Examine the film as a revisionism of “the other.” Consider the time period the film was made in order to understand the issue from a cultural studies point of view. Does it in any way follow the classic view of women? Explain with examples.
Katharine Hepburn's character, Eula Goodnight, is the daughter of Reverend George Goodnight, who is killed in a violent death by a groups of ruthless criminals. Eula makes Rooster Cogburn, played by John Wayne, her sidekick in order to find the criminals who had killed her father. Eula plays a strong female role, leaving the home to go on a journey. Although she is not the alpha in this film, she still plays a revolutionary character that shows the cultural changes going on in the mid 70's.
In the 70's, women were fighting for their rights to become equal in a world dominated by men playing the alpha role. For example in 1972, Congress passed a bill which prohibited the discrimination on the basis of sex in public schools. Katharine Hepburn was already a star at the time Rooster Cogburn was released, but her role in the film defined the powerful woman that she was. Just as Eula Goodnight devoted her life to finding her father's killers, Katharine devoted much of her life to philanthropic missions.
This film shows Eula as a strong dominant women, running within the circles of a male dominant society. In addition to searching for her father's murders' she in addition helps Rooster recover explosives that have been stolen. Given the fact that this mission is a dangerous one, also shows the courage that Eula has, just as the women of the mid 70's had; standing up for their rights.
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