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Entry tags:
TV Shows/Movies with female protagonists.
I've been thinking. About a lot of things, so let's pick one, shall we? Strong female characters. Where are they and why aren't there more of them? What do I mean by "strong" anyway? I had more thinky thoughts about it, and then my work day got in the way. So annoying.
In my opinion, "strong" should encompass both "positive" and "negative" traits. I'm putting quotes around them, since I would rather not make a judgment on what any one person views as either positive or negative -- that's rather subjective. I love flawed characters, be they female or male, and think that sometimes a character's flaws are what makes that character strong. Currently, I've been focusing more and more on female characters, particularly with my original writing, and find that the more flawed they are, the more I love them. I find I want them to be spectacularly flawed.
Also, I feel the need to make a point, which is, I'm not interested in judging. That is, on judging a (female) character's actions as being right, or correct, or wrong, faulty, absurd, outrageous, exactly right, stupid, detrimental, hurting, or whatever. They could very well be those things, but I'm more interested in what those actions *say* about a character, rather than judging that character for being right or wrong. I'm trying to get at what defines a, in this case female, character as being that character, if that makes any sense.
(also, as an aside, neither am I interested in criticizing the writing behind these characters or the tv shows/movies/books. We can complain all day long about TPTB, or the writers of tv/movies/books, but, at the end of the day, we are not the one's driving the car, here, and what's on the screen or on the page is what we have to play with. Complaining about it, pointing it out, doesn't change it, imo.)
Anyway, I don't really have much of a point other than listing some female characters that I find fascinating, as much for their awesomeness as for their what might be viewed as their flaws.
Female characters that I love:
1. Alias -- Sydney Bristow: She really got knocked around a lot, especially in the early seasons. At the start of the series, Sydney was mostly a victim of other people's decisions -- her father, her job, her fiance's murder, etc etc. By the end of the series, I think she really managed to take some control back.
2. Highlander -- Amanda: Perennial favorite. *g* She's a lot of fun, and fundamentally she's all heart. I'm always struck by her tendency towards covetous behavior, which I guess is related to why she's a thief, loving those sparkling, pretty gems, and such. One of the moments I remember the most about Amanda is in Forgive Us Our Trespasses when she's talking to what's-his-name and she doesn't retreat into her more usual persona but is quiet and serious.
3. Star Trek: Voyager -- Captain Kathryn Janeway: I've always wondered at the level of dislike this character has garnered. She's actively hated by a lot of people. I mean, I guess I can understand why, sort of -- she's ballsy, she makes decisions no one seems to agree with, she takes no quarter, she sticks to her choices be they right or wrong and damn the consequences, and she always makes it work even if she irrevocably damages some things in the process. I think many people thought she was crazy. I dunno. I always liked her, a lot. She's tough. Rewatching Voyager I find that I like her even more than before.
4. Pirates of the Caribbean -- Elizabeth Swann Turner: Another female character with a lot of hate thrown her way, unfortunately. With Elizabeth in particular, I find that what most people seem to dislike about her are the very reasons I like her. *g* I love her immaturity, her sexuality, everything about her, really. She's right, she's wrong, she makes some mistakes. She has desires that get in her way, and she makes judgement calls that come back and haunt her. I love her. *g*
5. Harry Potter -- Hermione: I've seen some heavy criticism thrown at Rowling for her (lack of) strong female characters. Since I'm not criticizing the writers here, I'm not going to say anything about that except just to say I sometimes agree and sometimes disagree, depending on the perspective I'm taking. But, just looking at the characters in the books as they're written without going meta on it, I love Hermione as she is. Her flaws are her strengths, it's great. The same with Luna, too.
6. Friday Night Lights -- Tyra Collette: Easily my favorite character of all time anywhere in the entire universe. *g* She is so amazingly, gorgeously flawed, it sends me into a tizzy. She's exactly, almost to the T, the definition of what I'm trying to say by "strong female character". She's not only just strong because she has learned to stand up for herself, but she's strong *on the page*. She's real, in other words. We see her crying, weak, brave, totally wrong, selfish, angry, etc etc. She's just amazing.
7. Friday Night Lights -- Tami Taylor: Another who just makes me all aflutter. She's older and wiser than Tyra, but you can just see on her face where's she's been and the road she chose to travel that has allowed her to have strong marriage and a good relationship with her kid.
8. Friday Night Lights -- Lyla Garrity: I could go on and on about the women in FNL, but I'll stop with Lyla. I'm putting Lyla on the list because in season 1 she's had just the worst time of it, and I love how she's made some really bad choices, and how she suffered for them, and still came through alive at the end. She's kind of a hard one to love, but I find her interesting, hugely in part because she was The Perfect One -- daddy's little girl, cheerleader, girlfriend to the quarterback -- at the beginning, but in real life there is no such thing as perfect and we see that in her character. When shit hits the fan, she's knocked down, but she gets back up again. Another thing that I love is how she's juxtaposed against Tyra. One of the reasons I loved the final episode last season so much.
9. Emma -- Emma Woodhouse: Jane Austen does wonders with female characters. Her heroines are all flawed in interesting and sweet ways. In Emma, she even says so, at the start. I forget if it's in the novel or just often referenced from one of Austen's letters, about how she's writing a female character who no one will like. *g* I think that's great.
10. Battlestar Galactica -- Laura Roslyn: Interestingly, I find myself comparing President Rosyln with Captain Janeway, although no one else is. *g* She's tough, she's made some unpopular choices, she's kind of crazy sometimes, she's loved by her friends, she's hated by her friends. I loved all those back story episodes where she's like having affairs and stuff. I love all that stuff. BSG has some great, totally fractured, female characters. Awesome!
In my opinion, "strong" should encompass both "positive" and "negative" traits. I'm putting quotes around them, since I would rather not make a judgment on what any one person views as either positive or negative -- that's rather subjective. I love flawed characters, be they female or male, and think that sometimes a character's flaws are what makes that character strong. Currently, I've been focusing more and more on female characters, particularly with my original writing, and find that the more flawed they are, the more I love them. I find I want them to be spectacularly flawed.
Also, I feel the need to make a point, which is, I'm not interested in judging. That is, on judging a (female) character's actions as being right, or correct, or wrong, faulty, absurd, outrageous, exactly right, stupid, detrimental, hurting, or whatever. They could very well be those things, but I'm more interested in what those actions *say* about a character, rather than judging that character for being right or wrong. I'm trying to get at what defines a, in this case female, character as being that character, if that makes any sense.
(also, as an aside, neither am I interested in criticizing the writing behind these characters or the tv shows/movies/books. We can complain all day long about TPTB, or the writers of tv/movies/books, but, at the end of the day, we are not the one's driving the car, here, and what's on the screen or on the page is what we have to play with. Complaining about it, pointing it out, doesn't change it, imo.)
Anyway, I don't really have much of a point other than listing some female characters that I find fascinating, as much for their awesomeness as for their what might be viewed as their flaws.
Female characters that I love:
1. Alias -- Sydney Bristow: She really got knocked around a lot, especially in the early seasons. At the start of the series, Sydney was mostly a victim of other people's decisions -- her father, her job, her fiance's murder, etc etc. By the end of the series, I think she really managed to take some control back.
2. Highlander -- Amanda: Perennial favorite. *g* She's a lot of fun, and fundamentally she's all heart. I'm always struck by her tendency towards covetous behavior, which I guess is related to why she's a thief, loving those sparkling, pretty gems, and such. One of the moments I remember the most about Amanda is in Forgive Us Our Trespasses when she's talking to what's-his-name and she doesn't retreat into her more usual persona but is quiet and serious.
3. Star Trek: Voyager -- Captain Kathryn Janeway: I've always wondered at the level of dislike this character has garnered. She's actively hated by a lot of people. I mean, I guess I can understand why, sort of -- she's ballsy, she makes decisions no one seems to agree with, she takes no quarter, she sticks to her choices be they right or wrong and damn the consequences, and she always makes it work even if she irrevocably damages some things in the process. I think many people thought she was crazy. I dunno. I always liked her, a lot. She's tough. Rewatching Voyager I find that I like her even more than before.
4. Pirates of the Caribbean -- Elizabeth Swann Turner: Another female character with a lot of hate thrown her way, unfortunately. With Elizabeth in particular, I find that what most people seem to dislike about her are the very reasons I like her. *g* I love her immaturity, her sexuality, everything about her, really. She's right, she's wrong, she makes some mistakes. She has desires that get in her way, and she makes judgement calls that come back and haunt her. I love her. *g*
5. Harry Potter -- Hermione: I've seen some heavy criticism thrown at Rowling for her (lack of) strong female characters. Since I'm not criticizing the writers here, I'm not going to say anything about that except just to say I sometimes agree and sometimes disagree, depending on the perspective I'm taking. But, just looking at the characters in the books as they're written without going meta on it, I love Hermione as she is. Her flaws are her strengths, it's great. The same with Luna, too.
6. Friday Night Lights -- Tyra Collette: Easily my favorite character of all time anywhere in the entire universe. *g* She is so amazingly, gorgeously flawed, it sends me into a tizzy. She's exactly, almost to the T, the definition of what I'm trying to say by "strong female character". She's not only just strong because she has learned to stand up for herself, but she's strong *on the page*. She's real, in other words. We see her crying, weak, brave, totally wrong, selfish, angry, etc etc. She's just amazing.
7. Friday Night Lights -- Tami Taylor: Another who just makes me all aflutter. She's older and wiser than Tyra, but you can just see on her face where's she's been and the road she chose to travel that has allowed her to have strong marriage and a good relationship with her kid.
8. Friday Night Lights -- Lyla Garrity: I could go on and on about the women in FNL, but I'll stop with Lyla. I'm putting Lyla on the list because in season 1 she's had just the worst time of it, and I love how she's made some really bad choices, and how she suffered for them, and still came through alive at the end. She's kind of a hard one to love, but I find her interesting, hugely in part because she was The Perfect One -- daddy's little girl, cheerleader, girlfriend to the quarterback -- at the beginning, but in real life there is no such thing as perfect and we see that in her character. When shit hits the fan, she's knocked down, but she gets back up again. Another thing that I love is how she's juxtaposed against Tyra. One of the reasons I loved the final episode last season so much.
9. Emma -- Emma Woodhouse: Jane Austen does wonders with female characters. Her heroines are all flawed in interesting and sweet ways. In Emma, she even says so, at the start. I forget if it's in the novel or just often referenced from one of Austen's letters, about how she's writing a female character who no one will like. *g* I think that's great.
10. Battlestar Galactica -- Laura Roslyn: Interestingly, I find myself comparing President Rosyln with Captain Janeway, although no one else is. *g* She's tough, she's made some unpopular choices, she's kind of crazy sometimes, she's loved by her friends, she's hated by her friends. I loved all those back story episodes where she's like having affairs and stuff. I love all that stuff. BSG has some great, totally fractured, female characters. Awesome!