In the film Red River, Tom Dunson plays the part of the alpha male cowboy fading out from his time, and Matthew Garth picks up as the new and upcoming alpha male cowboy. As the film advances, Dunson progressively loses control of his role as the alpha male cowboy, while Matt slowly, but steadily seeps power from his father-figure’s downfall to become the new leader among the outfit of cowboys. The causes for Dunson’s downfall are the characteristics which disqualify him as a true alpha male cowboy, since he loses the power to effectively lead his men, a capability which must accompany the typical image of an alpha male cowboy. Meanwhile, Matt does not yet completely embody all of the characteristics of a true alpha male cowboy because he is a new and not yet experienced enough to meet the criteria of such a role as Matheson and Tompkins have developed. Using these authors’ texts as support, Dunson and Matt are respectively rejected and accepted as an alpha male cowboy.
Dunson falls off of his high horse as the men around him realize that his days of bossing them around are over. His demise is reinforced by the presence of Matt, a man of higher virtue who, when compared side by side to Dunson, stands for the same values, but possesses a softer heart and a more agreeable disposition. As Matheson states in her article, “men are men because their behavior is fundamentally ethical” (Matheson, 899). Dunson’s actions are continually questioned by the other men, such as his desire to kill the man who caused the stampede and the men who ran away, and to carry forth into unknown circumstances where they could all be killed. Finally, the men decide that they do not agree with Dunson’s way of thinking because they question both his morality and his competency to promise such results. Dunson’s life is no longer one of the admirableness and desirability that Matheson says others must have for an alpha male cowboy’s life (Matheson, 900). As a result, Dunson loses his position as the alpha male cowboy among the outfit, and is forced to relinquish his cattle, men, and power to the hands of Matt.
Matt arises as an alpha male cowboy, but does not obtain all of the qualities of one, as seen in some of his behavior throughout the film. From the very beginning, Matt asserts his power through his possession of a gun, as he tells Dunson to never take his gun away from him again. Matheson concurs with this assertion of power, when she says that men “may be considered ‘naked’ without a gun,” so having one suggests that a level of power is awarded (Matheson, 903). Matt furthermore asserts his role as a powerful cowboy by continually questioning the word of Dunson, and showing that he, too, has a strong opinion and will fight to back it up. Similarly, Matt also knows his place when participating in these arguments, usually backing down because he knows that he is the inferior male to Dunson’s superiority, and that that is the way things work. Even the camera angles allude to Matt’s capability as a powerful cowboy, as he is seen high and above everyone else in the scene. However, when Matt comes into his role as the new alpha male cowboy, he cannot completely embrace the title since he violates many of the fundamental characteristics of being an alpha male cowboy as described by Tompkins. “For a man to speak of his inner feelings not only admits parity with the person he is talking to, but it jeopardizes his status as a potent being,” which is exactly what occurs when Matt opens up to Tess (Tompkins, 60). Matt places himself on the same level of Tess by revealing his life story to her, lowering himself to the rank of a woman. Even more, Matt cannot be taken seriously as power figure if he is talking about his feelings, since it is “silence [that] establishes dominance” (Tompkins, 60). Ultimately, Matt is introduced to the lifestyle of the alpha male cowboy, but because he is “kind of new at this,” as he says near the end of the film, he cannot fully adopt the responsibilities and conditions of living that life, at least not during the extent of the film.
Overall, Dunson renounces the level of authority with which being the single alpha male cowboy once rewarded him. Red River is a film about Dunson because “it is about men’s fear of losing their mastery, and hence their identity,” which is illustrated in Dunson’s refusal to accept defeat by Matt (Tompkins, 45). The period of time during which he was falling out of his role, and Matt was coming into his, resulted in more conflict and action between the two, illustrating the impossibility of there existing two alpha male cowboys in one outfit. Dunson retains a greater level of having been the alpha male cowboy, as seen by his being referred to more by his last name, and Matt being referred to more by his first, showing that Matt has yet to earn all of the conventional attributes of being a true alpha male. The close of the film, where Dunson promises Matt that the brand will be changed to contain both of their initial, represents Dunson’s acceptance of Matt’s coming into being the new alpha male, but also of his desire that his reign as alpha male cowboy be literally branded into flesh for eternity so it will forever be known.
In the film Red River, Tom Dunson is an alpha male cowboy losing control of his title while his son-like partner, Matt Garth, wants to become an alpha male, but cannot seriously be considered one just yet. This disruption and transfer of male power parallels the conditions of America during World War II, when people were disillusioned by the war and needed a source of hope. Matt symbolizes that hope in the form of a new opportunity, while Dunson represents the disillusionment. From the start of the film, Dunson qualifies as an alpha male cowboy according to both Matheson and Tompkins. He leaves behind the woman he loves, heads west, rules the land he claims with a gun, and kills when he deems necessary. As Tompkins argues, the alpha male cowboy distances himself from women and love, goes West to find his true male identity, further asserts his masculinity through the phallic image of the gun, and encounters death regularly. While Dunson fits into this role of the alpha male cowboy in the start of Red River, he soon begins to violate the characteristics that qualified him as one, disillusioning his own men; he gradually becomes less moral throughout the film until he is cast off from his own outfit; he recognizes only his own personal desire, disregarding the danger it puts all the men in; and he is short tempered and stubborn. His leadership is no longer effective among his men, just as Americans became disillusioned with the direction that America was heading in. Consequently, Matt Garth arises among the outfit as the new leader just as America needed a symbol of hope midst a war that demoralized most people. His superior morality, compassion for others, and ability to stand up to Dunson exemplify his coming into the role as the new alpha male cowboy, but he cannot truly fill the role of the alpha male according to Tompkins and Matheson. Tompkins states that “Western men’s silence functions as a script for behavior; it expresses and authorizes power” (Tompkins 59). However, Matt concedes to verbalizing his emotions to Tess, an act that a true alpha male would never be allowed to do. Furthermore, Matt does not take full control of his position of power, as he is not completely assertive and in control as an alpha male should be – such as when making the business deal for the cow, he asks the businessman’s opinion. According to Matheson, the alpha male cowboy is morally ambiguous, and with Matt, there is no moral ambiguity, so he is therefore not fully considered a true alpha male cowboy. Yet it is clear that as the movie progresses, Dunson begins to lose title as alpha male cowboy and Matt begins to earn the title as Dunson becomes slower with his gun and Matt becomes quicker. Overall, Matt and Dunson illustrate fractions of the alpha male cowboy, but neither fully takes on the role of the alpha male, just as in American society, people were disillusioned with World War II, and looked but could not find a satisfying source of hope.
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