The movies Rooster Cogburn, High Noon, and The Ballad of Little Jo all show very strong women. However the time period in which the movies was made also reflects the progression of how we view the role of women in our society.
In High Noon the bravery and strength of Amy is shown when she saves Will’s life at the end of the movie by killing Colby. However this movie reflects the view of the time period by perpetuating certain roles of women. When criminals show up in town to kill Will Amy states that she will leave her husband if decides to stay and fight them. Will would rather stay and fight and maybe die rather than run away. When Amy talks with Helen about her intentions to leave Helen scolds her. She says that she should stand by her husband. The idea behind this aspect of the movie is that a wife is supposed to stand by her husband and her husband’s decisions and that her opinion is second to his.
Rooster Cogburn, made in 1975 23 years after High Noon, shows an acceptance of a much stronger and independent women. Though the whole movie Ms Goodnight continues to surprise Rooster with her strength in defending herself. When they first encounter the thieves Rooster instructs her to hide and basically serve as a distraction. When Rooster life is in danger she impress’ him with her gun skills and saves his life. This movie shows the progression in how we view women in our society but it also shows a lingering belief of a different role for women in our society. This is implied when rooster starts to ask Ms Goodnight about her ability to cook and clean implying that he respects her strength but she also needs to fit the womanly role.
The Movie The Ballad of Little Jo made in 1993 made a giant leap away from the traditional westerns. This is very evident when Tinman moves in with Jo. There is a complete gender role reversal. Tinman cooks, cleans, bakes, does laundry and mends clothing. Jo tends to the cattle, builds the shelter and provides for them. This movie shows the progression of how we view the roles of women in our society. This movie also makes a powerful statement about how we view one another. When gender and race are taken out of sight it completely changes how we view people. This is evident when Tinman says to Jo, “You are a free white man now and someday soon you will even vote.”
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The movies Rooster Cogburn, High Noon, and The Ballad of Little Jo all show very strong women. However the time period in which the movies was made also reflects the progression of how we view the role of women in our society.
ReplyDeleteIn High Noon the bravery and strength of Amy is shown when she saves Will’s life at the end of the movie by killing Colby. However this movie reflects the view of the time period by perpetuating certain roles of women. When criminals show up in town to kill Will Amy states that she will leave her husband if decides to stay and fight them. Will would rather stay and fight and maybe die rather than run away. When Amy talks with Helen about her intentions to leave Helen scolds her. She says that she should stand by her husband. The idea behind this aspect of the movie is that a wife is supposed to stand by her husband and her husband’s decisions and that her opinion is second to his.
Rooster Cogburn, made in 1975 23 years after High Noon, shows an acceptance of a much stronger and independent women. Though the whole movie Ms Goodnight continues to surprise Rooster with her strength in defending herself. When they first encounter the thieves Rooster instructs her to hide and basically serve as a distraction. When Rooster life is in danger she impress’ him with her gun skills and saves his life. This movie shows the progression in how we view women in our society but it also shows a lingering belief of a different role for women in our society. This is implied when rooster starts to ask Ms Goodnight about her ability to cook and clean implying that he respects her strength but she also needs to fit the womanly role.
The Movie The Ballad of Little Jo made in 1993 made a giant leap away from the traditional westerns. This is very evident when Tinman moves in with Jo. There is a complete gender role reversal. Tinman cooks, cleans, bakes, does laundry and mends clothing. Jo tends to the cattle, builds the shelter and provides for them. This movie shows the progression of how we view the roles of women in our society. This movie also makes a powerful statement about how we view one another. When gender and race are taken out of sight it completely changes how we view people. This is evident when Tinman says to Jo, “You are a free white man now and someday soon you will even vote.” This movie also introduces the idea of transexuality. This movie being made in the 90s introduced a much more liberal society. The idea had been introduced but it still was seen as taboo. Just like Jo couldnt reveal her true gender.