In most Western films, women play secondary roles to the alpha male cowboy, normally as merely a love interest who gets left behind by the cowboy when he leaves for a journey. The cowboy is the one who goes off on his horse with gun in hand, to fight the enemy. But, in Rooster Cogburn, Eula Goodnight is a female character who breaks the mold of the stereotypical western woman. After her settlement is ravaged and her father murdered, she stands up to Rooster Cogburn, buys a gun and insists on chasing down the culprits instead of safely waiting at home. Along the journey she shows that she can ride a horse and shoot a gun just as well as any man can. In the beginning, Rooster thought of her as a liability who was merely tagging along. But, she proves her worth after she shoots down one of Hawks posse members with a perfect shot in the back over the pile of explosives, contradicting the directions given by Cogburn to only shoot to be a distraction. In earlier westerns, women are not seen as proficient marksmen, or even part of the battles.
In this film, Eula Goodnight is a very strong, outspoken woman who does not back down to Cogburn and even has a profound influence on him. This is a direct reflection of the cultural movement occurring in 1975, the year in which the film was made. During the 1970s, the women’s movement was in full force. Women were speaking out for equal rights to men and fighting for their place in society. In Rooster Cogburn, Eula proves her equality to Cogburn, in both intellect and skill. In one scene while speaking to Cogburn, she stands on a rock to make herself appear as large and important as Cogburn. She also brings out a sensitive side to Rooster and he allows her to call him Ruben. Katherine Hepburn’s character goes against the classic view of women because she is an assertive, strong willed character in a male dominated genre.
In most Western films, women play secondary roles to the alpha male cowboy, normally as merely a love interest who gets left behind by the cowboy when he leaves for a journey. The cowboy is the one who goes off on his horse with gun in hand, to fight the enemy. But, in Rooster Cogburn, Eula Goodnight is a female character who breaks the mold of the stereotypical western woman. After her settlement is ravaged and her father murdered, she stands up to Rooster Cogburn, buys a gun and insists on chasing down the culprits instead of safely waiting at home. Along the journey she shows that she can ride a horse and shoot a gun just as well as any man can. In the beginning, Rooster thought of her as a liability who was merely tagging along. But, she proves her worth after she shoots down one of Hawks posse members with a perfect shot in the back over the pile of explosives, contradicting the directions given by Cogburn to only shoot to be a distraction. In earlier westerns, women are not seen as proficient marksmen, or even part of the battles. Eula is able to effectively speak her mind and influence Rooster as well. Her language overpowers that of Rooster, which shows her intellectual superiority. He eventually accepts Eula and her self confidence. Her ability to speak her mind allowed Rooster to get his badge back, without her Rooster would not have succeeded. The ways in which Eula shows her strength over Rooster prove that she is more than “other”.
ReplyDeleteIn this film, Eula Goodnight is a very strong, outspoken woman who does not back down to Cogburn and even has a profound influence on him. This is a direct reflection of the cultural movement occurring in 1975, the year in which the film was made. During the 1970s, the women’s movement was in full force. Women were speaking out for equal rights to men and fighting for their place in society. In Rooster Cogburn, Eula proves her equality to Cogburn, in both intellect and skill. In one scene while speaking to Cogburn, she stands on a rock to make herself appear as large and important as Cogburn. She also brings out a sensitive side to Rooster and he allows her to call him Ruben. Katherine Hepburn’s character goes against the classic view of women because she is an assertive, strong willed character in a male dominated genre.