Romantic comedies: I know, we can’t help but loving them. However, if you take a minute to think about some of your favorite movies, the plot almost always revolves around a woman trying to gain the affection of a man. The protagonist is commonly a male figure while the woman works her charm and sex appeal to win him over. In a recent documentary, Miss Representation, this bias view of women in the media is portrayed. On the film’s website you can take a pledge to challenge the media’s depiction of women. The website states: “In a society where media is the most persuasive force shaping cultural norms, the collective message that our young women and men overwhelmingly receive is that a woman’s value and power lie in her youth, beauty, and sexuality, and not in her capacity as a leader.” As college-age women, we have the capacity to change this societal norm by endorsing strong women characters depicted in the media.
That being said, not all women in TV shows and movies are reduced to their sex appeal. Although there is a major romance plot thread in many shows, some female TV and movie characters use their sexuality as a bonus or a perk to their originality and strength. Just as it should be in real life: individual attitude comes first. Once you love yourself and are truly comfortable in your own skin, you can try to find someone to share this confidence with.
These women, in my opinion, are true modern day heroines. They are depicted as strong, confident leaders, not just damsels in distress. Warning: SPOILER ALERT CENTRAL!
Kate Austen (Evangeline Lilly), Lost
Stranded on a deserted island, Kate has a chance to start over and forget the demons of her past. In the first episode she helps stitch of the wound of future love interest Jack. She learns that she has much more to offer on the island than her flirtatious abilities. She is a provider, a listener, a fighter, and even helps deliver a baby on the island! Her arms say it all: she is a truly strong woman. Her catch phrase becomes “I’m coming with you,” suggesting she isn’t going to just wait around and have someone else discover clues for rescue. She takes her fate into her own hands. As a past convict in the real world, her slate is wiped clean on the island as she becomes an exemplary human being.
Christina Yang (Sandra Oh), Grey’s Anatomy
Christina Yang knows what she wants. She is a driven woman with a set career path. It is no secret that the women of Grey’s Anatomy get caught up in some serious amorous love affairs. Nonetheless, Christina has so much emotional strength that she is able to operate on Derek with a gun to her head and survive a plane crash. Nothing gets in the way of Christina and the operating table. Sure, she struggles through some bumps in the road, but what heroine doesn’t? Her bravery, ambition, and talent give her heroine-worthy status.
Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence), The Hunger Games
Although she drives us a little crazy with waffling back and forth between her two love interests, Katniss is a true heroine. Not only can she shoot a bow and arrow like a boss, she survives a fight to the death. Originally a character in a young adult novel, Katniss is a true positive example for young women. When reading the immensely popular Hunger Games series, I was captivated by the character’s composure, confidence, and genuine strength.
Sydney Bristow (Jennifer Garner), Alias
I had to refresh my memory and go back to when I used to watch Alias religiously in middle school. Special agent Bristow has all the characteristics of a strong and independent woman. Her physical strength (with one punch she can deck a bad guy), to her clever wit and sexy disguises she proves time and time again that she has what it takes to be a kick-ass secret agent. Not to mention, she has incredible emotional strength. Sydney has it all: the brains, beauty, and brawn necessary to be a modern-day fictional heroine.
Erin Brockovich (Julia Roberts), Erin Brockovich
Based on a true story, Roberts captivated movie watchers when she played Erin Brockovich. Brockovich, an environmental lawyer with incredible persistence and a chronic potty mouth, is also a mother, fighter, and household name. Brockovich later issued a statement about her portrayal in the movie: “The movie had its positive and its negative effects on my life. I didn’t aspire for this to happen. All I was doing was what was in my heart to do and that was to extend my hand of friendship, understanding and compassion towards another. Had my intentions been anything other than pure, this case, this movie and my life, as it is today would not exist.” That’s a true NONFICTION modern-day heroine.
Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay), Law & Order SVU
Born the daughter of an alcoholic rape victim, Benson perseveres as a kick a$$ modern-day fictional heroine. A detective for the special victims unit, she relates with the people she interviews and really works with an empathetic mantra to figure out a case. Adventurous and knowledgeable, she learns from her past and is a stronger person because of it. Striving to help others, sometimes at her own expense, Benson is a female figure with a dark past and a bright future.
Wonder Woman (Lynda Carter), Wonder Woman
Who else could capture the idea of a modern-day heroine better than an actual super hero? Okay, so Wonder Woman aired before most of us were born and isn’t necessarily modern. One of the only female super-heroines on TV, Lynda Carter graced the screen with her amazing strength as a crime-fighting heroine with a tiara. It doesn’t get more straightforward than that. Although it may be hard to channel her example in real life, due to her super-human abilities, it doesn’t make her example as a heroine any less credible or awesome.
Photo Sources:
http://www.afterellen.com/blog/thelinster/goodbye-to-the-man-hot-women-of-lost
http://www.realtvaddict.com/wordpress/uploads/2010/03/christina-1.jpg
http://www.youbeauty.com/mind/columns/cloud-nine/katniss-everdeen
http://images1.fanpop.com/images/photos/2600000/Sydney-1X01-sydney-bristow-2600465-400-225.jpg
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/jul/11/lucy-mangan-time-collapsing