The centerpiece of every western film or novel is typically the alpha-male white cowboy; the strong, silent type who only likes to say something only when it is necessary. In “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance” there are two alpha-male cowboys, Tom Doniphon and Liberty Valance. Unlike some of the other westerns there is also another central male character who is not an alpha-male cowboy, Ransom Stoddard. Matheson talks in her article “The West – Hardboiled: Adaptations of Film Noir Elements, Existentialism, and Ethics in John Wayne’s Westerns” about John Wayne’s characters and how they are often looked at as the hero and she goes on to describe the characteristics of the alpha-male and other characters in the west, such as Stoddard.
Both Valance and Doniphon are considered alpha-male cowboys even though Valance is seen as the villain and Doniphon is seen as more of a hero/leading figure in the town. Matheson talks about how Stoddard points out that there really is not much difference between the two (896). Both of them don’t live by the rule of law, instead they take the law into their own hands. This is shown when Valance robs the stagecoach and beats Stoddard, he tells Stoddard “I’ll teach you law – Western law” and Tom explains to Stoddard that in the West the law doesn’t mean anything “out here a man settles his own problems.” Matheson agrees with this in her article, the alpha-male cowboy often adheres to the law of the gun meaning if there is a problem he will settle it with his gun.
The only major difference between the alpha-male characters of Valance and Doniphon is that the brutal action Doniphon usually carries out is for the “good” of everyone else. Whereas Valance is looking to create problems and hurt people only for the benefit of himself; like when he robs Stoddard on the stagecoach or when he beats Mr. Peabody also destroying his newspaper shop. Matheson’s analysis of Liberty Valance is that he is a psychopath; he has no home he “lives where he hangs his hat.” Like the typical alpha-male Valance is looking to conquer the land. Both Valance and Doniphon leave the town for weeks or even months at a time, both coming back to different welcomes. Doniphon is very well respected and looked up to by the members of the town, whereas Valance is a very intimidating and feared by town members.
“When one considers the Wayne canon, it becomes obvious that the Duke specialized in playing destablalized, alienated figures, socially marginalized men caught in double binds – in short, the modern existential antihero” (897). This applies to the alpha-male cowboy and Tom’s character fits this perfectly because by the end of the movie he is caught in a double bind. He can either choose his own happiness, which is to be with Hallie, or to do what is best for others. In the end he does what is best for everyone else involved by shooting Valance. Nobody ever knows Tom is the one who killed Valance except for Stoddard and he only tells him because Stoddard is so remorseful and can’t live thinking he killed a man in cold blood. When Stoddard asks why he did it he tells him it is because Hallie needed him (Stoddard) alive. Matheson often talks about how they feel the need to fulfill a duty; the duty is often seeking revenge against someone who killed a family member. Tom Doniphon believed it was his “duty” to kill Valance because it was in the best interest of all Shinebone’s residents, especially Hallie. In the end the alpha-male can’t fully step over the threshold into settling down and leaving the frontier life because the woman he loves wants to be with Stoddard. He attempts to take his own life at one point when he starts to burn the house that he had finished building and was planning on living in with Hallie.
Matheson describes Stoddard as “a rather naïve and gullible idealist, what Westerns would term a greenhorn, Stoddard expects the West to be a place where “civilized” values are respected” (896). The alpha-male cowboy is the opposite of this description; Tom explains to Stoddard that in the West the laws don’t mean anything. As seen above both Valance and Tom live by the law of the gun, taking the law into their own hands. Stoddard wants to try and catch Liberty Valance using the law, but once he realizes that there is no way he can do that he begins to learn how to shot a gun in case the day ever came along when he could take on Liberty Valance with the law of the gun. Stoddard is more of a gentleman than the alpha-male cowboys; he is very polite and is a champion of law and order. When he got robbed he was dressed nicely and at the end of the film he is very professionally dressed. This is the only thing I think contradicts in some ways what Matheson talks about because she was saying how under the well dressed man, is a sociopath. I don’t think Stoddard is a sociopath I believe his intentions for the town are all good things; he is just trying to being some law and order to West. However, I believe Matheson’s descriptions of the alpha-male cowboys are right on target.
The centerpiece of every western film is typically the alpha-male, white cowboy; the strong, silent type who only likes to say something when he finds it necessary. In “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance” there are two alpha-male cowboys, Tom Doniphon and Liberty Valance, and there is another central male character that does not play the role of an alpha-male cowboy, Ransom Stoddard. Matheson discusses in her article the characteristics of the alpha-male cowboy and other characters in the west, such as Stoddard.
ReplyDeleteBoth Valance and Doniphon are considered alpha-male cowboys in this film, even though Valance is portrayed as the villain and Doniphon is more of a hero/leading figure in the town. They may be on opposite ends of the spectrum but Stoddard points out how there is really no difference between the two (896). Both Valance and Doniphon don’t live by any form of written law, instead they create their own law by taking it into their own hands. This is shown when Valance robs the stagecoach and beats Stoddard. He tells Stoddard “I’ll teach you law – Western law” and Tom explains to Stoddard that in the West written law doesn’t mean anything “out here a man settles his own problems.” Matheson agrees with this assessment in her article pointing out that the alpha-male cowboy often adheres to the law of the gun.
Matheson’s analysis of Liberty Valance is that he is a psychopath. He has no home instead he “lives where he hangs his hat.” Like the typical alpha-male Valance is looking to conquer the land. Both Valance and Doniphon leave the town for weeks or even months at a time, but both return to different welcomes. Doniphon is very well respected and looked up to by the members of the town, even though he creates his own law he has a moral center. But Valance on the other hand bullies the people in the town and acts with no moral compass.
“When one considers the Wayne canon, it becomes obvious that the Duke specialized in playing destablalized, alienated figures, socially marginalized men caught in double binds – in short, the modern existential antihero” (897) Tom Doniphon is caught in a double bind. He can either choose his own happiness, which is to be with Hallie, or do what is best for others. In the end he does what is best for everyone else involved by shooting Valance. Nobody ever knows Tom is the one who killed Valance except for Stoddard. The only reason Tom tells him is because Stoddard is so remorseful and can’t live thinking he killed a man in cold blood. When Stoddard asks why Tom did it, Tom tells him it is because Hallie needed him (Stoddard) alive. Matheson often talks about how the alpha-male feels the need to fulfill a duty. Tom Doniphon believed it was his “duty” to kill Valance because it was in the best interest of all Shinebone’s residents, especially Hallie. In the end the alpha-male can’t fully step over the threshold and settle down, leaving the frontier life behind because the one thing he would leave it for has been taken.
Matheson describes Stoddard as “a rather naïve and gullible idealist, what Westerns would term a greenhorn, Stoddard expects the West to be a place where “civilized” values are respected” (896). The alpha-male cowboy stands for the opposite of what Stoddard does and Tome explains to Stoddard that in the West laws don’t mean anything. Stoddard is more civilized than Doniphon and Valance. He is very polite and is a champion of law and order. But Stoddard ends up turning into everything he was so against. He became just like all the other Shinebone residents “he too has to settle his problem with Valance like “a man.” In doing so, like Valance, he places himself outside the law.” (896) Stoddard was willing to take the law into his own hands, but Doniphon saves him from the guilt it may have caused.