In most Westerns, the alpha male cowboy is the source of power and dominance in the film. But, movies such as Johnny Guitar and Two Mules for Sister Sara break out of this western stereotype and portray women as strong characters in leading roles. In the previous movies we have watched, the rough, loner alpha male solves his own problems and leaves the women to be merely objects of his affection. In Two Mules for Sister Sara Hogan rescues Sara, damsel in distress, this shows his strength and devotion to duty. But, he then allows her to travel with him and help plot an attack on a French fort. Later in the film, Sara saves Hogan’s life after he has been shot by an arrow. If it weren’t for Sara, Hogan may not have survived. The weakness shown by Hogan and his reliance on Sara in this scene directly contrasts the typical alpha male in other Westerns. Filmed in 1970 during the feminist movement, it shows Sara as an equal to Hogan. This “otherness” is seen when she helps him aim his gun to shoot the dynamite as well as when she is drinking hard liquor, smoking cigars and speaking in a less than “lady-like” manor.
The film Johnny Guitar also has a strong female presence seen in the characters Vienna and Emma. Vienna is a powerful female who owns her own saloon outside of town, who Emma accuses of having a hand in killing her brother and robbing a bank. The way in which Emma accuses Vienna of wrongdoing is very similar to the events of the communist scare during the Mid 20th Century. Emma has little evidence to prove Vienna has done wrong, yet puts all her energy into bringing her down. Another allusion to the Red Scare is seen when Emma also forces Turkey to wrongly confess that Vienna is guilty, similar to communist “witch hunts”. During the 1950s, Women were beginning to take more of a leading role in the household and become more empowered while the men went off to fight in the war. This is similar to how Emma and Vienna are seen as strong and dominant whereas Johnny is portrayed as a “former gunslinger” who is no longer an alpha male. It was very uncommon for a woman to own her own business, never mind having hopes of owning her own town. One of Vienna’s employees even describes her as “more of a man than a woman”. Vienna can also handle shooting a gun without hesitation and confront a posse of her enemies without any male support. All of these women represent the revolutionist females of the 20th century.
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ReplyDeleteIn most Westerns, the alpha male cowboy is the source of power and dominance in the film. But, movies such as Johnny Guitar and Two Mules for Sister Sara break out of this Western stereotype and portray women as strong characters in leading roles. In the previous movies we have watched, the rough, loner alpha male solves his own problems and leaves the women to be merely objects of his affection. In Two Mules for Sister Sara Hogan rescues Sara, damsel in distress. This shows his strength and devotion to duty. But, he then allows her to travel with him and help plot an attack on a French fort. Later in the film, Sara saves Hogan’s life after he has been shot by an arrow and also helps his shoot his gun. The gun is the ultimate phallic symbol of male masculinity. The fact that Hogan allows Sara to have control of it shows the transition of power. If it weren’t for Sara, Hogan may not have survived. The weakness shown by Hogan and his reliance on Sara in this scene directly contrasts the typical alpha male in other Westerns. Sara fooled him into thinking she was a nun when in reality she was a prostitute on the run. Traditionally, the alpha male is not able to be tricked by anyone, especially by a woman. Filmed in 1970 during the second wave of the feminist movement, it shows Sara as an equal to Hogan. This allows her to break out of the “other” role because she proved her intellectual superiority over Hogan. This “otherness” is also refuted when she is drinking hard liquor, smoking cigars and speaking in a less than “lady-like” manor, much like an alpha male.
The film Johnny Guitar also has a strong female presence, portrayed by the characters Vienna and Emma. Vienna is a strong, powerful female who owns her own saloon outside of town, who Emma accuses of having a hand in killing her brother and robbing a bank. The way in which Emma accuses Vienna of wrongdoing is very similar to the events of the communist scare during the Mid 20th Century. Emma has little evidence to prove Vienna has done wrong, yet puts all her energy into bringing her down. Another allusion to the Red Scare is seen when Emma also forces Turkey to wrongly confess that Vienna is guilty, similar to communist “witch hunts”. During the 1950s, Women were fighting to take more of a leading role in the household. Women were becoming more empowered when they took the jobs held by men while they went off to fight in the war. This is similar to how Emma and Vienna are seen as strong and dominant whereas Johnny is portrayed as a “former gunslinger” who is no longer an alpha male. It was very uncommon for a woman to own her own business, never mind having hopes of owning her own town. One of Vienna’s employees even describes her as “more of a man than a woman”. Vienna can also handle shooting a gun without hesitation and confront a posse of her enemies without any male support. All of these women represent the revolutionist females of the 20th century.
In most Westerns, the alpha male cowboy is the source of power and dominance in the film. But, movies such as Johnny Guitar and Two Mules for Sister Sara break out of this Western stereotype and portray women as strong characters in leading roles. In the previous movies we have watched, the rough, loner alpha male solves his own problems and leaves the women to be merely objects of his affection. In Two Mules for Sister Sara Hogan rescues Sara, damsel in distress. This shows his strength and devotion to duty. But, he then allows her to travel with him and help plot an attack on a French fort. Later in the film, Sara saves Hogan’s life after he has been shot by an arrow and also helps his shoot his gun. The gun is the ultimate phallic symbol of male masculinity. The fact that Hogan allows Sara to have control of it shows the transition of power. If it weren’t for Sara, Hogan may not have survived. The weakness shown by Hogan and his reliance on Sara in this scene directly contrasts the typical alpha male in other Westerns. Sara fooled him into thinking she was a nun when in reality she was a prostitute on the run. Traditionally, the alpha male is not able to be tricked by anyone, especially by a woman. Filmed in 1970 during the second wave of the feminist movement, it shows Sara as an equal to Hogan. This allows her to break out of the “other” role because she proved her intellectual superiority over Hogan. This “otherness” is also refuted when she is drinking hard liquor, smoking cigars and speaking in a less than “lady-like” manor, much like an alpha male.
ReplyDeleteThe film Johnny Guitar also has a strong female presence, portrayed by the characters Vienna and Emma. Vienna is a strong, powerful female who owns her own saloon outside of town, who Emma accuses of having a hand in killing her brother and robbing a bank. The way in which Emma accuses Vienna of wrongdoing is very similar to the events of the communist scare during the Mid 20th Century. Emma has little evidence to prove Vienna has done wrong, yet puts all her energy into bringing her down. Another allusion to the Red Scare is seen when Emma also forces Turkey to wrongly confess that Vienna is guilty, similar to communist “witch hunts”. During the 1950s, Women were fighting to take more of a leading role in the household. Women were becoming more empowered when they took the jobs held by men while they went off to fight in the war. This is similar to how Emma and Vienna are seen as strong and dominant whereas Johnny is portrayed as a “former gunslinger” who is no longer an alpha male. It was very uncommon for a woman to own her own business, never mind having hopes of owning her own town. One of Vienna’s employees even describes her as “more of a man than a woman”. Vienna can also handle shooting a gun without hesitation and confront a posse of her enemies without any male support. All of these women represent the revolutionist females of the 20th century.
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