In the 1970's huge steps were being taken towards equal rights for women. Earlier in the 1960's, the Equal Pay Act of 1963 banned sex discrimination in pay in a number of professions and secured an executive order from JFK eliminating sex discrimination in the civil service. The following year, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 banned workplace discrimination not only on the basis of race, religion, and national origin, but also on the basis of sex. In the film Rooster Cogburn, which came out in 1975, there are dominant roles of "the other" played by a woman, an Indian boy, and a chinaman.
The 1970's was the time of the woman. After being sent back into the household when the men returned home from the war, the desire for equal rights exploded. Women became more vocal, stating their belifs and opinions, this can be seen in the role of Eula Goodnight played in Rooster Cogburn. From the beginning, Eula is an independent woman with great knowledge and respect for the Bible. When threatened wtih a gun by Hawk, a known criminal, Eula stands her ground passionately reciting verses from the Bible, while Hawk fires shots at her feet. This one of the first times we she a woman challenging a man in a film. Eula also shows her desire to be an equal, when she demands that she accompany Rooster on the journey to hunt down Hawk and his posse. Although Eula saves Rooster's life on several occasions, she still maintains her feminine behavior and actions by constantly having something to say. After one of Eula's rants to Rooster, he turns to Wolfe and says, "If they ever give them the vote, God help us!" This shows that although women in the 1970's were gaining some ground with equal rights, they were still not nearly as respected as men in the world.
In the 1970's huge steps were being taken towards equal rights for women. Earlier in the 1960's, the Equal Pay Act of 1963 banned sex discrimination in pay in a number of professions and secured an executive order from JFK eliminating sex discrimination in the civil service. The following year, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 banned workplace discrimination not only on the basis of race, religion, and national origin, but also on the basis of sex. In the film Rooster Cogburn, which came out in 1975, there are dominant roles of "the other" played by a woman, an Indian boy, and a chinaman.
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