During the time period Rooster Cogburn (1975) was made, women still continued on with their fight for equal rights and had begun to change society’s view of women to be important. They were fighting to abolish the picture of women to be solely just housewives who should clean, cook, and take care of her man. This film was made during the second wave of the Women’s Movement and is depicted in Rooster Cogburn with the strong female character Eula Cogburn.
Eula represents everything that the earlier Westerns saw as weak and femininely as she talks a lot, is educated, and is religious. However, Eula signifies a turning point in Western films because of how she has “weak” characteristics but still manages to embody the values and strength of the alpha male cowboy. She is strong, independent, and stands for what she believes in. This is evident throughout the film when she argues with Rooster and several times outwits him. Eula rides with Rooster on their quest to find the killers, and although Rooster refuses to see her as one, Eula’s actions and overall characteristics are equal to a man’s. During the time of the second wave of the Women’s Movement, women were trying to break the mold of the “housewife” they were born into and become equal to men. This film symbolizes the rise of women during the time and how men resisted, as seen with Eula and Rooster.
The role of women began to develop and evolve more in the generally male dominated genre. In the film Rooster Cogburn, Eula represents everything that the earlier Westerns saw as weak and femininely as she talks a lot, is educated, and is religious. However, Eula signifies a turning point in Western films because of how she has “weak” characteristics but still manages to embody the values and strength of the alpha male cowboy. She is strong, and independent, leaving home to wander the way an alpha male would, and stands for what she believes in. This is evident throughout the film when she argues with Rooster and several times outwits him. Eula rides with Rooster on their quest to find the killers, and although Rooster refuses to see her as one, Eula’s actions and overall characteristics are equal to a man’s. She quotes the bible, tells Rooster that drinking is not good for him, is not married, and is governed by duty-ethics like an alpha male cowboy is. Also similar to the alpha male, Eula shows a glimpse of her moral ambiguity when she takes the watch off of the dead man. Made in 1975 during the time of the second wave of the Women’s Movement, women were trying to break the mold of the “housewife” they were born into and become equal to men. Eula’s departing from her home to travel on her own symbolizes the effect of the women’s movement and how women wanted to do the same thing during that time. This film symbolizes the rise of women during the time and how men resisted, as seen with Eula and Rooster.
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