In the Red River, we see the presence of two alpha male cowboys. Although these cowboy, Thomas Dunson and Matthew Garth, differ in their characters they both possess the innate qualities of he quintessential cowboy.
Dunson, the father figure in Red River is portrayed as the model cowboy who makes everything out of nothing for himself. He adopts Matthew after a wagon raid by the Indians kills the entire colony, including Matthew’s family and the women Dunson loved. During the beginning of the movie, Dunson develops a cattle farm in the middle of nowhere by himself with just a cow and a steer. As the years progressed the heard grew to over 10,000 head, which he brings to Missouri on a cattle drive. This is just one example of how Dunson depicts the cowboy within. Even though he works with others on his farm and through the cattle drive leading the men to Missouri he doesn’t know how to communicate with them. He prefers to work on his own and not deal with the issues and complaints that arise from the men. Another way Dunson’s traits coincide with the cowboy is when he kills the man that declares the land Dunson is on to be his employer’s. This is not the only time that Dunson kills throughout the movie; anytime anyone gets in his way he is quick to grab his gun. Dunson solves all of his problems with a gun or better known as western law. This influence of the western law is instilled into Matthew as he is growing up in the West.
Matthew, however, does not let his anger lead to killing other men without reason rather he is the one to jump in and protect those who Dunson targets. One of the key examples of Matthews presence as an alpha male cowboy in Red River is when he stands up to Dunson, taking the heard away from him and preceding to lead the drive to Missouri. This sense of no fear and ability to stand up to anyone started at a very young age, all the way back fourteen years earlier. In the first few scenes of meeting Matthew we see him draw his gun on Dunson, talk back to him, as well as fight for his brand to be on the cattle as well. This confidence is a natural trait of the cowboy- fearing no one.
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Are there two alpha male cowboys in Red River? Argue one way or the other and back up your
ReplyDeleteopinion with Tompkins and Matheson.
According to Jane Tompkins, the definition of the alpha male cowboy in the Western film genre is one who has “self-discipline, unswerving purpose” and the “capacity to continue in the face of total exhaustion and overwhelming odds” (Tompkins 12). The alpha cowboy is also typically a loner and has equal distance between virtue and vice. In the film Red River, there is no definitive alpha male cowboy that fulfills Tompkins description or Sue Matheson’s assessments. However, many believe that there is the presence of two alpha male cowboys, Dunson and Matthew- this is an oxymoron. There cannot be two alpha male cowboys in the same film. Although both cowboys are excellent marksmen, at one with the land, and are natural leaders, neither can control their emotions, nor handle the pressure of leading the cattle drive. In Matheson’s “The West Hardboiled,” she claims that the alpha male cowboy is the “fittest and strongest” of all men in the film. In this film, the two protagonists vacillate between who fulfills this role (Matheson 891). The mere fact that neither male fulfills the alpha male role throughout the entire movie makes me believe that there is not one, not two, but no alpha male cowboys in The Red River.