Red River Ashley Rossi

The two alpha male cowboys in the Red River are Thomas Dunson, played by John Wayne, and Matthew Garth, played by Montgomery Clift. The two cowboys meet fourteen years ago and Matthew becomes a son to Dunson. Together they build a cattle ranch; and with little market for beef in the West, the two cowboys head east with a fellow western men. Dudson is clearly an alpha male cowboy. Since he adopts Matthew, Dudson raises Matthew to be an Alpha Male cowboy as well. As argued in Tompkins work and as supported by Matheson, the cowboys’ strong and silent attitude, their lack of religious motivation, their life of solitude, and their opinionated perception of the law, show their alpha male tendencies. In Tompkins’ West of Everything, she discusses that the a strong and silent personality is the signature trait of an alpha male cowboy. Since “words cannot express the truth about things”, the actions they take are much more important (Tompkins, 53). In the end scene, they use as little words as possible and proceed to a shoot out. Both cowboys also blatantly see the world as “blood, death, a cold wind blowing, and a gun in the hand” (Tompkins, 48). When some of the men try to go back West during the drive, Dudson shoots them. Matthew also realizes the harshness of the world and faces the realities of life after he rebels against Dudson. The ease of death and murder combined with the burial practices prove the cowboys are the alpha males. One of the men on the journey says,“ Fill a man full o' lead, stick him in the ground an' then read words on him. Why, when you've killed a man, why try to read the Lord in as a partner on the job?”. His statement shows the lack of God in the West and a misunderstanding as to why they should even read out of the bible at a man’s grave. Their focus on materialism also shows a stray away from religion. Throughout the movie the alpha male cowboys refer to the cattle as beef—the name for the cows material and financial value. They see things as , according to Tompkins, “a world of men and things, where male adults in the prime of life fine ultimate meaning in doing their best together on the job” and in this case the job is the treacherous drive east. Matheson points out in her work that the cowboys’ life of solitude and the perception of the law and morals determine the alpha males. The fourteen years they spent together on the ranch, with the only real company of Groot Nadine. To the viewers knowledge they never leave the land, and if they do it is to follow trails. Her perception of the law is cowboys are considered men “because their behavior is fundamentally ethical”(Matheson). Dudson thinks he was doing a good deed by creating a ranch and wanting to leave it to his only “son” Matthew. Dudson felt betrayed when he had created this ranch for him, only to have Matthew kick him off the dive and take the cattle to Kansas. Matthew believed he was going the ethical thing by looking out for the men and not leading them down a more dangerous path. Both men act as alpha male cowboys in the eyes of Matheson and Tompkins. Luckily, unlike some western films, both alpha males are left a live in the end—despite Dudson’s desire to kill Matthew and the suspenseful shoot out.