In a traditional Western film, women are minor characters who are normally seen as weak and merely objects of affection for the alpha male cowboy. But in High Noon and The Ballad of Little Jo, There are strong female characters who are dominant and don’t back down to men. In the Ballad of Little Jo, Josephine Monaghan transforms herself from a woman of high society into a man of the wilderness. She breaks the law by wearing means clothes, teaches herself how to shoot a gun, scars her face and begins speaking in the laconic ways of men. Jo knows that “by talking one opens up to another person and becomes vulnerable… and by putting words to emotions it becomes feminized.” (Tompkins 56). She forced her Chinese servant, Tinman, to cook, clean and mend, which are tasks normally done by women. Jo’s imitation of a man was so convincing that no one besides Tinman figured out the truth until she died. In the end, all the men were shocked that a woman could become a respected cowboy and accomplish the things that Jo did.
In High Noon, Amy Kane is a Quaker who marries a Marshall, Will Kane. In the beginning, Will says he is going to step down as Marshall, but soon changes his mind after he hears that his enemy, Frank Miller will be returning to town. Amy, being a Quaker who has already lost family members to violence, does not support Will’s fight and tells him that if he chooses to put the tin star back on and fight Miller she’s going to leave him. Amy stays strong and stands by her word, at least for a while, and buys a train ticket to leave. But “when push comes to shove, [women] crumble” and Amy eventually runs off the trains to support Will, in which she shoots one of Millers men and distracts him so her husband can kill Miller. Amy is not the only strong female in this film. Helen Ramirez is a smart business owner who doesn’t succumb to men. When she finds out Miller will be returning, she makes a deal to sell her business and appears to have the upper hand in her relationship with Harvey.
In a traditional Western film, women are minor characters who are normally seen as weak and merely objects of affection for the alpha male cowboy. But in High Noon and The Ballad of Little Jo, There are strong female characters who are dominant and don’t back down to men. In the Ballad of Little Jo, Josephine Monaghan transforms herself from a woman of high society into an alpha male of the wilderness. She breaks the law when she wears men’s clothes, and also teaches herself how to shoot a gun, scars her face, and uses the laconic language of men. Jo knows that “by talking one opens up to another person and becomes vulnerable… and by putting words to emotions it becomes feminized.” (Tompkins 56).She forced her Chinese servant, Tinman, to do feminine tasks such cook, clean and mend, tasks traditionally done by women. Jo’s imitation of a man was so convincing that no one besides Tinman figured out the truth until she died. In the end, all the men were shocked that a woman could become a respected cowboy and accomplish the things that Jo did. The ideologies emitted by this film directly relate to the zeitgeist of the 1990s. During this time, women are finally being viewed as equals to men, both in the workplace and at home. Women no longer have to fight to prove their ability to stand next to men as equals. Josephine Monaghan proved her worth and accomplished all the tasks that men did, as just as well.
ReplyDeleteIn High Noon, Amy Kane is a pacifist Quaker who marries a retiring Marshall, Will Kane. In the beginning, Will says he is going to step down as Marshall, but soon changes his mind after he hears that his enemy, Frank Miller will be returning to town. Amy, being a Quaker who has already lost family members to violence, does not support Will’s fight and tells him that if he chooses to put the tin star back on and fight Miller she’s going to leave him. This is unlike the stereotypical view of women during the mid twentieth century. Women were viewed as weak and expected to stay at home and live under the control of their husbands. But, during the 1950s, the feminist movement was in full swing. Women were fighting for more rights and desired to have power outside of the household. Amy stays strong and stands by her word to leave Kane and buys a train ticket to leave. Amy eventually runs off the trains to support Will, in which she shoots one of Millers men and distracts him so her husband can kill Miller. This contradicts Tompkins view on women, which states that But “when push comes to shove, [women] crumble”. Without Amy, Will would have most likely been killed by Frank Miller. Amy is not the only strong female in this film. Helen Ramirez is a smart business owner who doesn’t succumb to men. When she finds out Miller will be returning, she makes a deal to sell her business and appears to have the upper hand in her relationship with Harvey. During the 1950s, the women’s role in society was being a housewife, including the tasks of cooking and caring for the children. The fact that Helen is a successful business owner revises the view of women in society.
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