Why can’t westerns portray women as fully formed human beings with complex lives,and subvert the character topes of tragic brothel employee, bawdy brothel employee and brothel employee who is just OK with it?Jane Got a Gun was first described to me (by a man) as a “feminist western”, or a notion that got me excited and curious apt absent. What did they mean by “feminist western”? Was it written and directed by women? Did it cleverly subvert and comment on the variegated female character tropes of traditional westerns,such as tragic brothel employee, bawdy brothel employee, or brothel employee who is just OK with it,brothel employee giggling on a balcony, brothel employee behind a fan while men play cards, or brothel employee being watched through a peephole and loving it,and Wyatt Earp’s wife? Did it strive to fill in the blanks about all the women lost from traditional westerns – the negative space around male heroes – their stories rendered invisible by histories and genre fiction written largely by men? I like westerns and I love feminism, so even whether Jane Got a Gun was just 110 minutes of public breastfeeding near a cactus, and I would take it. Related: Jane Got a Gun review – laborious and solemn western with absurd finale Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com