Beginning in the 1970's women began to flood colleges and the workplace, gaining more respect as well as the Equal Pay Rights of 1963. Women's overall status in society was beginning to change and they were starting to gain recognition of their opinions and beliefs. This can be seen in the films Johnny Guitar and Two Mules for Sister Sara. In Johnny Guitar the two female roles, Vienna and Emma, act as the alpha males in the film. Vienna owns her own business and orders her employees, who happen to be men, around. The men make comments about Vienna, how she dresses and acts like a man. Also Emma, a cattle rancher in town who outwardly dislikes Vienna and the posse that hangs around Vienna's saloon, orders the men around in the film and states her opinions without any reservations about how she is portrayed. In the film Two Mules for Sister Sara, Sara disguises herself as a nun, tricking Hogan the drifter who saves her from being gang raped. She later reveals that she is a prostitute and helps Hogan infiltrate the French camp in order for the Mexican army to attack. Throughout these two films, many issues and strides towards equal rights were taking place.
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ReplyDeleteIn 1954, the western film Johnny Guitar came out displaying two females as the lead roles and portrayed as the alpha males cowboys. The first female, Vienna owns her own business and orders her employees, who happen to be men, around. From the beginning, Vienna takes a dominant role standing above the men looking down on them from the balcony. The men however make comments about Vienna, undermining her authority and making fun of how she dresses and acts like a man. The other female Emma, a cattle rancher in town who outwardly dislikes Vienna and the posse that hangs around Vienna's saloon, orders the men around in the film and states her opinions without any reservations about how she is portrayed. However, the other townspeople often disregard what Emma has to say and ignore her beliefs about the posse. Although both women may at first glance seem to be alpha male cowboys according to Tompkins beliefs on women in westerns, they are not true alpha males. Tompkins states, "there's nothing to [women]. They may seem strong and resilient, fiery and resourceful at first, but when push comes to shove, as it always does, they crumble" (61). Both women display some kind of weakness that prevents them from becoming the ultimate alpha male cowboy. Vienna must be saved by Johnny Guitar and she dresses in a white dress to show that she is still a woman who is ultimately dependent on the alpha male cowboy. Emma on the other hand, is ruled by her emotions. She focuses so much on her hatred for Vienna that she loses all control when it comes time to stand up against her. In this film, the woman can be seen gaining some ground and respect by society, but there is still a long way to go.
ReplyDeleteIn 1970, the film Two Mules for Sister Sara was released and showed a different angle on women in westerns. Sara disguises herself as a nun, tricking Hogan the alpha male cowboy. Although he saves her from being gang raped, she reveals to him that she is a prostitute and can help him. Both a nun and a prostitute are above the treatment of the average women. Sara acts as Hogan's sidekick in this film and there is a glimpse of an alpha female in Sara. She later helps Hogan infiltrate the French camp in order for the Mexican army to attack and at one point she saves Hogan. The roles the women play in these two films show the step being taken towards the recognition of women in society. Beginning in the 1970's women began to flood colleges and the workplace, gaining more respect as well as the Equal Pay Rights of 1963. Women's overall status in society was beginning to change and they were starting to be acknowledged for their opinions and beliefs. Women felt a sense of ambition and wanting to do more after being forced back into the house when the men returned from home from overseas during WWII.From these two films we can see the progress women were making in becoming more respected in society.