DS High Noon / Little Jo

In many classic Westerns women play an insignificant and inferior role to the alpha male cowboy. Jane Tompkins describes the role of women in Westerns as serving merely as "extensions of the men they are paired with" (40). The films High Noon and The Ballad of Little Jo deny these conventions, depicting women as competent, capable, strong willed individuals who are now on a more level playing field with men.

High Noon depicts two women who are able to stand up for themselves and their convictions. In the case of Will Caine's newlywed Amy, she is able to stand up to her husband's authority. When Caine says he will be staying in order to protect the town, he expects Amy to be an obedient wife and to follow him unquestioningly. However, because staying will inevitably result in violent conflict (which runs counter to her religion and values) she turns the tables on him and offers him the ultimatum of leaving with her or her leaving on the next train without him. Power and control has transferred from the man, Will, to Amy, the woman. Amy also shows strength and capability near the end of the film when she is able to wield a gun and kill one of the outlaws. In addition to Amy in this film, Helen Ramirez plays a strong willed, competent female role. Helen not only possesses a position of power in the town, but she also clearly wears the pants in her relationship with Harvey Pell. In the world of the Western it is typically the man who walks out on the woman, but in this case Helen shows no remorse when kicking Harvey out. The women in High Noon are able to assert themselves and put themselves in positions of power and control, which reflects a shift in our perceptions of the role of and attitudes towards women in Westerns.

The Ballad of Little Jo also depicts a woman, Josephine, as capable, competent and strong willed. Circumstances have forced Josephine to become a man in order to tough it out in the harsh West. In her transition she acquires many alpha male attributes. Out of necessity, Jo becomes the strong, silent type in order to pass off as male because "the cowboy hero's taciturnity...is...proof of his manhood" (54). Little Jo also works to abandon the feminine need to talk. Her silence and isolation help the character command respect and demand power over the other male roles, because the Western "equates power with non-language" (55). Among other things, Jo teaches herself to wield a gun, learns to cook, and through observance adopts the mannerisms of the brash men whom surround her out west. Throughout the film she proves herself to be just as strong and capable as any man. This is a radically different role for a woman when compared to the insignificant and subservient roles of women depicted in most Western cinema, and absolutely reflects the changing status of women in Westerns.