It is apparent in the three movies High Noon, Rooster Cogburn, and Little Jo that the woman is emergining as a stronger character in Western films than ever before. Previously, the woman led a minor role in Western films, simply being the motivation behinid the cowboy's actions, never contributing much to thte sequence of events.
The film High Noon, filmed in 1952 begins the transformation of the woman's roel in Western films. There are two prominent women characters in this film, Helen Ramirez, and Amy Kane. Helen Ramirez leaves her husband when she finds out he told Marshall Will Kane about thier relationship, she stands up for herself and is not afraid to leave town and start a new life somewhere else. Amy Kane at first epitomizes the woman normally seen in Western films, until she meets Helen, who convinces Amy to return to town and help her husband Will. When she does, she ends up saving Will's life by shooting and kiling one of his attackers. This change in the role of women in this film, may have been affected by the Civil Rights movement which was right around the corner. Womena dn other minority groups were gathering support for equal rights, which influenced this film to gie women a stronger role to reflect the way the world was changing.
Rooster Cogburn, filmed in 1975 demonstrates an even stronger female role. The Civil Rights Act had already been in place for many years, and the woman's role in the household, and the workplace had changed since the forties and fifties. The change is represented in this film through the character of Eula Goodnight. Tomkins state, "[Women] may seem strong and resilient, fiery and resouceful at first, but when push comes to shove, as it always does, they crumble," (61) which is not the case whith Eula's character. Rooster Cogburn is on a mission to arrest an outlaw who is moving through the west, terrorizing any settlements he rides through. One settlement Cogburn arrives at, he meets Eula who insists on joining cogburn on his journey, because she wishes to avenge her father's death. As the alpha male cowboy, cogburn immediately denies her demand to acccompnay him, claiming htat this journey is no place for a woman. However, Eula follows cogburn and ends up journeying with him, and proves that she is a strong enough woman to endure the hardships. She surprises Cogburn by her skills with handling a gun, and being able to fend for herself. She ialso is not afraid to voice her opinion whenever she sees necessary. Eula is a very strong female character who does not conform to the usual role of women out west.
The film Little Jo, created in 1993, shows a complete turn around in the role of woemn from previous Western films. Josephine is banished from her house and her town for sleeping with the photographer. In order to escape this, she dresses herself as a man and move into a new town. She makes a new life for herself, etablished as a male. She learns to use a gun, mine for gold, herd sheep, create a settlement, and live on her own. Tompkins state, "The temperance ladies talk and talk, that is all they do. It never comes to shooting. Meanwhile they drive their husbands crazy with their cackle," (64). Here, Tompkins gives the impression that women are only good for talking and driving their husbands crazy. Joesphine's character goes against all of this by successfully making a life for herself in a man's world. This change is due tothe time period the film was made. In 1993, women had come a long way since 1940, and women holding respectful jobs became the norm.
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It is apparent in the three movies High Noon, Rooster Cogburn, and Little Jo that the woman is emerging as a stronger character in Western films than ever before. Previously, the woman led a minor role in Western films, simply being the motivation behind the cowboy's actions, never contributing much to the sequence of events.
ReplyDeleteThe film High Noon, filmed in 1952 begins the transformation of the woman's role in Western films. There are two prominent women characters in this film, Helen Ramirez, and Amy Kane. Helen Ramirez leaves her husband when she finds out he told Marshall Will Kane about their relationship, she stands up for herself and is not afraid to leave town and start a new life somewhere else all on her own. Amy Kane at first epitomizes the woman normally seen in Western films, until she meets Helen, who convinces Amy to return to town and help her husband Will. When she does, she ends up saving Will's life by shooting and killing one of his attackers. Amy’s more traditional character helps to highlight Helen’s independent attitude. This change in the role of women in High Noon may have been affected by the Civil Rights movement which was right around the corner. Women and other minority groups were gathering support for equal rights, which influenced this film to give women a stronger role to reflect the way the world was changing. Another explanation may be the fact that WWII recently ended. During the war, women occupied jobs that men usually held, but since they were off at war, the women were needed in these positions. Women were given a taste of what it felt like to be in the working world, which may serve as the fuel behind the emerging woman character in western films.
Rooster Cogburn, filmed in 1975 demonstrates an even stronger female role. The Civil Rights Act had already been in place for many years, and the woman's role in the household, and the workplace had changed since the forties and fifties. The change is represented in this film through the character of Eula Goodnight. Tomkins states, "[Women] may seem strong and resilient, fiery and resourceful at first, but when push comes to shove, as it always does, they crumble," (61) which is not the case with Eula's character. Rooster Cogburn is on a mission to arrest an outlaw who is moving through the west, terrorizing any settlements he rides through. One settlement Cogburn arrives at, he meets Eula who insists on joining Cogburn on his journey, because she wishes to avenge her father's death. As the alpha male cowboy, Cogburn immediately denies her demand to accompany him, claiming that this journey is no place for a woman. However, Eula follows Cogburn and ends up journeying with him, and proves that she is a strong enough woman to endure the hardships. She surprises Cogburn by her skills with handling a gun, and being able to fend for herself. She also is not afraid to voice her opinion whenever she sees necessary. Eula is a very strong female character who does not conform to the usual role of women out west. Cogburn’s hesitancy to allow Eula to accompany him represents the hesitancy men saw in allowing women into the workforce. Eula had to prove herself to Cogburn in order to earn respect as an equal; she was not granted this from the start. This is similar to what women in society went though when applying for jobs, and exercising the rights they received in 1964.
ReplyDeleteThe film The Ballad of Little Jo, created in 1993, shows a complete turnaround in the role of women from previous Western films. Josephine is banished from her house and her town for sleeping with the photographer. In order to escape this, she dresses herself as a man and moves into a new town. She makes a new life for herself, established as a male. She learns to use a gun, mine for gold, herd sheep, create a settlement, and live on her own. Tompkins states, "The temperance ladies talk and talk, that is all they do. It never comes to shooting. Meanwhile they drive their husbands crazy with their cackle," (64). Here, Tompkins gives the impression that women are only good for talking and driving their husbands crazy. Josephine’s character goes against all of this by successfully making a life for herself in a man's world. This change is due to the time period the film was made. In 1993, women had come a long way since 1940, and women holding respectful jobs became the norm.