I am doing a Critical Research project for my Media Studies A-level my question is “How are women represented in Spaghetti Westerns?” The films I am studying at the moment are For A Few Dollars More and One upon a time in the west (both Sergio Leone)
SO i want your opinions people, How are they represented and why do you think this is? Also I would very much appreciate other titles in which women have a significant part from any spaghetti westerns… Thanks guys
Few films with women leads
Belle Starr Story
Lola Colt
Legend of Frenchie King
Garter Colt
More titles:
Viva Maria
Little Rita nel west.
You could also try Johnny Yuma for a film where the main villain is a woman…
“100,000 for Lassiter” has a stronger woman’s role as well (in the beginning at least.)
I think you’re going to have a long answer… because generally, woman in these films are all over the spectrum. Some are good, some are bad, (some are ugly,) some are slutty, some are proper, etc., etc.
Pretty difficult question to answer actually. Usually it’s said that women have no important roles in sw’s, they’re just whores and punching bags for the villains. But that’s not the whole truth. I think women have more interesting roles in sw’s that they used to have in traditional American westerns where they mainly represented civilization and family and were there probably just for some romantic sideplot.
Silver mentioned Johnny Yuma, film with woman villain. Moment to Kill is another example. Now as I started to think about it, most Carnimeo films have very greedy, backstabbing woman characters.
That’s why i chose it need a nice long answer its for an exam thanks for the help guys Johnny Yuma perfect just seeing it is the hard part any opinions would be ace peace.
The Tall Women is another one.
These films where the women have the main role do not at all represent the genre when it comes to how women are treated and respresented. I suggest that Pink_Ranger07 (was Pink_Ranger06 taken?) watches God’s Gun to get a pretty good clue on te genre’s stance. A lot of spaghetti westerns boast attempted rape. There’s usually a good guy that stops it though. That pretty much sums it up. Women are weak, inferior beings that invoke rape. They need a male hero to save them. In the pre Fistful spaghettis women mostly were the dumb creatures that cook the meals and serve te drinks. Of course there’s also the more strong portrayals of women, but even the Belle Starr played by Elsa Martinelli in The Belle Starr Story is a dumb broad who falls in love. The spaghetti western world is a male chauvinist, testosteron driven world with little room for well written female characters (of course there are a few exceptions).
Light the Fuse… Sartana Is Coming offers a strong female role (Nieves Navarro) as well as The Specialist, which has a similar role for Francoise Fabien. There the women are clever and cunning schemers.
A very interesting female role is the old mum in Blood at sundown. A mother obsessovely loved by both the bad and the good brother. This lady wants compensation for things happened in the past. There the other townspeople treated her badly.
The fire starting old hag in Kill the wickeds
What film had a big, fat, ugly matriarch? I can vaguely remember the scen, but I don’t know what movie. I think it was with Garko, but I could be wrong there.
Yes, I think you remember right it was either in $10.000 or in $100.000. I’ts the wife of Sancho.
Yeah, you’re right, I definitely remeber it from the Django box.
So do I, but which part of the box?!
Hehe, really don’t know. I’ve watched these films one after the other months ago, and it all kinda blended together in my memory.
I’m pretty sure the feminists would have a field day with the SW genre lol.
Same for me. We should pay attention in the future ;D
There are some nice pornographic spaghetti westerns that put women in the foreground. Now that’s feminism!
I think THAT’S what the people in the media course are interested in!
$10.000 Blood Money
She wasn’t so much of a matriarch though. Just a fat old drunken wreck hitched up with Fernando Sancho.