In these two movies present revisionist ideas that are opposite to the westerns that we have previously watched. In High Noon the women take on manly roles. Ramirez owns the saloon, after hearing of the pending arrival of Miller and his men, she decides to leave town. She leaves her lover, the former deputy. Her character is equal to all of the characters that interact with her. Her presence demands power, and respect. She does not allow men to, “dominate or simply ignore” (72 Tompkins) her. This is unlike women in previous westerns we have watched. In these westerns there is also another woman, Amy Kane that plays a manly role in the film. Her religion makes her opposed to the thought of her husband killing another man, so she decides to leave her husband to save her soul. Hearing the sound of gunfire, she runs to the side of her alpha male cowboy. She ends up killing one of Miller’s men. This is total opposite to what we have previously seen in other westerns. She doesn’t use words, usually “women must use words as their chief weapon.”(66 Tompkins) In The Ballad of Little Jo the man character Josephine cuts her hair and becomes a man because of the troubles she encounters on her way westward. In this film Jo a women literally plays a manly role. She becomes an alpha cowboy. Everyone in the film gives her respect and listens to what she says. Though they think that she is a man, she still dominates the characters in the film. She doesn’t back down from any conflict. When men come to her and threaten her with death, She rejects there offer and battles with them for her land. She not only, “use[s] words as their [her] chief weapon,” but also uses the gun. (66 Tompkins) These two movies present different attitudes of and toward women and a cut the alpha male role.
These movies have no examples of the alpha male we have seen played by John Wayne. The roles of the men in these movies do not show the qualities of an alpha male cowboy. Neither characters in High Noon, or The Ballad of Little Jo demonstrated the qualities that an alpha male cowboy express: a silent, hardboiled loner, who’s resourcefulness in his use of the terrain, he’s as ruthless as the terrain, it’s His-way or it’s the highway, never following even if that means facing abysmal odds. By not meeting these qualifications the role of the male in the two films doesn’t represent the alpha male cowboy.
These two movies present revisionist ideas that are opposite to the westerns that we have previously watched. In High Noon the women take on manly roles. Ramirez owns the saloon, after hearing of the pending arrival of Miller and his men, she decides to leave town and her lover, the former deputy. Her presence demands power, and respect. She does not allow men to, “dominate or simply ignore” (72 Tompkins) her. Her character is equal to all of the characters that interact with her. This is unlike women in previous westerns we have watched. In these westerns there is also another woman, Amy Kane that plays a manly role in the film. Her religion makes her opposed to the thought of her husband killing another man, so she decides to leave her husband to save her soul. Women having their own opinions and plans for the future is a revisionist idea that is presented in High Noon. After hearing the sound of gunfire, she runs to the side of her alpha male cowboy to protect him from harm. She ends up killing one of Miller’s men. This is total opposite to what we have previously seen in other westerns. She doesn’t use words, usually “women must use words as their chief weapon.”(66 Tompkins)
ReplyDeleteIn The Ballad of Little Jo the main character Josephine cuts her hair and becomes a man because of the troubles she encounters on her way Westward. In this film Jo a women literally plays a manly role. She becomes an alpha cowboy. Everyone in the film gives her respect and listens to what she says. Though they think that she is a man, she still dominates the characters in the film. She doesn’t back down from any conflict. When men come to her and threaten her with death, She rejects there offer and battles with them for her land. She not only, “use[s] words as their [her] chief weapon,” but also uses the gun. (66 Tompkins) These two movies present different attitudes of and toward women and a cut the alpha male role.
These movies have examples of the alpha male we have seen played by John Wayne but they also show the roles of women unlike the traditional western. The roles of the women in these movies do not show many different qualities than in traditional Westerns. The ability to weild a gun, and aid other men are examples of the differences. This affects the character of the alpha male. The alpha male never needed anyone, he was a loner. Neither characters in High Noon, or The Ballad of Little Jo demonstrated the qualities that an alpha male cowboy express: a silent, hardboiled loner, who’s resourcefulness in his use of the terrain, he’s as ruthless as the terrain, it’s His-way or it’s the highway, never following even if that means facing abysmal odds. By not meeting these qualifications the role of the males in the two films doesn’t represent the alpha male cowboy.