Girls on Film: Desiring Real Femme Fighters
Filed under: Action, Fandom, Girls on Film
Last week, I was scanning through my RSS feed and came across the following title at Bust: "Watch This: Empowering Girls Through Parkour!" Being a huge parkour fan and loving the idea of it empowering young women, I hurried over and check out a video of young girls getting taught the basics of David Belle's sport. (Check it out at the end of the post.) The clip got me thinking of girls and action, and well, off the parkour track.
There was a time when it was believed that macho test fests full of steroid-enhanced muscles and dumb man mayem were making way for "action babes" -- the Lara Crofts and Charlie's Angels. But as we've seen over the last few years, the boys are back in town -- especially Sly Stallone. The Italian Stallion went back to his old Rocky/Rambo formula, and it worked like a charm. Now muscles are, once again, in ... on the men.
There are still tough women around, but there's a big piece missing: Female action heroes who can actually perform the action they're in, or look like they can. Save from the delightful inclusion of Zoe Bell and her impressive ride (above) in Death Proof, our female heroes most often looks like twigs that would break under even half the action they're facing. Take a beautiful, slight woman, make her look busty, put her in leather ... sure, she could win, but not because of her strength, no matter what the filmmaker would like you to believe. Battling demons? Muscled baddies? Sadistic killers trailing you in their death cars? You need a little more than a good, body-revealing garment.
We, and the bad guys just itching for a fight, need strong women who aren't merely icons of strength -- but women who are strength. Ladies who can lay the smackdown, and do so in sensible clothing, without the ridiculously gratuitous and over-sexualized treatment. While it seems like a pipe dream, when even big female icons like Buffy are all about wearing fight-unfriendly outfits and waifishness, it has worked -- well.
Ask anyone about the best heroes of the big screen and, without a doubt, you'll hear about Sigourney Weaver's Ripley and Linda Hamilton in T2 (who I've mentioned before). They might be the Queens of action, but they're also the first to be forgotten in discussions of female-led action films, which usually degrade into chatter about butt-wiggling fighters who like to giggle and follow Charlie, or seriously awful Catwomen. Still, it's widely accepted that both Sigourney and Linda rock, are tough, and starred in great films. They aren't just beloved by the female moviegoers.
So, what's the problem? Why do people still cling to this idea of "women playing men"? It's not a problem of sex and gender identities. That notion is old and out of date. There are women who are tough, strong, and itching for a fight. Just look at every stunt woman out there who tries her darndest to look like the star they're subbing in for.
No one is going to race out of the theater if the star has a solidly muscled body and looks like she can fight.
If all the male action stars had scrawny bodies, there wouldn't be a male-centric action world, so maybe, just maybe we can say the same for the females and bulk some gals up?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
5-18-2009 @ 9:41PM
Kate said...
Hells yes!
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5-18-2009 @ 10:28PM
Kate said...
Think they'd make a She-Hulk movie?
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5-19-2009 @ 1:17AM
Monika said...
Considering the struggle of the male version, that would either be a terrible idea or a huge coup!
5-19-2009 @ 12:16AM
Astin said...
Well, maybe they can save the idea of a Banlieu 13 remake by bringing in some tough parkour ladies to kick ass. Or just make Lola's role a tougher one.
Or bring 'em in to the sequel of the original one.
There are always exceptions to the rule, and in this case, they tend to prove the point - Kill Bill, Tomb Raider (Jolie did bulk up if I recall), T2 & Alien of course, and just about anything with Michelle Yeoh. The women don't have to be bulky, but if they're going to win, it should be in a believable way (see: Rose McGowan with machine gun leg).
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5-19-2009 @ 1:20AM
Monika said...
Kill Bill and Tomb Raider definitely have toughness, but each are entrenched in the sexy just as much, or moreso, than the strength and action.
5-19-2009 @ 1:30AM
pinyata said...
forgot jessica biel in blade trinity. and i disagree about women needing to be bulked up. look at keira knightely in the pirate movies. she was believable. yes, she was a sword fighter and not a brute force machine, but it still worked well.
the days of the huge action stars are over. you say look at sly. yes, look at sly. rocky balboa did fairly well, nothing like the originals. rambo barely topped the production cost with domestic revenue. what was the last movie that you saw that had a huge, steroid looking male star? now it's about agility and actual fighting ability (or the perception of having such ability). movies like fight club, the bourne series prove this.
in this day and age, everyone is after realism. i hope they do realize this and have female stars accordingly. hillary swank in million dollar baby. she's supposed to play a boxer. pulled it off brilliantly while still avoiding looking like an olympic dead lifter. if she can pull of a movie about boxing in the shape she was, that's all i'm really asking for.
note: yes, marvel's upcoming selection may have huge, steroid looking stars (captain america/thor even though the guy cast as thor looks pretty scrawny) but that's because there is a character they have to fit.
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5-19-2009 @ 8:15AM
juwan808 said...
Two films immediately come to mind. No one ever seems to mention "The Last Kiss Goodnight" with Gina Davis. It's an excellent butt kickin female action movie with Sam Jackson playing second fiddle to a woman. Awesome. And "Domino" with Keira Knightly. Good stuff! Neither of those films relied on the sex appeal aspect and the characters were strong. There's also Miranda Otto who played Eowyn in "The Lord of the Rings." She destroyed what could not be killed by man. And Naomi Watts in King Kong. Yes she needed the help of men in the jungle, but she was no slouch. Smart, resourceful and brave. The men in that film did more screaming and running than she did.
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5-19-2009 @ 9:49AM
NP said...
Domino didn't rely on sex appeal? Are you kidding? Among many other examples, one scene hinges on Knightley's character giving a lap dance (or a lot of shaking and shimmying leading up to one).
The LONG Kiss Goodnight I'll grant you, but see in that case the female actioner's (Gina Davis in this case) is made a mother, and that's such a cliche for women in action films. As if she needs to be a maternal figure in order to be justified in perpetrating violence. Gina Davis in The Long Kiss Goodnight, Sigourney Weaver in Aliens is Newt's surrogate maternal figure, Linda Hamilton/Sarah Connor and John Connor, etc.
5-19-2009 @ 8:33AM
juwan808 said...
Monika: "If all the male action stars had scrawny bodies, there wouldn't be a male-centric action world, so maybe, just maybe we can say the same for the females and bulk some gals up?"
Oh hell no! There is a reason women's tennis, beach volleyball and golf are the most popular female sports. The women are strong and athletic, but they look like women. That's the appeal. It's the same in the movies. Strength and Muscle are okay, as long as the women stay feminine. Sex sells. That's just how it is. ("The Spirit" doesn't count. That was just stupid.) I'm all for strong female characters in film, but I'm not paying to see a woman who looks like a man. I mean, even "She-Hulk" is still feminine.
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5-19-2009 @ 11:28AM
Monika said...
And the women in those sports have powerful bodies, and don't look like men.
I'm not saying that women should be covered from head to toe, or get hairy, pimply, and steroid-ridden. Get a woman in shorts and a tank top that looks like a volleyball player and kicks butt, and I'll be happy.
5-19-2009 @ 10:43AM
jenni said...
Once again, much fabulosity. I'm going to go do some push-ups now. Long live the Zoe Bells of the world! I hope she Whips It! good.
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5-19-2009 @ 11:28AM
Monika said...
me too!
5-19-2009 @ 11:57AM
Batzarro said...
You'd think with all the trends Terminator and Alien set off, that would be one of them, huh? That's strange!
As for example, look at this years Legend of Chun Li. Sure, it was a terrible movie, but the character was never sexualized. Even in the club scene her retarded "dancing" and the blue drapes she aparently fashioned out of courtains ensured that the character not be seen as sexy or visually apealing.
Still, she was pretty and young, so , maybe it's not a full example.
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5-19-2009 @ 1:04PM
Seij007 said...
I can't wait for the release of http://bitchslapmovie.com/ Talk about strong female roles...
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6-20-2009 @ 4:57PM
Laer Carroll said...
I enjoyed G.I.Jane despite two or three iffy elements. And she wore normal military uniforms instead of those ridiculous S&M outfits.
Speaking of which, thinking of the outfit that Kate Beckinsale wore in the Underworld series, I'm surprised that it didn't seem exploitative to me. Maybe because Beckinsale is such a good actress that it came off as normal.
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