Howard Hawks 1948 film, Red River, is an Oscar nominated film starring two alpha male cowboys. The first cowboy Thomas Dunson, played by the famous John Wayne, is the stereotypical alpha male cowboy. From the beginning of the film it is clear that Thomas Dunson is in charge. Dunson finds Matthew Garth when he was just a young boy and even then you can see that Matt’s future is bright. Matt was the only person to survive the Indian’s raid, quite becoming of a young cowboy. When Dunson brands the cattle with the letter D, Matt asks why there is no letter M for his name. This scene shows that from the beginning of the film Matt has ambitions to become a leader.
Years later, Matt is no longer a boy but rather, a man. On Dunson’s dangerous cattle move to Missouri, many of the men begin to become frustrated. Tensions run high and it is clear that there is conflict between Dunson and the rest of his men. Matt no longer takes orders from Dunson and begins to give his own orders making it clearer that Matt is becoming a second alpha male cowboy. Before Dunson can hang two men who attempted to runaway, Matt stops him and Dunson ends up shot in the hand. Matt tells Dunson that he is taking over the cattle while Dunson promises revenge. This scene confirms that there are two alpha male cowboys in the film. After the duel between the two men in the end of the film, Dunson tells Matt that he will now add the letter M to the brand showing that Dunson respects Matt as an equal alpha male cowboy. A quote from Matheson’s The West—Hardboiled, sums up this relationship perfectly, “In the West, a man who settles his own problems” is indeed the sum of his actions.” (897)
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Howard Hawks 1948 film, Red River, is an Oscar nominated film starring two alpha male cowboys. The first cowboy Thomas Dunson, played by the famous John Wayne, is the stereotypical alpha male cowboy. From the beginning of the film it is clear that Thomas Dunson is in charge. Dunson finds Matthew Garth when he was just a young boy and even then you can see that Matt’s future is bright. Matt was the only person to survive the Indian’s raid, quite becoming of a young cowboy. When Dunson brands the cattle with the letter D, Matt asks why there is no letter M for his name. This scene shows that from the beginning of the film Matt has ambitions to become a leader.
ReplyDeleteYears later, Matt is no longer a boy but rather, a man. On Dunson’s dangerous cattle move to Missouri, many of the men begin to become frustrated. Tensions run high and it is clear that there is conflict between Dunson and the rest of his men. Matt no longer takes orders from Dunson and begins to give his own orders making it clearer that Matt is becoming a second alpha male cowboy. Before Dunson can hang two men who attempted to runaway, Matt stops him and Dunson ends up shot in the hand. Matt tells Dunson that he is taking over the cattle while Dunson promises revenge.
This scene confirms that there are two alpha male cowboys in the film. After the duel between the two men in the end of the film, Dunson tells Matt that he will now add the letter M to the brand showing that Dunson respects Matt as an equal alpha male cowboy. A quote from Matheson’s The West—Hardboiled, sums up this relationship perfectly by saying, “in the West, a man who settles his own problems” is indeed the sum of his actions.” (897) This quote confirms that there are two alpha male cowboys present in The Searchers as the two men are able to settle their problems on their own.