MP - Johnny Guitar / Two Mules for Sister Sara

In the film, Two Mules for Sister Sara, there are multiple representations of what is perceived to be the other. Sara who is seemingly a nun for most of the movie but later reveals herself as a prostitute is the strongest representation of the other. During the time period that this movie was filmed, America had just gone through the Civil Rights Movement and had just completed the Vietnam War. While women were still gaining more rights as the years progressed, this movie brings to life the elements that were substantial in the Western culture. At multiple points throughout the movie, Hogan, the man who rescues Sara from being raped tells her, in so many words, that if she were not a nun, he would leave her to fend for herself. Hogan does not see a woman as someone in need except when they prove to be more powerful than he. Towards the end of the movie, Hogan shows that he can communicate how he feels for Sara which is generally uncommon in Western films. This relates back to the time period in which the West was becoming more populated and greatly settled which caused a need for communication to survive.


In the movie, Johnny Guitar, Vienna proves to be not only the figurative outsider but the literal one as well due to the presence of hatred from the other townspeople. While she owns a saloon and clearly has a good business head on her shoulders, she is not accepted. Being the other in this film, she often has to stand up for what she believes in even when it is not in her best interest. When a man is killed and four of her friends along with the Dancing Kid and his men are arrested, Vienna is blamed by Emma Small who has had an outstanding hatred for her. Vienna is set to hang when she is saved by Johnny Guitar, or Logan, and escapes into hiding. When Vienna and the others are discovered, Emma challenges Vienna to a showdown in which she is injured but ultimately kills Emma. This movie, appearing in 1954, the Korean War had just ended and the Vietnam War was just around the corner. The Second Red Scare was in full swing which had forced many people into hiding due to fear of being named a communist. Women’s rights during this time period were extremely limited. While they were expected to be the perfect housewife, a woman such as Vienna proves to be the exact opposite of the ideal womanly image. Getting into a duel with another woman was generally unheard of since it was supposed to be the men who represented gun fights and violence. Through and through, Vienna was a strong willed woman who proved to not only go against the time period of the movie but was portrayed in a light of distaste amongst the townspeople.