Both High Noon and The Ballad of Little Jo, support Thompson's thesis that, "Westerns eaither push women out of the picturecompletely or assign them roles in which they exist only to serve the needs of men." (40). Such holds true in both films. The west is openly considered a "man's world" and women serve only as side-acts, and their input, actions, and thoughts are rarely ever considered or taken into account by men. Thompson believes most westerns subject women to almost worthless beings, beings only created to tend and serve the needs of the dominant males. This hold true for the most part, but the views towards women slowly start to change in these films.
The Ballad of Little Jo supports this train of thought, but it debunks Thompson's statement that, "Westerns pay practically no attention to the women's experience." (41). In this film, the protagonist of the story (Jo) is a female and the entire story is about her experience of the west. However, the same themesdo apply. She was treated horribly by the men in the story, first by being outcasted by her family as she bore an illegitimate child. Once she hits the road, she is seen only as prey. She was labeled as suspicios and as a whore, and even was subject to being sold as a prositute. She was seen as something only for men's pleasure. Seeing this, she cut her face and disguised herself as a man to avoid turmoil. Percy also demostrates how inferior women are, when he slashes he face of a prositute, as if she wasn't even human. He defames women even more once he finds the letter from Jo's sister and calls her a whore, and finds it so insultin to be fooled by a female. The film also shows the inferiority of women during the big gun fight. The painfl expression on Jo's face when she shoots the two men show her sensitivity, which the film portrays as weakness. Although the film is about a woman, it shows the very negative view that exists about them.
High Noon paints a similar portrait, in that, in th film the woman, although still inferior, shows some aspects of power. Amy early on seems to be the typical mistreated woman. She is neglected by Will when she wishes to leave town with him, and he decides to stay and fight. The fact that he decides to stay alone while she leaves shows how little she is thought of. However, woman show some power towards the end of the film. Will's old lover Helen supports the cause, and des not fear the gun's she accuses Amy of. However, she scorns how the town acts as cowards and leaves the town with Amy. Then once she hears the guns, Amy chooses to reject her pacifist ways and go protect her husband, a move that is very rare in western. It begins to show the power of women, although slightly. Amy kills ben, but then is taken hostage by Frank. However, once she attacks Frank she gives a clear shot for Will to kill Frank, thus assisting in defeating the criminals. This is a rarity in western, althought very slightly, both films showcase the slowly changing views of women, who are portrayed to hold some worth.
Both High Noon and The Ballad of Little Jo, support Thompson's thesis that, "Westerns eaither push women out of the picturecompletely or assign them roles in which they exist only to serve the needs of men." (40). Such holds true in both films. The west is openly considered a "man's world" and women serve only as side-acts, and their input, actions, and thoughts are rarely ever considered or taken into account by men. Thompson believes most westerns subject women to almost worthless beings, beings only created to tend and serve the needs of the dominant males. This hold true for the most part, but the views towards women slowly start to change in these films.
ReplyDeleteThe Ballad of Little Jo supports this train of thought, but it debunks Thompson's statement that, "Westerns pay practically no attention to the women's experience." (41). In this film, the protagonist of the story (Jo) is a female and the entire story is about her experience of the west. However, the same themesvdo apply. She was treated horribly by the men in the story, first by being outcasted by her family as she bore an illegitimate child. Once she hits the road, she is seen only as prey. She was labeled as suspicios and as a whore, and even was subject to being sold as a prositute. She was seen as something only for men's pleasure. Seeing this, she cut her face and disguised herself as a man to avoid turmoil. Percy also demostrates how inferior women are, when he slashes he face of a prositute, as if she wasn't even human. He defames women even more once he finds the letter from Jo's sister and calls her a whore, and finds it so insultin to be fooled by a female. The film also shows the inferiority of women during the big gun fight. The painful expression on Jo's face when she shoots the two men show her sensitivity, which the film portrays as weakness. Although the film is about a woman, it shows the very negative view that exists about them.
High Noon paints a similar portrait, in that, in th film the woman, although still inferior, shows some aspects of power. Amy early on seems to be the typical mistreated woman. She is neglected by Will when she wishes to leave town with him, and he decides to stay and fight. The fact that he decides to stay alone while she leaves shows how little she is thought of. However, woman show some power towards the end of the film. Will's old lover Helen supports the cause, and des not fear the gun's she accuses Amy of. However, she scorns how the town acts as cowards and leaves the town with Amy. Then once she hears the guns, Amy chooses to reject her pacifist ways and go protect her husband, a move that is very rare in western. It begins to show the power of women, although slightly. Amy kills ben, but then is taken hostage by Frank. However, once she attacks Frank she gives a clear shot for Will to kill Frank, thus assisting in defeating the criminals. This is a rarity in western, althought very slightly, both films showcase the slowly changing views of women, who are portrayed to hold some worth. The films ultimatey describe that women started being viewed as complete equals (in 1952 and especially n 1993), but the typical traits and sterotypes still lingered.