Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Johnny Guitar/Two Mules- VC
The films Johnny Guitar and Two Mules of Sister Sara reflects the change of the role of women as "the other" in society. In Johnny Guitar, one of the main characters, Vienna, is a women. She carries a gun and has some of the characteristics of the alpha male cowboy. The 'villian' in the film is also a women. Thus film represents the shift in the role of women. Women have a much more prominent role in the films. In Two Mules for Sister Sara, a woman plays a very different role than what is regular for them in Westerns. She is an important, main character. She also rides along side the alpha male cowboy, something that is very rare in Westerns. The alpha male cowboy usually views 'the other' as useless. However, in this film, he relies on sister Sara numerous times to help him and she does. It almost appears as though the character (Clint Eastwood) and sister Sara have joint characteristics that make up the alpha male cowboy.
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The films Johnny Guitar and Two Mules of Sister Sara reflects the change of the role of women as "the other" in society. In Johnny Guitar, one of the main characters, Vienna, is a women. She carries a gun and has some of the characteristics of the alpha male cowboy. The 'villian' in the film is also a women. This film represents the shift in the role of women. Vienna is successful and runs her own business. She also has dreams of building up the town once the railroad comes through. She appears to be a complete different character than the normal role for women. However, once her old love interest, Johnny Guitar returns, she becomes dependent on him. She tells him how much she has missed him and needs to be with him. In this scene, the normal role of women is restored in the sense that the woman becomes helpless and depends on the alpha male cowboy. This represents how women are making strides in their battle for equal rights, but they are still struggling to gain them.
ReplyDeleteIn Two Mules for Sister Sara, a woman plays a very different role than what is regular for them in Westerns. She is an important, main character. She also rides along side the alpha male cowboy, something that is very rare in Westerns. The alpha male cowboy usually views 'the other' as useless. However, in this film, he relies on sister Sara numerous times to help him and she does. It almost appears as though the character (Clint Eastwood) and sister Sara have joint characteristics that make up the alpha male cowboy. Sister Sara is the 'brain' behind their ideas and Clint Eastwood carries them out. They appear to act as a team. In the end, Sara rides off with the alpha male cowboy. This is very rare because usually at the end of these movies the alpha male rides off alone. This shows how women are becoming more prominent figures in society and are gaining more rights.