In the film Day of the Outlaw, I found the attitude toward women was very barbaric. For most of the film women are treated like objects. The Outlaws in the film show a good example of this when they kidnap all the women in the town for a party. The men are able to forcefully dance with the women as if they were toy dolls. They are also forceful toward the women sexually. One outlaw corners the main woman, Helen Crane, and tries to kiss her. He is stopped by his officer, Jack Bruhn, and Helen goes with Jack to dance in a civil manor. All but the Captain show no respect for the women of the town. The men of the town try to fight for their women but most attempts end in failure. Civilized people treat women with the respect they deserve.
In my opinion, Helen Crane in this film represented the feminist movement in America during the time period in which it was filmed. The feminist movement during this time was not strong. Only until, “Kennedy appointed Esther Peterson as its director after he became President in 1961” (Women: a Feminist Perspective,
“The Republican Party first endorsed the ERA at its 1940 national nominating convention; the Democrats followed in 1944. The Senate voted on it for the first time in 1946. It failed, and when it came up again in 1950, opponents were ready with a crippling "rider" to exempt all laws for the protection and benefit of women. This was added on the Senate floor in both 1950 and 1953” (Freeman 509-28).
This failure is reflect through Helen when she tries everything in her power to save her husband but ends up failing every time. She fails trying to force the men to do what she wants them to do. This idea is a reflection of the feminist group described by Freeman.
In the film Day of the Outlaw, I found the attitude toward women was very barbaric. For most of the film women are treated like objects, constantly being put in situations that are dangerous to their health. The Outlaws in the film show a good example of this when they kidnap all the women in the town for a party. The men forcefully dance with the women as if they had strings like puppets. They are also forceful toward the women sexually. One outlaw corners the main woman, Helen Crane, and tries to kiss her with no consent. Only by the Captain Jack Bruhn’s grace, the outlaw is not able to get what he wants. Helen and Jack dance in a civil manor, because Jack has manors. All Outlaws but the Captain have no respect for the women of the town. The men of the town have good reason to fight for the four women that live in the town. The men of the town try to fight for their women but most attempts end in failure. In opposition the civilized people treat women with the respect they deserve.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, Helen Crane in this film represented the feminist movement in America during the time period in which it was filmed. The failure of the movement is reflected through Helen when she tries everything in her power to save her husband but ends up failing every time. She also fails trying to force the men to do what she wants them to do. These examples are arguments for the feminist movement during this time was not strong. Only until, “Kennedy appointed Esther Peterson as its director after he became President in 1961” (Freeman 509-28) did feminism gain its second breathe. Before 1961 feminist had a critical failure in the late 1940’s and early 1950’s when as Freeman states it in his article Published in Women: a Feminist Perspective,
“The Republican Party first endorsed the ERA at its 1940 national nominating convention; the Democrats followed in 1944. The Senate voted on it for the first time in 1946. It failed, and when it came up again in 1950, opponents were ready with a crippling "rider" to exempt all laws for the protection and benefit of women. This was added on the Senate floor in both 1950 and 1953” (Freeman 509-28).
This idea is a reflection of the feminist group described by Freeman.
Freeman, J. (1995). A Feminist Perspective. Women , pp. 509-528.