Women are seen to have a completely different role in the western in the films High Noon and The Ballad of Little Jo than they do in many other Westerns. Women have always had a role as a side character that is not usually taken seriously. In these two films, the woman’s role is taken to a higher degree and influences how the story is going to be resolved.
In High Noon, the female character of importance is Amy Kane, the marshal’s new bride. She originally shows weakness as a character because she suggests to Kane that they should leave town when they hear of Frank Millers return. By voicing her opinion and speaking in great detail, her weakness is shown in a greater light compared to his decision to stay. However, she changes this perception of herself when she bravely departs from the train in order to help her husband with the perilous task ahead of him. She gets right in the middle of the action in order to make sure that her husband is safe. Women in westerns are not viewed as this type of character; only as someone who takes care of the house and of the men, but never in the action, holding their own ground in a conflict.
Now The Ballad of Little Jo takes on a completely different view of women by making them out to either be housewives or whores. When Josephine realizes that these are the only two roles for women, she disguises as a man giving the western women a much stronger look. She takes on the qualities of a man as well by keeping her talking to a minimum and her emotions inside. She was able to dominate in a man’s world which makes women to be more powerful than they have been portrayed in many other westerns.
Women have a completely different role in the films High Noon and The Ballad of Little Jo than they do in many other Westerns. Women have always had a role as a side character that is not usually taken seriously. In these two films, the woman’s role is taken to a higher degree and influences how the story is going to be resolved.
ReplyDeleteIn High Noon, the female character of importance is Amy Kane, the marshal’s new bride. She originally shows weakness as a character because she suggests to Kane that they should leave town when they hear of Frank Millers return. This is a characteristic of women voice by Jane Tompkins when she states “when push comes to shove, as it always does, they crumble” (Tompkins, 61). By voicing her opinion and speaking in great detail, her weakness is shown in a greater light compared to his decision to stay. However, she changes this perception of herself when she bravely departs from the train in order to help her husband with the perilous task ahead of him. She gets right in the middle of the action in order to make sure that her husband is safe. Women in westerns are not viewed as this type of character; only as someone who takes care of the house and of the men, but never in the action, holding their own ground in a conflict. This change in the portrayal of women is a relation to the growing change in women's roles in society and their increase in rights.
Now The Ballad of Little Jo takes on a completely different view of women by making them out to either be housewives or whores. When Josephine realizes that these are the only two roles for women, she disguises as a man giving the western woman a much stronger look. She takes on the qualities of a man as well by keeping her talking to a minimum and her emotions inside. She was able to dominate in a man’s world which makes women to be more powerful than they have been portrayed in many other westerns. Since this film is in a different time than previous ones, women's involvement in society has changed and even allowed for them to be equal to men, just as Jo was in the film.