DS "Red River"

The film features two men, Tom Dunson and Matthew Garth, who exhibit traits of the typical alpha male character present in Westerns. The alpha male cowboy is the strong, silent type. He values action over words, because "language is false or at best ineffectual; only actions are real" (Tompkins 51-2). Alpha male cowboys are able to convey their emotions "with a respect that's deeper than the written word." Both Tom and Matt possess the alpha male attribute of non-language, as is evidenced through their mostly silent interactions with their cattle hands and love interests. This is partly how each character demands respect and exemplifies the alpha male ideal, since "the Western equates power with non-language" (Tompkins 55). Non-language also fans the flames between Tom and Matt. By choosing to fight rather than talk, the two showed that they "would rather die than talk, because talking might...undo the front of imperturbable superiority" (67). Essentially, talking only aids in diminishing one's alpha male status.

Silence and non-language is not the only alpha male trait. Another integral characteristic of the alpha male cowboy is to "draw a gun faster than anyone else." It just so happens that both Tom and Matt are renown marksmen, which acts to further perpetuate Tom and Matt's manliness. Furthermore, both characters have a tough and rugged look and demeanor, but neither are ever dirty. This quality of being not clean but not dirty is also manifested in the alpha male.

The men are separated in part only by their actions. Tom Dunson acts impetuously, obeying the law of the gun, and acting outside of moral absolutes. For instance, when he is informed by a man that the land he planned to take was already owned by another man, Diego, he kills the messenger and claims the land, not allowing his alpha male status to be slighted. Matt on the other hand kills only when the situation dictates it, falling more in line with a deontological perspective. Many in the film, mainly Tom, voice disapproval of Matt's ideological approach when they say to him that he's "soft" which in effect feminizes the character. The world of Westerns champions the notion that "a man who settles his own problems is indeed the sum of his actions." Both men, while seemingly acting under differing ideologies, allow their actions to speak volumes about their characters.