Day of the Outlaw portrays a more traditional role for women in the west. The roles of the women are much closer to the John Wayne films that make women objects for men to use at their dispose. Throughout the film the four women of the town are subjected to the will of the men, whether it is the outlaws or men from town. Their roles are assigned to basic household functions such as cooking and taking care of the house and men. Even with how the women were handled by the outlaws in the dancing scene demonstrates that women were seen as objects. They were passed around like a football amongst the men. They were reduced to roles that are strictly below that of a man. We don’t see the increased presence of women in life like the films of Johnny Guitar, Rooster Cogburn and High Noon did.
This could be attributed to the fact that the film was created before the women’s movement took off in the country. In 1959, women are on the verge of busting through with a rights movement but haven’t done so yet. The film is able to show a very direct view of how women are treated by men. It shows the type of treatment that pushed women to form a movement for themselves to gain rights that men didn’t give them. We see the beginning of a women too in the film with the way that one women, Helen Crane, acts. She is the most vocal of the women against their treatment but doesn’t receive much support from anyone else. She stood up for her husband to another man showing that although they women are subjected the actions of men, she will at least voice herself and attempt to be heard.
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Day of the Outlaw portrays a more traditional role for women in the west. The roles of the women are much closer to the John Wayne films that make women objects for men to use at their dispose. Throughout the film the four women of the town are subjected to the will of the men, whether it is the outlaws or men from town. Their roles are assigned to basic household functions such as cooking and taking care of the house and men. Even with how the women were handled by the outlaws in the dancing scene demonstrates that women were seen as objects. They were passed around like a football amongst the men. They were reduced to roles that are strictly below that of a man. We don’t see the increased presence of women in life like the films of Johnny Guitar, Rooster Cogburn and High Noon did.
ReplyDeleteThis could be attributed to the fact that the film was created before the women’s movement took off in the country. In 1959, women are on the verge of busting through with a rights movement but haven’t done so yet. The film is able to show a very direct view of how women are treated by men. It shows the type of treatment that pushed women to form a movement for themselves to gain rights that men didn’t give them. We see the beginning of a women’s liberation too in the film with the way that one woman, Helen Crane, acts. She is the most vocal of the women against their treatment but doesn’t receive much support from anyone else. She stood up for her husband to another man showing that although they women are subjected the actions of men, she will at least voice herself and attempt to be heard. She also tries to use her body as a way to get what she wants. Her body is used as a weapon against male dominance now. Words in this film are not a woman only weapon. We are seeing a change in women that isn’t fully there yet. Helen Crane represents the beginning of big changes that are to come in the lives of women in terms of how they function with men.