Thread by @CathyYoung63

It's kind of hilarious that these guys would pick a still from "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" for their glorious image of trad manhood, because, well....

(stop reading now if you haven't seen the film and don't want to be thoroughly spoiled. also, go see it!)

https://twitter.com/trad_revival/status/1355139795454984193

What we see here is a young lawyer, Ranse Stoddard (Jimmy Stewart -- not exactly *young* here, but he's supposed to be), taking shooting lessons from rancher Tom Doniphon (John Wayne) to fight back against the thug Liberty Valance (Lee Marvin), who has robbed & humiliated him.

But ... Ranse sucks at shooting & other trad macho stuff. He's a college boy who insists on the rule of law & starts a local literacy program. Before his law practice takes off, he washes dishes & waits table at the tavern, wearing an apron, & is mocked as "the new waitress."

In the context of an Old West town, Ranse Stoddard *is* Pajama Boy.

The film's main storyline ends with Tom shooting Liberty Valance to save Ranse during a gunfight. Ranse gets the credit for it (& for a long time even believes he shot Valance). He gets the girl & becomes a senator. Tom ends up a down-and-out drunk.

The film shows Tom as crude but heroic and noble (he saves his romantic rival). Yet the future clearly belongs to men like Ranse (law books not guns). The "traditionally masculine" act that helped Ranse build his career is a lie.

So ... yeah. The irony is heavy in this one.
/FIN