In order to understand the documentary itself, one must first get familiar with the main protagonist, Josh Saunders. Appearing online under the name KingCobraJFS, his sobriquet gives us his two defining traits: his gothic aesthetic and his love for cobras. In the documentary, he comes across as eccentric and deviant, however humorous and even somewhat charming. He aspires to be a musician, and his dream abode is a kickass gothic mansion nestled in the woods. He's got big aspirations, however his lifestyle and social circle seem to contradict them. As we'll see, his hometown, Casper, Wyoming, appears to be a rather bleak place, with its inhabitants reflecting the town's doldrums-esque atmosphere and community.

 

The documentary starts off with a homeless man giving his praise for the legendary Josh Saunders. The vagrant claims to have done three tours in Iraq, however his rotund figure and lack of personal tales beg the differ. After he gives us his appraisal, we follow the Cobra King himself into a liquor store, and see him pick out a bottle of jagermeister and a carton of cigarettes. As he drinks outside with his destitute friend, the man of stolen valor makes a bold statement. "You call that art? Sleeping behind a building, and waking up, with no money, that's art". He goes on to make threatening insults to the cameraman. On a personal note, perhaps if you're fried to the cerebellum on research chemicals then maybe being the town drunkard can seem like an artistic endeavor. However, anyone below 0.08% on the breathalyzer test knows that living such a lifestyle is called being a fuck-up. Not saying there's nothing romantic with the idea of taking on the world without shelter and material possessions, however there's definitely nothing beautiful about being intoxicated to the point where you're making half-witted insults at someone you don't know.

 

From there, we follow Josh from a brisk walk across town to the local mall, where we meet two of his pals, both of which are arguably middle to early high school age. They rap, beatbox, and take off their shirts all within sight of the public eye. Note that through their foul language, inappropriate discussion and their drug-themed beats, their personality seems to strongly reflect that of Josh's.

 

Afterwards, Josh is interviewed at a local park at duskfall. This is where it gets interesting, because the audience is given the opportunity to learn about the Cobra King himself. Through (possibly fabricated) anecdotes and opinions, we learn more about his life. From there, we're taken to a parking lot, a retail store, and an interview with a supermarket worker who knows a necrophiliac, all in the dark shroud of nighttime. A notable feature of these scenes is when Josh shows the camera a lewd-looking tattoo on his arm, which is actually comprised of two symbols which he believes are ideas that are intertwined with each other. He bases his own personal religion off of this, and it's an essential piece of Cobra lore. To tell the truth, this is what I believe differentiates Josh from the rest of his acquaintances. He's got some sense of faith, and although it doesn't necessarily provide a sense of purpose it gives some meaning to his life.

 

After his brief sermon, Josh goes on to explain his backstory and how his parents found out he was diagnosed with Asperger's. The documentary transitions to the next day, where we see Josh back at his grind. He rides his bike around town, browses a halloween shop, meets up with the stolen-valor vagrant, and converses with a drug dealer. Afterwards, he tops the afternoon off with his routine activity, smoking and drinking outside the local supermarket. This time, however, he's accompanied by a different friend, who's on probation for the next nineteen days. From there on, we're led to a brief nighttime stroll, a phonecall with his girlfriend, and then the final chapter of the documentary.

 

The camera man follows Josh as they walk along a railroad track. "Just another day in Casper.", he says as he lights a cigarette. He talks about how he met his girlfriend at Jobcorps and their erotic love escapades throughout the institution, where he eventually got kicked out after being caught smoking marijuana. After a few minutes of free-style rap, we're given the final scene: Josh's phallic-shaped emblem made of fire burning in the snow. From there on, the documentary ends.

 

So what makes this documentary so special? To start, it's overall aesthetic and musical score seem to capture his life perfectly. The crescendo-less score, combined with the ever-stretching landscapes of Casper add to the aimlessness of Josh's lifestyle. The grayed, washed-out coloration of the documentary allows the audience to grasp how bleak of a cesspool his town actually is. While the film's art style is truly something to behold, it doesn't overshadow the grim theme of it all.

 

It's safe to say that judging by his daily behaviors and social circle, Josh's life has reached a point of stagnation. Being kept at rock bottom by his acquaintances, Josh's chances of doing something with himself seem anything but likely. As a matter of fact, his current videos on his youtube channel have proven this to be true. Nothing has changed with Josh, except for the fact that he's broken up with his girlfriend and he talks considerably slower, most likely due to excessive drinking and drug use throughout the years. 

 

This documentary sticks with me. As someone who's fresh out of high school and is finding out his path in life, I've seen too many of my peers stray off the road to success and fall into hedonistic purgatory, and this documentary encapsulates it perfectly. Gothic King Cobra is what happens to you when you fail out of high school, never get a job or stay in community college for too long. It shows us how substances can give us the feeling that we're going somewhere while keeping us in the same spot; a lesson I learned the hard way over the summer. Most of all, it shows us that we're responsible for our own destiny and character, which I believe is what a lot of people, including myself don't realize into reality hits us. It's a grim reminder that if we don't forge a purpose for ourselves as well as recognize our flaws, a meaningless, lethargic life is what we'll get.