Masculinity and Manliness

In Red River, Clift and Wayne are displayed as individuals will completely diverse forms of masculinity. While Wayne is displayed as individual who kills with ease and who has prowess in machismo, playing poker and back slap and with machismo. On the other hand, Clift is displayed as a young man who is not attracted or interested in any of these activities.

Rather than become a hunter and a warrior, Clift prefers to become a cowboy. He trains and at the end of the movie, he saddles and sits on a horse with ease. The depiction here is of a man who does not any need to participate in violent activities for the sake of it. On the other hand, when Wayne is informed that the land he has just declared his own actually belongs to someone else, he fights back and kills one of the two men who had come to bring the news.

Clift is a sensitive young man. When he becomes the sole survivor of a train accident, he approaches Wayne and the group shaking. He is so traumatized by the display of blood and death. On the other hand, when Wayne is informed of his wife’s murder by Indians, he does not go back. Instead, he continues with the journey. He is the strong man who pursues his dream without recourse. This pursue of dreams is also a way of expressing of manhood and masculinity.

The movie displays two forms of masculinity. Through Wayne, The movie displays a form of masculinity that is often associated with machismo, war, poker fighting and hunting. This kind of manliness is often associated with an egotistic attitude such as when Wayne obtains land from others forcefully. On the other hand, there is the second group, one that is more reliable in regard to the capability to provide solutions that are mutually beneficial. For Clift, war is the last option.

Wayne exerts his power on the laborers on the ranch. He bases his use of authority on the fact that he has signed a contract with such terms. He requires all men to sit while he remains standing. This he does to display his authority as the empire creator and ranch owner.

Once he has attained the empire, he shifts his emphasis to maintaining this power and exploiting his land and his laborers. He exhibits a masculinity empire that is organized around technical structures and an economy of self-interest. Although he still believes violence may come in handy at some point, he mainly practices capitalist pressure over his men. The new structure is built around ownership, wages and contracts. When arranging for the massive drive, Wayne gathers all the cattle he can regardless of whether they are his or not. He offers two dollars per head for each of Meeker’s cattle. As he ages, he realizes the need to adopt a capitalist strategy to gain his income.

The Vision of Wayne’s Masculinity is different from that of Clift. Clift appreciates the labor of the men and is more willing to take risks and change plans regardless of the fact that he is unsure of the market there. Clift is the picture of modern day management methods. The two characters are very different from each other. While one is dictatorial, the other is the opposite and actually strives to ensure that his laborers are well compensated.