster Scruggs... badly! And we will all reflect upon the failings of lifestyles bullied by the web’s ‘like’ culture.
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