Have the honor today of posting a guest post from reader Daniel F. Mason. Daniel sent me an interesting email talking about Deliverance and the lessons to be learned from it. I asked Daniel if he’d mind writing an article and he did. Here Daniel outlines what makes Lewis Medlock the ultimate alpha male. Enjoy!
Burt Reynolds may have passed on in 2018, but a film character he embodied will live on – forever … Lewis Medlock. Although legendary for it’s horrific male on male rape scene, “Deliverance” gave men a look at – themselves. Everyday yuppies ( before the phrase was coined ) who went canoeing rather than golfing one summer weekend. Man stuff, drinking, buddying, jockeying, getting in some guy-time, away from the women.
However, for unknowingly what was going to happen upon them, only one was ready for that battle … Lewis. Adventurous, muscular in his wet-vest, aware/deep, cocksure of himself, Lewis was the Alpha-male of the group, for sure. Readers of Charles’ website are familiar of the characteristics inherent in an alpha. I’d like to point out some of those traits that Lewis exemplified.
Assertiveness & Persistence
His alpha assuredness is evident early on when arriving upstream in the deep Appalachian hills, Lewis seeks out locals to drive the groups’ cars down to Aintry town. The mechanic asks Lewis “what the hell you wanna go f**k around with that river for?” Lewis’ response is “because it’s there.” The mechanic chimes in … “you get in there and can’t git out you gonna wish it wadn’t.”
This scares his good friend Ed ( Jon Voight ) who tells Lewis “let’s go back to town and play golf.” Lewis bypasses Ed and tells the mechanic he’ll give him $30 for the job, the local wants to take him for $50. Not afraid to stand his ground, Lewis responds “fifty my ass.” Sensing Lewis’ conviction and maybe his ‘crazy’, the local drops his price to $40.
Passionate & Humble
Next scene we get a glimpse at his adventurous rush, when driving like a nut-job to find the river with Ed, Lewis hearing but not yet seeing the river says “sometimes you got to lose yourself to find anything.” Lewis’ passion pushes/leads his friends to go beyond their own physical and psychological fences.
They clear their first set of rapids. Bobby ( Ned Beatty, who Lewis disdains for being a “chubby boy” ) now feeling the rush says “we beat that, didn’t we?” Lewis lighting up a cigar responds reverently “you don’t beat it, you don’t beat this river.”
Strength & Mastery
Lewis’ physical prowess with a bow and arrow is displayed when we see him shoot a fish in the river – for his supper. It’s during this scene where Lewis’ ‘physical take’ on mankind becomes evident when he says that “machines are gonna fail and the systems gonna fail. Then survival, who has the ability to survive. That’s the game, survival.”
Courage & Decisiveness
Next day down river, Ed and Bobby are accosted by two ‘mountain men’. Sensing weakness in the soft-physique Bobby as well as an uppity tone towards the Appalachian folk, one of the locals forces him to make debasing hog noises as he is sodomized – whilst Ed is tied to a tree with a gun held on him by the other woodsman. Lewis and Drew ( Ronnie Cox ) show up on the river bank. Ed spots Lewis with arrow drawn back in his bow. Lewis has to make a life alterating decision to save his friends and thereby, possibly take a life … and he does(!) with a dead center shot thru the rapists’ heart!
Leadership & Persuasiveness
With a dead body to deal with, Lewis and Drew get into a vehement disagreement about what to do with it? Pressed by Drew as to his intentions to get rid of the corpse, a manic-eyed Lewis exclaims ” anywhere, everywhere, nowhere.” Drew insists “it’s a matter of the law!” Lewis’ out-of-the-box response is “the law, what law? Where’s the law Drew, huh?”
True viewpoint – standing in the middle of the woods. With his convicting leadership sensing a victory, Lewis asks Drew “you believe in democracy don’t ya?” Drew responds “yes I do.” “Then we’ll take a vote, and ( eyeballing Drew ) I’ll stand by it and so will you!” Ed and Bobby handily vote with Lewis to bury the body.
Mentor
After the party get rid of the corpse, they hightail-it down the river. Drew physically looks at odds with the others decision ( as if he’s beyond his moral border ). He falls in the water ( suicide or shot? ), one canoe shreds against rocks and the party is tossed into the rapids. Drew is presumed drowned and Lewis suffers a devastating compound femur fracture.
Ed demands an answer from Lewis “you’re the guy with the answers, what the hell do we do now?” Lewis grabs Ed by the collar and tells him “now you get to play the game.” Ed exclaims “you’re right, Lewis you’re right!” Lewis’ world view has come crashing down upon them! Ed and Bobby – now – must alpha up!
Becoming Alpha
With Lewis mostly unconscious, Ed becomes the hunter and climbs the canyon wall, killing the other mountain man with his bow and arrow. Together, he and Bobby ( in tandem beta ), dispose of that body, sadly along with Drew’s – later down stream. Finally, contracting an alibi to throw-off the sheriff’s inquiry ( Bobby stepping-up here, while Ed gets sutured up at the hospital ).
If you’re searching for a ‘more realistic’ alpha-male archetype instead of the current ‘Hollywood superhero fantasy milieu’, have a look ( or another ) at “Deliverance”.
If any reader has a topic they’d like to write about just send me an email and I’d be more than happy to post it up.
