Western Masculinity 21st Century Style

"Fire in the Hole" Justified Episode One

For those of us who grew up watching re-runs of 1950s Western television series like The Lone Ranger, Gunsmoke, The Rifleman and numerous others along with Western classics like Stagecoach (Ford, 1939), The Ox-Bow Incident (William Wellman, 1943) and The Searchers (Ford, 1956) the Western as a genre and its themes have been a key component of our mediated lives. Once a genre that dominated both the large and small screens numerous directors, writers, producers, and actors have tried to revive the public's flagging interest in the genre. Kevin Costner's 2002 film Open Range managed to capture the heart, spirit, grandeur, and pathos of the Western while the 2007 unseen masterpiece The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford explored the darker elements of the myth of the West, our outlaw heroes and the harsh type of constitution that was required to survive amidst the brutality of the West and its landscapes. Still, in each of these cases, the Western as a genre seemed to be as dead as the idea of Manifest Destiny and the frontier as the dominant form of American narrative.

However, with the debut on FX (a network known for producing television series that are more risque in content and language and male centered) of the new series Justified those of who love the idea of Westerns and all its trappings can celebrate. Timothy Olyphant who was superb as the stoic and sullen Sheriff Bullock in HBO's Deadwood here plays Raylan Givins a 21st century model of American lawman who carries his sidearm in a hip holster like the cowboys of old, wears a Stetson hat, boots, and suit coat, tie and whose, tanned, grizzled visage and piercing eyes represent an image of American masculinity that is hardened, all business, and yes, quite violent. Yet, like Marshall Dillon in Gunsmoke the character of Raylen who was created by legendary crime and Western novelist Elmore Leonard is a man of extreme convictions who prefers a type of justice that in the 21st century is not acceptable. Raylen's idea of justice is displayed in the first few moments of the show when he shows up at a luxury hotel in Miami and tells an unidentified man that he gave him 24 hours to leave the city or he faces Raylen's skill with a gun. A skill which is displayed shortly thereafter when he shoots the man right in the chest killing him instantly. He then tries to account for his actions with his superiors by telling them that "he pulled first." Even if the other man had pulled first it is clear that Raylen's skill with a firearm and his steely demeanor are no match for any criminal because this is a lawman who shoots first and asks questions later.

Raylen's credo of "you make me pull, I'll put down" which he shares with his old friend and co-worker in the Harlan county coal mines Boyd Crowder (Walter Goggins) show him to be a man who respects and understands that firearms are weapons of death not objects of persuasion. In the scene where one of Boyd's Neo-Nazi flunkies tries to get the drop on Raylen with a an assault model shotgun, Raylen's hard edged masculine persona is demonstrated as he stands there waiting for the man to pull the trigger, but as the flunky stumbles and cannot pull the trigger, it gives Raylen the opportunity to teach the man a lesson as he calmly takes the gun away from the man, ejects the shells and then tosses it back into his car. Raylen is a cool customer even in the face of trouble or a shotgun. His brand of masculinity is a throw back to the time when the ideal of the "self-made man" was sold as the ideal form of American masculinity. Even more interesting about this character is his Southern roots, a quality which is reminiscent of the wave of Southern lawmen films of the 1970s like Walking Tall that celebrated an image of masculinity as violent, celebratory of vigilante justice and respectful of women as long as they were well mannered and safely in the kitchen.

While both of the male leads in this first episode are exceptional in playing the struggle for supremacy in their hometown as a battle of male egos, what lies underneath this facade is the reality that both of these men are seeking the acceptance, love, and company of a woman. In Boyd's case it is his brother's wife Ava (Joelle Carter) who in a moment of clarity and sweet justice shot her husband with a deer rifle as he sat down to his favorite meal. Ava explains to Raylen that she had been verbally and physically abused to the point that she saw no other way out. For Raylen, his problems lie with his ex-wife Winona Hawkins (Natalie Zea) who has returned to her home state of Kentucky and started her life over as a court reporter.

Setting the series in Kentucky a place Raylen tried to escape from only to be sent there in an effort to stop his vigilante methods is brilliant, especially in these economically challenging times because Kentucky like Michigan, Pennsylvania and West Virginia is a state that faces extreme instances of economic and social disparities that I hope future episodes will explore. For tonight's episode it serves to examine the trending interest in "white power" movements all while critiquing them as ideological vacuums that are used to justify criminal activities and racism.

One of the best scenes of the episode and one that illustrates the difference between Raylen and Boyd's masculinities occurs when Raylen goes to Ava's house and finds Boyd sitting at her table eating biscuits and fried chicken. Boyd explains to Raylen that he has tried to give him a chance to leave but now it is time that they settle their differences. Raylen is shown to genuinely care for Ava while Boyd orders her around like a slave telling her to go watch television or brink them some Jim Beam. However, Ava now understands what it is like to be free of a man and she points a shotgun at Boyd as he sits in the same place where his brother had when she killed him. Ava is no longer afraid of Boyd and his "creepy" behavior and in a split second, he reaches for his .45 pistol on the table and Raylen draws his weapon and fires hitting him in the chest without killing him. He then stands over him, with a look of confusion and sadness as he explains that they had worked together in the mines when they were 19. While Raylen was able to escape the poverty and backwards thinking, Boyd, his brother, and many of the other residents of Harlan were forced to watch as their jobs, way of life, and town were destroyed by the greed of the mine owners. What is displayed in the scenes between these two men is a bifurcation of American masculinity as either calculating, efficient, violent, and somewhat progressive or that of "redneck" regressive, and criminal masculinity. In either case, the show seems to be arguing that America is a nation where masculinity is best understood in connection to one's sense of self-worth through labor and the ability to act boldly, and violently.

In the end of the episode Raylen breaks into his ex-wife Winona's home and sits in the dark drinking when she comes down and finds him. He is confused by his actions and wonders if he is merely a murder with a badge. He then tells her, "I guess I never thought of myself as an angry man" to which she replies "You do a good job of hiding it, and I suppose most folks don't see it, but honestly? You are the angriest man I've ever known." Her line illustrates an image of Raylen and in a sense connects him back to the image of American masculinity created in Western television and films. He requires the counsel and love of a woman to make him whole and more importantly to keep him civilized. Still, it is not totally clear where this show may be headed but I am intrigued and I hope to stay saddled up with this new show.