WARNING: This Article May Contain Spoilers
Truthfully, this article may have been the inspiration for this whole blog – it’s just taken a long time for me to write it. Remember when Elizabeth Banks openly said, when talking about her ‘reboot’ of Charlie’s Angels, ‘If this movie doesn’t make any money, then it reinforces a stereotype in Hollywood that men don’t to go see women do action movies’. Yeah, this article has been that long in the making – three years, people! Although, I’m glad I waited – as it seems she compounded this by saying they only watched Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel because comic book films are a ‘male genre’. Excuse me! I am a woman, and I love my comic book films and superheroes – there’s something for everyone! Fine, your film bombed at the box office – but own it, don’t start blaming your audience. Rant over. I’ve compiled some strong female characters that stormed the box office either in their own country or world-wide.
Dizz Flores
I actually think this film almost has the clever dumb balance on this subject – the strong female and the weak-trying-to-be-strong female. It raked in $121.1 million at the box office worldwide when it was released in 1997 but I guess some may argue that because it can be considered a war film and as there are aliens it falls into the ‘male genre’ but I seriously feel that that is an absolutely disgusting term. Alright, there’s also a bit of female flesh on show but who would know that before they buy their ticket? Back to the point. There’s actually a quote in this film that, for me, sums up why Dizz is a stronger character than Carmen ‘MI does the dying, Fleet just does the flying’. Dizz is on the front line alongside the men and, as far as we see, two other women (some will say 3 but remember, one walked down wash-out lane). The one thing I regret is that Dizz dies instead Carmen but at least it’s done giving her comrades the opportunity to make their escape.
Katniss Everdeen
You want to talk about irony? For all intense and purposes, this is an action film (based on a book but nonetheless) and turns out to be one of 4 of Elizabeth Bank’s highest grossing films – the other 3 being the remainder of the Hunger Games franchise – but this isn’t directly about her. Katniss Everdeen is strong because she has to be, growing up in a dystopian world and putting her life on the line to protect her sister. Her compassion and love forms only part of her strength, she’s clever and is aware of her weaknesses – which she shows in the training, you don’t see her fire an arrow until the moment they have to show off their talents, and that scene – more than any other – shows that she won’t take crap from anyone! More importantly, she is a symbol, a spark for a rebellion before she even knows it.
Kira
OK, I get she is a puppet but I really want you to hear me out on this. I think it is important to reference a character like Kira because sometimes what can be perceived as a strong female character might be misleading because of the acting, but that isn’t possible in this case. This is all about the way the character has been written. In my opinion, Kira is ultimately the hero of the whole story. If she doesn’t sacrifice herself, Jen never gets the opportunity to replace the shard in the crystal. Truthfully, she becomes Jen’s protector in a way as well, just look at the way she takes out the crystal bat so it doesn’t see him and getting him out of the Podling den when the Garthin attack.
As a child, and even a little bit now that I’m nearly 30, I wanted to be Kira and for me that is the mark of a good, strong female character.
Ma-Ma
Who says the strong female character has to be the hero? Madeline Madrigal, aka Ma-Ma, has one main power over the people of Peachtrees and that is fear. This is a woman with no fear of violence. Prostitute turned drug king-pin, usually the style of character in many crime TV series has a male counterpart acting as the leader of their gang, as if a woman would not be taken seriously – but not here. OK, some would say that she has men doing her dirty work, but this still shows her is being in control of the situation and at no point does she shy away from being in the middle of the action. The woman has Gatlin guns going off either side of her and at no point does she flinch! She even fires it herself! What’s beautiful about the character is that Lena Headey (won’t be the first time I mention her name…) plays her with such a soft voice, which can sometimes be more powerful than an angry tone.
Queen Gorgo
I did say that Ma-Ma wouldn’t be the only Lena Headey character I would want to discuss. For such a male dominated film, and I guess this may not fall in to the same remit as what Elizabeth Banks was talking about because it’s not like Queen Gorgo leads the Spartans into war but some of this film would not be the same without her. The nod, towards the beginning, is actually the fact that Leonidas even looks in her direction, as if he’s asking for permission, before kicking the messenger down the well, goes to show the balance of power in the hierarchy in Sparta and the respect he has for his wife. I could talk about this woman for so long because she is written so well and powerfully that you are reminded of the respect that was given to women in Ancient Greece. Gorgo even stands side by side with her king and speaks up for herself when insulted by the Persian messenger ‘Because only Spartan women give birth to real men’ (possibly my favourite line of the whole film!) Most important, Queen Gorgo uses a person’s most powerful weapon in aid of her husband – her voice. In my opinion, Gorgo is Leonidas’ strength as well as being his guide and confidante. The perfect power couple.
Side Note: I actually feel like this film has a relevant sex scene, because it symbolises the power shared between Gorgo and Leonidas.
Cherry Darling
OK, I’m not going to pretend that I didn’t look up the name of Rose McGowan’s character in Planet Terror because I did as I genuinely didn’t remember. Now, that takes nothing away from her character, just that when writing this I hadn’t watched the film for a while. I’ll be honest, you can’t get much more badass than a character with a machine gun for a left leg! More importantly, in every iteration of the poster and DVD cover – Cherry is either the solo image or standing front and centre! Now, obviously Rose McGowan isn’t an actual amputee but from my recollection was the first strong female character to have this affliction – long before Gazelle in Kingsman: Secret Service.
