Triangles of Masculinity

Justified Episode Two Riverbrook

While the second episode of FX's new cop show reverted back to tried and true cop storylines, there were still some interesting moments where we can see how the show is attempting to deal with the idea of American masculinity in the 21st century. As I previously stated, I see this show as an homage to Westerns and Western style masculinity with square jawed heroes who fight for truth, justice, and the American way, but in this second episode the idea of an all empowering type of masculinity and force of order is challenged.

The episode begins with Raylan at a prison where he has been assigned to pick up and escort one of his friend Boyd's followers, Mr. Crow who is shown to be an example of the racist, backwards style of thinking that permeates white men who have seen their jobs and opportunities disappear as a result of neoliberal economic practices. Crow tells Raylan as he is driving the car that he had once worked at Disney world in Orlando but he hated it because "Disney has a lot of homosexuals and negroes working there so I had to leave." Crow's statement against the theme park and the idea of an all inclusive version of the American Dream illustrates how lower class and working class white men in particular have been led to believe that their America is being stolen from them. Still, Crow's status as a career criminal and racist are shown to be dangerous for himself and the nation when Raylan tires of hearing his racist invectives and hits him in the nose, breaking it again after he had broken it during the first arrest.

The relationship between Raylan and Boyd is briefly explored in the opening when Raylan checks on Boyd in the prison hospital. The two old friends joke about the situation and Boyd questions whether perhaps Raylan missed killing him on purpose because of the length of their friendship and their shared experiences of the horror of the coal mines. Raylan sarcastically explains that even the best of shots can miss sometimes as he looks at his old friend who is in a great deal of pain because he has refused to use the painkillers. Boyd wants to be in full control of his faculties as they discuss the situation and then in a strange, and revelatory moment Boyd tells Raylan that "God was acting through you, through your gun, to get my attention." The indication is that Boyd has experienced some sort of religious conversion while waiting to speak with Raylan. However, the true nature of Boyd's religiosity must be questioned because in the previous episode he had used religion to justify his use of violence and intimidation to challenge the system. This relationship is one that is complex and I hope will be continually explored throughout forthcoming episodes. The chemistry between Olyphant and Walter Goggins is exceptional and they are both convincing in the relationship of these two friends.

After Raylan delivers Crow to prison he is asked by his boss Chief Mullen to check on a breakout from a high class Kentucky society party where two inmates Cooper and Price have escaped. The prisoners are part of a bluegrass band called the "Big House Boys" comprised of convicts who play music dressed in Depression era prison uniforms with black and white stripes. While these men are not being forced to work on road construction and houses for wealthy patrons like the prison system in the 1930s in the South was often guilty of, they are still shown to be exploitable labor, a point that Price emphasizes when he tells one of the guards, "Hell, these horses live better than most people."

Raylan stops at a convenience store to pick up some snacks on the way to investigate the break out when he comes across Cooper and Price who have taken over a store. Cooper gets the drop on Raylan and takes his guns, badge, car keys, and hat. Cooper then opens fire on Price and he runs away leaving Raylan on the floor with Cooper standing over him with a shotgun. The old convict asks him, "what are you state police?" Raylan calmly states his name and that he is a US Marshall. Cooper slyly grins and asks "Like in Gunsmoke?" Raylan curtly replies "More like in the Fugitive." This exchange of dialogue and the scene are telling because it taps into previous iterations of Western style lawmen on American television but it also reveals that Cooper's vision of American justice is tinged with the nostalgia and memories of watching the lawmen of American television. Cooper leaves Raylan standing in the store in the dark after he has taken all his possessions. Here Raylan is shown to be a man like any other, rather than the typical bad-ass lawmen that have populated so many American action films and cop shows.

Raylan's abilities as a lawman and his masculinity are called into question by Mullen when he lists off all the things Cooper took from his officer. Mullen stands in front of a movie poster for the film Tombstone when he asks, "He didn't rape you did he?" The indication is that Raylan's mishap is somehow akin to his foul-ups as a cop and as a man, a point which is returned to in the end of the episode.

Cooper has broken out of prison to find some money that he had stashed away and in the process reconnects with his ex-wife Shirley, an exotic dancer who has fallen in love with a man who is more concerned with money and sex toys. Shirley tells Cooper that her boyfriend "Dupree has ambitions and plans." Cooper dryly asks "For what a chain of dildo stores?" She then tries to defend Dupree and says, "Not just dildo's." However the fact that Shirley uses dildos and her boyfriend hopes to make a fortune selling sex toys illustrates another moment where traditional notions of masculinity have been replaced by elements of consumerism combined with aggression. When Dupree shoots Cooper after they can't find the money he uses the gun to reclaim the authority in his relationship with Shirley, a relationship that he believes is tenuous as she has begun to reconnect and enjoy her ex-husbands company.

Dupree and Shirley break into another Mcmansion in the housing development where they believe they will find the money only to discover that the occupants had found the money and spent it on cars, boats, high end televisions, fake breasts for the wife, and expensive clothes. The husband who is slim in build with a square shaped head is depicted as less than masculine and it is his inability to perform masculine acts such as fixing things around the house, which allows them to find the money. He compensates for his lack by purchasing things, and still it is shown that no matter how much he buys he is still less than manly for his wife. The husband's gender is a performance just like Raylan's performance of an old time lawman with the hat. In fact, he explains that the significance of the hat is because "I tried it on one time and it fit." The hat which is a marker of the Western hero is shown to be an affectation similar to the husband's effort to seem more manly with his purchasing power.

In the end, Dupree is killed because of his greed an arrogance and Raylan escorts Cooper back to the state prison after he is captured. Still, the place of masculinity as a driving force of authority is shown in this episode to be less than stable, and perhaps merely a performance that many men enact in an attempt to compensate for something else. Cooper's stealing of the money and breaking out of prison has more to do with his need to impress his ex-wife and perhaps Raylan's usage of Western style clothing has more to do with his desire to separate himself from his past. I will stay tuned to find out because after all I enjoy a good Western and a cop show.