Johnny Guitar and Two Mules for Sister Sara

Tompkins explains, “men are superior to women” which both of the two movies we watched this week, Johnny Guitar and Two Mules for Sister Sara go against with their main characters being women (Tompkins 73). In Johnny Guitar, the alpha male is Johnny Guitar, but he does not quite act like the alpha male until later in the movie. One of the main characters is Vienna, the female saloon owner who acts much like an alpha cowboy who is introduced standing on a balcony above the men in her saloon, which shows her alpha complex right off the bat. Johnny is meant to protect Vienna, as more issues are created between her and her enemy, Emma Small and the men traveling with her. Vienna and Emma have a lot of similarities including being strong willed, masculine, and the leader/commander of their respective groups. Emma convinces the townsfolk and the men in her pack that Vienna has robbed a bank (which she did not) and therefore everybody is after Vienna. Emma’s command over so many people is unlike the normal qualities and tendencies of a woman in the west. Every word that comes out of Emma’s mouth is strong and all the men follow. Vienna is the same way, Johnny Guitar listens to what Vienna says, for example when she wants to go to the bank even though it is not what he wants to do, they still go. Both Emma and especially Vienna create issues for the Alpha male cowboy, including when Vienna is about to be hanged by Emma and her posse so Johnny must step in and save Vienna. Both of the woman, although the “other,” do not act as though they are the “other.” They both have intense alpha personalities and create different issues for the men following them. Another interesting point is how Johnny is meant to protect Vienna, but as soon as she picks up a gun it is pretty obvious that she does not need protection. The only time that she needs his help is when he saves her, which brings in his alpha male qualities.
The two main characters in Two Mules for Sister Sara are Hogan (the alpha male) and Sister Sara. Sister Sara’s first identity, a nun, is much more appropriate (characteristically) for a woman to be in a western, according to the way Tompkins describes women. She denies whiskey and acts very innocent throughout their journey and both respectful and inferior to Hogan, the alpha male. As the movie progresses and we learn her real identity, a prostitute, her character traits stray further from the way women are commonly regarded in westerns. As a prostitute, not only is Sister Sara making her own money and not relying on a man, but she also smokes cigars and drinks whiskey frequently. Hogan, the alpha male cowboy, has a hard time acting like a true alpha male because he must deal with Sister Sara. Hogan is fond of Sara, and talks frequently to her, straying far from how Tompkins describes the alpha male, silent. When Hogan finds out about the whore house and Sister Sara not being a nun, he yells at Sister Sara saying that she played him. He feels betrayed, and it is not very often that we see an alpha male be mislead by a woman.