Getting Dirty: The Measure of a Man

The Rooster Complex

    True Grit is the epitome of a classic western. Recounting an epic chase down a treacherous trial, it follows Mattie Ross and her U.S. Marshal bounty hunter Reuben "Rooster" Cogburn in their attempts to bring her father's murderer to justice.

    The All-American white male stereotype radiates from "Rooster" as the hero of the film. Although his shortcomings are not hidden, they are not only justified but carefully chosen to preserve his manhood. His drunkenness is earned through the battles he has valiantly endured, portraying him as down-to-earth. His murderous tendencies are seemingly balanced by the circumstances in which he finds himself in. His moral ambiguity and humor blend aged machismo with valor. He has "The Rooster complex", where he is- as a man- expected to crow solitary dominance, humor unexperienced hens, and strut through the unwarranted pain of his life. By rejecting any notion of femininity in his character, he propagates a stiff ideal of manhood in the United States. Nevertheless, he is the protagonist- a positive stereotype of a man- for he never runs dry of American grit.