"Doc
Hollywood" and the Comic Vision
"Doc
Hollywood" and the Comic Vision
Love is a major theme in the comic vision, and it is love that wins in the
end. A comic story also often takes place in the warmer months. The setting is in a
beautiful, peaceful place. Some sort of rebirth occurs in the story. The movie Doc
Hollywood is a comic story because it contains these points of the comic vision. Some
aspects of the comic vision contained in Doc Hollywood are similar to aspects of And
I Saw a New Heaven and a New Earth, The Steeple Jack, and All For a Lady
Fair.
One aspect of the comic vision is that there is a rebirth or renewal. This is true of And I Saw a New Heaven and a New Earth and Doc Hollywood. In And I Saw a New Heaven and a New Earth, "the first heaven and the first earth were passed away." In their place is a new heaven and earth, where there is no death, sorrow, crying, or pain. Instead of being places of evil, they are now fresh, innocent, and good. The universe has been reborn. There is also a rebirth for Doc Stone in Doc Hollywood. He leaves behind his old life as a big city doctor, and starts his new one as a small town family doctor. He gets a chance to live in the peaceful and friendly little town of Grady. He is reborn as a small town boy, which is what he was before leaving home to go to the city. Since there is a rebirth in And I Saw a New Heaven and a New Earth and Doc Hollywood, they share this aspect of the comic vision.
The Steeple Jack and Doc Hollywood both have a comic setting. The Steeple Jack takes place in a little town by the sea. Nature surrounds it, with trees, flowers, and seagulls. There is only one school-house, one church, and one store. It is a friendly little place where everyone is "at home". It can "not be dangerous to be living in a town like this, of simple people". This story also takes place in a warm time of the year. Doc Hollywood has its setting in the town of Grady at the end of summer. A lot of the residents of Grady are simple farmers. Most people there are friendly, and everyone knows everyone else. It is a peaceful place where people always feel at home. Nature is everywhere there, with trees on the main street, pigs for pets, and the squash festival. Since The Steeple Jack and Doc Hollywood take place in the warmer months in a peaceful town, they both have a comic setting.
Love is a theme in the comic vision. Love wins in the end in All For a Lady Fair and in Doc Hollywood. In All For a Lady Fair, the scholar proclaims his love for the lady. However, she claims that they cannot be together because "Father and all his kin...will not stop, from fear of sin...your death you'll win". When the scholar pleads his case one final time, the lady admits she was just testing him. "Father, mother and all (her) kin shall never thwart (her) will", so the two lovers can be together. Because of love in this lyric, the scholar's quest to be with his true love is fulfilled. Love is present in Doc Hollywood also. While he is in Grady, Doc Stone falls in love with Lou. He tries to make her see that he loves her, but she keeps rejecting him. Eventually, though, she admits that she loves him too. They end up together in the end. Love is the force that overpowers Doc Stone and makes him stay in Grady to be with Lou. Since love plays a major role in All For a Lady Fair and Doc Hollywood, they share this aspect of the comic vision.
Some aspects of the comic vision contained in Doc Hollywood are similar to aspects of And I Saw a New Heaven and a New Earth, The Steeple Jack, and All For a Lady Fair. Both And I Saw a New Heaven and a New Earth and Doc Hollywood have a rebirth. The Steeple Jack and Doc Hollywood have comic settings. All For a Lady Fair and Doc Hollywood contain the theme of love. Aspects of the comic vision are present in all of these stories.
Fall 1993
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