High Noon/Little Jo NC

The roles of women in High Noon and Little Jo change dramatically compared to traditional Westerns. In High Noon, Will Kane marries a quaker pacifist, which is made known early in the film. Tompkins strongly argues the feminine connotation of Christianity, and 'pacifist' Christianity would be as feminine as it gets. But in using the word feminine to describe these, the meaning can get confused because the women in High Noon arguably redefine the feminine. Though a feminine Christian, Amy at the end of the movie attempts to take the train away from her husband but in hearing the gunshot, the viewers witness the John Wayne-like masculinity that she brings to the movie that builds a new image for women in Westerns.

As in High Noon, Little Joe provides a dynamic role change for women in Westerns. Though a much more modern movie, it plays well into the theme of High Noon as well as the time period. At heart, I believe Jo only wants to provide for her son, but in the social and cultural conditions of her time, the way she attempts to do that is to give up the feminine and embrace the masculine. In doing this, the character struggles with the nature of being born a woman while trying to survive in the most masculine place in the country, the West. Even in doing this, her and Wong still find a relationship while she keeps up the disguise. Most of the movie following doesn't focus on female issues in as much as it focuses on how she deals with them as a woman acting as a man.