Where The Hell Are The Strong Women? - Jezebel Comments

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

MissJen — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 02:50:08 EDT

What about Angelina Jolie, Tilda Swinton, Cate Blanchett, Susan Sarandon, Julia Roberts, Demi Moore, Juliette Lewis, Julienne Moore, and America Ferrera?

MissJen

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

HotNuttyBrownie — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 14:58:17 EDT

I'm late to the party, as per uzhe, but:

The Wire cast is male dominated, but has two kick-ass female protagonists in Kima Greggs (also a lezebel!) and Rhonda Pearlman. Even the female "villains" (a bit oversimplified for this show, but whatevs) are great : corrupt, Machiavellian Nerese Campbell and amoral killing machine Snoop Pearson.

Also, all the ladies of Friday Night Lights rock my world on a regular basis, particularly Tami Motherfucking Taylor.

HotNuttyBrownie

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

littlegreenalien — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 10:41:18 EDT

Dang, it's probably too late to comment on this.
If I could merit an approvement, I'd mention Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon.
Both Shu Lien and Jen should qualify; but it's the proud, reckless and headstrong anti-heroine Jen that channels Bette Davis.
Even if the latter never thrashed a Tea House.

littlegreenalien

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

beeble — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 19:24:38 EDT

@ceejeemcbeegee (star deficient):

Well, I give you that, at first blush, her particular role in the movie "Girl Interrupted" may not be the strongest of her work.

However, I watched a show on E! (just yesterday, I'm ashamed to admit), where she talks about how she prepared for the role. I'm hella impressed. She apparently would not befriend any of the other women on the set because she knew that if Winona had a headache in real life, she wouldn't be able to get in her face and scream on camera. I guess the mental process she uses to get into character indicates a strong woman.

How about Gia? How about Mrs. Smith? How about Lara Croft? Pushing Tin? Marianne Pearl?

And, as Parasol points out above, she actually is a badass in real life, too.

As a final example, I point to the role that Bette Davis played, where she's a sociopathic murdering sister who kills her sibling and assumes her life. She was batshit crazy AND cunning, and I think she was AMAZING.

But then again, I'm batshit crazy, too, and ALSO star deficient, so I'm a little biased.

beeble

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

shaboomy — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 14:51:47 EDT

oh how i love love love ms. davis the way lindsay/mariah/britney love marilyn. please go out and buy "dark victory" her memoir. fucking awesome reading people!

shaboomy

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

shananigans — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 13:33:33 EDT

Yeah I think these comments prove that there are plenty of strong women in film and TV. I'm more worried about a society that tells people the only way to be successful is to be on TV and what that means for young girls a la using a prostitution scandal as a way to "jumpstart a career"

shananigans

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

shananigans — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 13:27:37 EDT

@kinamoto: Do not blaspheme about Buffy. It is a wonderful methaphor about life. And Buffy and the other females were all strong as hell.

shananigans

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

LAS — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 12:17:27 EDT

@alicetheowl: "Pre-Code Hollywood" = Hollywood movies made before the Hayes Code was introduced. In other words, pre-censorship. (Ratings later replaced the Hayes Code.)

LAS

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

pooradley — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 10:41:57 EDT

@City_Dater: I think this manufactured need to come off as "likeable" is one the biggest problems. Why must women be likable? That's one of the reasons that I loved the Miranda character from the Devil Wears Prada, magazine industry grossness aside. I find her mercenary behavior incredibly appealing.

Also, Starbuck from Battlestar.

pooradley

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

ceejeemcbeegee — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 00:00:04 EDT

@beeble aka 'sugartits': meh.

I'm not convinced that batshitinsane a la Girl, Interrupted = strong.

ceejeemcbeegee

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

Parasol — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 22:54:19 EDT

@beeble aka 'sugartits': Aaaand badass in real life. Honestly, girl crush is too benign a term to describe how highly I think of this chick.

Parasol

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

beeble — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 20:44:29 EDT

I know someone's already said this...

Angelina Jolie? In just about every role she's been in?

I have a serious girl crush on her, mostly because she plays badass in every movie she's been in.

beeble

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

ripley — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 20:17:09 EDT

I call bullsh*t on "hollywood just giving us what we want."

People don't always KNOW what they want. Or if they got something different, maybe they would want that.

Susan Faludi's _Backlash_ adequately covers how we got (back) to the pathetic media situation we are in now as far as female roles in film goes. I don't think it's because "the people" want all women to be doormats/torture victims/floozies.

ripley

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

banalover — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 19:34:00 EDT

Recent movies with strong women include:
Termintator Series and movies, Aliens, Color Purple, Erin Brockovich, You can count on me, In the Bedroom, Gosford Park, Iris, The Hours, Chicago, Monster, Thelma and Louise, Cold Mountain, House of Sand and Fog, Being Julia, Million Dollar Baby, Closer, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Junebug, Constant Gardner, The Queen, Devil Wears Prada, Little Children, Notes on a Scandal, Dreamgirls and Juno.

They are out there people, you just gotta look. Don't give up hope and support them at the box office.

banalover

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

The Hammer is my penis. — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 19:12:49 EDT

Resident Evil, Firefly, Ultraviolet, Love Actually, Samurai Champloo, Chasing Amy.

The Hammer is my penis.

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

krismry — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 18:22:09 EDT

@beatrice3000: Sarah Connor is the ultimate character arc from regular person to determined to save the world in T1 and T2, but by T3 she was replaced by Clare Danes, who more or less had to re-invent the wheel. Kind of a statement of one generation following another, if you look at it that way.

krismry

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

librisdraconis — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 18:20:44 EDT

while we're bringing back Bette, let's bring batck Tallulah as well. amazing woman!

librisdraconis

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

Usedtobealice — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 17:43:37 EDT

@tailfeather: Okay, you've just exposed my guilty pleasure. Very guilty.

Usedtobealice

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

LBB — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 17:40:44 EDT

@jigglyball: Should it worry me that I've actually known women who are that neurotic?

LBB

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

LBB — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 17:39:22 EDT

@LisaMc: TCM has put out whole collections of pre-Code movies on DVD. The box sets are pretty expensive but I'm sure they're available via Netflix.

LBB

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

jigglyball — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 17:38:59 EDT

@littlebluebug: I too love Sports Night and still grieve at its tragic early end. That said, at times I felt that in order to make the women in the show both strong AND sympathetic, they made them unrealistically neurotic. As in, they equated sympathetic and realistic with neurotic (and the neuroses felt SO contrived), which always bothers me, especially when watching Natalie do anything and Dana play games with Casey.

jigglyball

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

jigglyball — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 17:34:34 EDT

@bettyfelon: And as much as I loved Becky from Little Giants, we learned that she can't be good at football, be relatively composed and rational in the face or adolescent hell, AND get some of Devon Sawa's sweet 'tween lovin'. I was the age of those characters when the movie came out, and I identified with Becky and remember being pretty upset when she realized her crush was incapable of comprehending that a love interest could also be an equal peer and teammate. *sigh* Poor Icebox.

jigglyball

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

brendastarlet — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 17:31:12 EDT

@youareasleep: totally love the pre-code movies. There was one called Queen Kelly with Gloria Swanson in which she is kidnapped from a convent school and forced to become a sex slave. In one scene, her kidnapper has gotten hold of her silk undies and is shown lifting them up for a sniff. Apparently it was banned in Boston.

brendastarlet

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

Iconocleft — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 17:30:04 EDT

@kitsune: Their relationship is so great to me because it subverts male/female roles in a marriage, but they don't negate their genders in the process. They're just themselves.

Agreed. As a couple their great, I envy them! I know the whole crime is true story but I seriously hope to a higher power that the Cohen brother's research of the case found Norm to be as awesome in the real as he was on film! And gender isn't negated at all. I just constantly, to the point of madness, really, question how gender roles are ever/can ever be shattered. Don't mind me.

Iconocleft

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

LBB — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 17:29:01 EDT

@SheLaughs: LOVE Barbara Stanwyck. So awesome.

@City_Dater: Adult women are now the largest part of the TV viewing population, with adolescent males being the largest part of the moviegoing population, which accounts for so many movies being male-oriented and so many of the good female characters being on television. It's partly one of those self-perpetuating things, unfortunately, because if you film it they will come, but it's also partly a reflection of who has the time and desire to go out to a theater vs. stay in and watch something on DVD or TV.

@BadenBaden: Sports Night is sixty different kinds of awesome... "Six Southern Gentlemen of Tennessee" still makes me cry every. single. time.

LBB

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

Iconocleft — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 17:18:41 EDT

You might not believe this one if you've never seen it, but: Katie Holmes, Patricia Clarkson, and Derek Luke: Pieces of April.

Iconocleft

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

Iconocleft — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 17:17:00 EDT

@SkipToMyLou: in total agreement with everything you said! Especially re: Casting Travolta. It was a complete (and ill-conceived) lampoon of "Edna Turnblad-as-a-drag-queen," while Waters' original choice was Divine for the sake of Divine. I am sort of at odds with the image of "woman" as represented by drag queens. I think it furthers the very same gender biases and sexist language that all women -- gay, straight, and transgendered -- live in conflict with.

Iconocleft

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

kitsune — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 17:16:30 EDT

Also, since we're issuing rulings on all female movie characters ever, can Maggie Gyllenhaal get a shout-out for Secretary? And Donnie Darko?

kitsune

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

kitsune — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 17:14:31 EDT

@Iconocleft: Hm, Fargo could be argued in a few different ways, but I think the fact that a pregnant woman gets the bad guy in the end without even flinching and beats the hell out of her male counterparts' cop work at the same time says a lot. Plus I love that she comes home and gets all cuddly with Norm, the duck stamp artist. Their relationship is so great to me because it subverts male/female roles in a marriage, but they don't negate their genders in the process. They're just themselves.

kitsune

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

SBJ — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 17:13:36 EDT

Maybe off-topic, maybe not, but does anyone else love and still fondly remember with some frequency Personal Velocity?

SBJ

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

BadenBaden — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 17:11:13 EDT

@littlebluebug: you're my new favorite person for referencing Sports Night. Greatest show ever!!

BadenBaden

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

youareasleep — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 17:09:23 EDT

I am a pre-code movie junkie. The pre-code era is basically any movie from 1930 to 1934, and it is shocking what used to be allowed. Nudity, drug use, rampant premarital sex, babies out of wedlock--it's glorious. TCM has run some great ones recently: The Night Nurse, A Free Soul, The Divorcee, Baby Face, Possessed. In May TCM is running a great one called Strangers May Kiss, where Norma Shearer gets a divorce, heads to Europe and basically sleeps around with the entire continent. I think she even makes a comment that she attended an orgy in the film. TCM also made a documentary on this recently. Women used to be THE major movie stars, THE big names, THE main characters. As opposed to now where they only get to be in the film if they sleep with the male lead character.

youareasleep

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

peliroja — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 17:09:21 EDT

@VegasDarling: Amen. And she was all conflicted with science/faith thing and that was awesome. She ruled.

peliroja

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

catalina — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 17:08:01 EDT

@hatepaperdoll: All About my Mother was the first of his films that I ever saw, in 1999. it really blew me away. As soon as it finished, I was compelled to rewind it and watch it again. his movies reinforce that there are innumerable ways for women to live their lives and express themselves. his female characters don't fit in to any molds. and the women are always a little bit crazy, which is something I completely identify with.

catalina

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

ceejeemcbeegee — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 17:03:41 EDT

Joy Luck Club anyone?

ceejeemcbeegee

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

ceejeemcbeegee — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 17:03:26 EDT

@Macloserboy: That movie was a Hot. Mess! But dayum if I didn't love that ish!

ceejeemcbeegee

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

bigleggedwoman — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 17:02:49 EDT

@AlannaBanana: All of those you mention are strong, positive, kick-ass dames. Skirts, frails, chicks -- y'know: however you want to phrase it.

bigleggedwoman

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

catalina — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:59:05 EDT

Christina Ricci was awesome in "Pecker"...she took her job at the laundromat pretty seriously, didn't put up with any crap from the preverts, paid no mind to the pretentious NY artists, and got it on with her man in a voting booth!

catalina

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

LisaMc — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:53:22 EDT

Strong women like Bette Davis, Katherine Hepburn, Jean Arthur, Joan Crawford and the great Barbara Stanwyck, all had difficult career paths. As young women they struggled with the kinds of roles they were given and since none of these actresses fit any Hollywood ideas of women at the time, it took quite a few tries to get them in roles that made audiences notice their interesting traits and appeal. They weren't always lauded and successful during their time either. It's in retrospect that we watch most of their films and admire them, but they got lots of criticism and bad press for their strong, non-traditionally feminine personalities.

Especially in the screwball comedies. We love those now but they were a gamble by the studio system with the male and female roles inverted and the women wreaking havoc. I'd say strong women, funny women, unusual women, will always have to struggle in the entertainment industry, which is definitely about the broadest appeal and biggest profit. Always has been, probably always will be. Good luck to you, strong women.

And yes, pre-code films are so much fun and often shocking. Lots of sex and drugs and crimes by men and women. If you have a chance, see some of these.
[en.wikipedia.org]

LisaMc

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

SkipToMyLou — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:52:02 EDT

@Elisheva: Y'know I LOVED the old Hairpsray, not just because the songs were better. I think the old movie really played up the civil rights aspect more. Also, havin Divine as Mrs Turnblad was a good move because Divine is an actual drag queen, whereas John Travlota is just a man in drag. There's a big difference between highlighting a subculture/being queer/not mainstream etc and just plain old making fun of women, which I think JT and the rest of the new movie was doing. Drag queens are troubling sometimes because there whole shtick rests on parodying women, but to have a straight man dress for laughs as a fat woman is beyond that.

SkipToMyLou

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

haguenite — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:50:25 EDT

@Jerseylicious: True. That's SO annoying. At least they work it out in the end and their friendship isn't ruined. I LOVE when Keira's dad explains the offside rule to her mom with condiments ("So, the salt moves..." "Sea salt" "The sea salt moves...")

@aspiringexpatriate: That's when they're not too busy photoshopping tits IN (see the King Arthur posters).

haguenite

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

Iconocleft — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:49:50 EDT

@kitsune: Yes! Frances McDormand in Fargo.

But is she strong because her character is cast as woman perfoming a hyper-patriarchal role (She's a senior detective. All of the male officers that work under her are inept, just not bright. Her husband is the domestic in their little family.)? Or is she "strong" despite it? Does the character subvert gender stereotypes or perpetuating them by "apeing" patriarchal practices?

Um, I'm sort of in the middle of a paper on a similar theme. Heh.

Iconocleft

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

faire-la-moue — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:49:39 EDT

@lurkystars: teh gays?

faire-la-moue

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

SheLaughs — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:49:06 EDT

I forgot to add Krya Sedgewick in The Closer rocks!

SheLaughs

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

City_Dater — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:48:17 EDT

Back when women didn't have a lot of "real world" power, the movies were full of strong, outspoken female characters -- the women who played them were unconventional looking (Bette Davis, Barbara Stanwyck, Joan Crawford, to name a few) and clearly not concerned with being "likable" by the audience. And adult women were the biggest segment of the moviegoing population, if I recall correctly.
Now that women working outside the home is more the rule than the exception (across all economic lines) and more women are marrying later in life or not at all, female characters in mainstream film are vapid, powerless and usually played by interchangable pretty young performers. And teenage boys drive the movie marketplace.

If having women in congress, women presidential candidates, women CEOs, and the ability to say "screw it, I'll live alone and like it as long as I want; I make my own damn money" comes at the cost of having lame Michael Bay-ish movies out there cluttering up the multiplex, I'll take it.

City_Dater

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

SheLaughs — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:47:49 EDT

Barbara Stanwyck in anything. Loved her to pieces. Althogh Bette Davis is a damn close second. And please don't hurt me (with a wire hanger) Joan Crawford.

SheLaughs

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

AndThenTheresMaude — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:45:34 EDT

What about Judge Judy? I think she should get extra points for being a real person too.

AndThenTheresMaude

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

beatrice3000 — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:45:15 EDT

@hharlowe: Set if Off is excellent. I just rewatched it and dug it, getting into the characters and hating how their characters died.

@jenalicious: I like The Sweetest Thing too. It's silly, dirty comedy for ladies and I liked Cameron and Christina's chemistry as best buddies.

Doomsday sounds great. I'll check it out this weekend.

I liked the pre-Code movies, like Three on a Match. It was about three young women (once played by an unknown Bette Davis) who are school chums, then split into different lifestyles. One of them is a coked-out mother, lying around her gangster boyfriend's house out of her mind, and I thought it was graphic for the time.

beatrice3000

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

PhillyLass — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:43:38 EDT

Is Hari right that strong women were "idolized" in a bygone era? Jezebel was not the only image of womanity portrayed in the media. There were also movies like Gaslight or Dial M for Murder that were all about women at the mercy of their sinister husbands. I would guess that there were more victims than badasses on the balance sheet of 1940s movies. This is not a problem of recent vintage.

PhillyLass

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

Lady Skittlehattington — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:43:02 EDT

The strong Hollywood women are there. They are just overshadowed by the less intelligent.

Lady Skittlehattington

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

brendastarlet — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:42:38 EDT

Lara Croft, Tomb Raider! She can whip anybody's ass.

Seriously, Bette Davis and Katherine Hepburn are my two heroines. I loved Bette in Now Voyager. She has a nervous breakdown, gets a makeover, meets a cute married guy on a cruise, stands up to her beastly old mother, sees a shrink, pretends married guy's daughter is hers, tells off the snotty niece, tells the wimpy fiance to shove off, and takes over the big mansion on Beacon Hill with a great wardrobe. How cool is that?

brendastarlet

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

AlannaBanana — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:41:09 EDT

Frances McDormand, Jodie Foster, Kyra Sedgwick, and Holly Hunter come to mind as actresses who regularly portray quite strong female characters, too. They're all a bit older, though, relatively. It's harder to think of twenty-something strong females in entertainment.

AlannaBanana

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

aspiringexpatriate — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:41:06 EDT

@special_boots: No. There is no way to justify loving Doomsday. It's an impossibility. It just is.
@haguenite: Yes, she was beanpole thin in Beckham. I haven't notice any change in her appearance in films, aside from photoshopping her muscle tone out in post/print ads.

Overall, the trend in Hollywood is for weak female characters. That always has been the overriding trend. Lots of films get made outside of Hollywood with strong female characters, and there are films that have strong females. This journo is mostly saying that those happen in unrealistic environments, and for the most part, she'd be dead on. But yes, she definitely did miss a few, I think the point being is that those films are fairly easy to miss if you don't specifically look for them.

aspiringexpatriate

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

Parasol — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:40:26 EDT

@nicole1729: Boreanaz and Bones. Sigh.

Parasol

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

kitsune — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:39:58 EDT

@onthecornerofparkerandwoolf: Oooh yeah! Someone should write movies about a female Bond-type character! And if she could sleep with Daniel Craig in the process, I will gladly play her. What about Elektra, haven't seen it, is it any good?

kitsune

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

Jerseylicious — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:39:43 EDT

@haguenite: Bend it Like Beckham has me until they start fighting over the coach. It made me SO MAD that they had to go there. (But seriously, I love that movie.)

And I know it's been said, but Zoe from Firefly/Serenity is a great example. She is amazing.

Jerseylicious

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

bigleggedwoman — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:38:49 EDT

@badmutha: I scanned this page for the word "Alien" before I chimed in (I am learning)!

I am not really buying the author's premise on the basis of comparing Bette with Cameron.

BTW, Dodai, thanks for posting this and reminding me of Bette Davis.

bigleggedwoman

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

WallSt_Rabbit — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:38:33 EDT

I think it has a lot to do with the fact that there are so many more options open to smart women nowadays then there were before. Also, actresses aren't really seen as the all-talented women they once were and are more just hot bodies spouting lines through numerous retakes.

WallSt_Rabbit

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

Parasol — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:38:32 EDT

They may not do the politically correct thing, but if I walk out of a movie or watch a show and the woman is baaaad enough to make me go "Shit, yeah" it's all on my list. The Long Kiss Goodnight, Thelma & Louise, Buffy, Alias, True Romance, etc. Awww, Chlauraform (great name) -- Hell, I'm never tired of being a woman. There's always something new to me.

Parasol

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

briardahl — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:38:14 EDT

Yeah, this has the classic trendpiece bullshit of constructing a "trend" out of three or four bits of information and ignoring everything else about the universe. It's telling that in order to find examples it has to stoop to a cockeyed reading of [i]There's Something about Mary[/i], as if the character's assumption that it's hair gel is somehow weaker than, I dunno, the guy who actually shows up at the door with jizz on his ear.

Stack this up alongside another trendpiece somewhere about how smart, attractive, capable female characters on television are always paired up with fat bumbling oafs, and let them fight to make the world flat.

briardahl

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

nicole1729 — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:37:22 EDT

Buffy makes me think of David Boreanaz which makes me think of Bones (the tv series!) Now that's a strong female character! not to mention the lead.

nicole1729

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

kitsune — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:37:01 EDT

@jenalicious: you're right about that one - even though it's about chasing a guy, I still love when they're talking about what smells like ass in the car. my best friend and I have totally had that conversation.

kitsune

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

onthecornerofparkerandwoolf — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:36:43 EDT

@kitsune: my friend and i loooove action movies (we usually refuse to see any sort of comic book/james bond type of movie until we can see it together, or at the very least we watch it again together) and we are always talking about writing our own action movie staring us. we'll be badass, righteous, and funny.

or if we can't do that, we're pretty sure we'd be the best bond villains EVAH.

onthecornerofparkerandwoolf

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

angryblackgurl — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:36:43 EDT

@noseriously: Teen Church Lock In?? What is that?

angryblackgurl

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

Elisheva — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:36:42 EDT

@haguenite: I don't have any particular issue with her, I just have an incredible hatred for her for no reason. I am a little ashamed of myself for it. But yes, she is so incredibly thin she could hide behind a street lamp playing hide-and-seek.

Niki Blonsky probably doesn't count yet, but she rocked my socks off in "Hairspray." Not sure if she had to gain a massive amount of weight for that movie, but it didn't seem that way. <3 the premise. (That is as girly as I will go, really.)

Elisheva

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

kelsium — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:36:19 EDT

@mycatsnores: Ooh, yes Gosford Park.

kelsium

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

SarahMC — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:36:17 EDT

Hahaha what about Nanny Jo?!

SarahMC

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

jenalicious — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:36:02 EDT

@Jamie Sommers: yeah i wonder if the people calling her weak have even seen the movie??

i swore up and down i would never watch it because i thoguht all the jokes i'd already hear were ridiculous and gross. I JUST saw it for the first time like 3 months ago, and loved it. it was way better than i'd thought..

jenalicious

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

mymanicpixiedreamcatsnores — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:35:11 EDT

Anything with Helen Mirren, especially the Prime Suspect series and Gosford Park.

mymanicpixiedreamcatsnores

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

beatrice3000 — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:33:51 EDT

Bette Davis was the first old-time movie star I got into. It started with renting Dark Victory from the library, and I just had a teenage obsession with her.

I just listened to an interview with Patricia Clarkson, and while her characters vary in sympathy (racist best friend in Far From Heaven, self-involved heroin addict in High Art), her magnetism makes her very much a "strong woman."

Besides Ripley, there's Sarah Connor in the Terminator movies. More of a badass action heroine in the second movie (buffed-up with guns blazing), but a very real character in the first one.

beatrice3000

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

funnyface — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:33:30 EDT

@awfulicious: I tried and tried, but I just don't like "Lost in Translation."

funnyface

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

haguenite — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:33:24 EDT

@Elisheva: Heck yes!I'd pick PotC3 over In Her Shoes any day of the week. The only problem I have with the Pirates franchise is Keira Knightley. I *know* she's naturally thin, but she wasn't like that in Bend it like Beckham. I'd love it if there was a Hollywood heroine who didn't seem like she'd snap in two at the sligtest touch.

haguenite

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

jenalicious — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:33:22 EDT

@kitsune: girl humor: The Sweetest Thing with cameron diaz, christina applegate, and selma blair. i LOVE that movie because its a raunchy comedy for the ladies.

jenalicious

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

Jerseylicious — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:33:16 EDT

@eXXX: My friend named his dog Ripley after the character, because as far as he in concerned, Ripley is the most bad-ass female character ever. He's also a huge nerd (if he'd gotten a male dog, he was going to name it Lando).

I don't think it's fair of the author to discount sci-fi just because it's a "fantasy world". The genre gives offers some of the most accurate visions of society out there, so what if it involves aliens or vampire slayers or any of that?

Jerseylicious

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

Jamie Sommers — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:33:13 EDT

First of all, I fail to see how Cameron Diaz's character was "weak" in There's Something About Mary. She played an independent tomboyish doctor who took care of her mentally challenged brother and led every male character in the movie (including Brett Favre!) around by the balls. One "misunderstanding" scene does not a weak woman make.

Second, has this person seen anything Jodie Foster has been in? Or Sigorney Weaver? Or Frances McDormand coughFargocough?

Jamie Sommers

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

blackbirdfly — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:33:09 EDT

@a.clever.otter: That's one of my five movies too. :)

blackbirdfly

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

rocknrollunicorn — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:33:05 EDT

haha, I'm sorry, I saw "There's Something About Mary" with my high school boyfriend TEN FRIGGING YEARS AGO. That movie is not "today's" anything.

rocknrollunicorn

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

Meiran — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:33:04 EDT

@kitschenette: I partially agree with this, but I do have to say that the two examples she choose are from juggernaut movies.

I loathe There's Something About Mary (well, I loathe it on principle, I've never actually seen it) and yet I know exactly what movie she means and know a LOT of people who love it. I think that's her point.

If you're going to judge a culture based on it's entertainment, you have to choose it's most popular entertainments.

That said, I think she does paint too sweeping a picture, and she's forgetting entirely about Cate Blanchett, Jodie Foster, Tilda Swinton, and other current Hollywood women who are kicking ass right now. Maybe those movies aren't appealing to every Tom, Dick, and Fraternity Asshole. But they ARE well known, and they ARE big names. I'd say they're appealing to about the same share of the crowd as Bette Davis' movies ever did.

There's a case to be made about sexism in Hollywood. But I think so many people are rushing to make it and actually losing their leverage in inaccurate assumptions and shoddy research.

If it matters, I am a woman who is going into the entertainment industry. I start my work towards a Master of Fine Arts degree in the fall. Strong women are in Hollywood. They have been. Ignoring them to make a point about a male-dominated field is a disservice to their greatness.

Meiran

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

chlauraform — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:32:52 EDT

sigh. today, i'm tired of being a woman.

chlauraform

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

Elisheva — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:32:42 EDT

@Ipomoea: Sarah's a little whiny in Labyrinth, which is why I thought about including her in MY list, but yeah, by the end, she's awesome.

Elisheva

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

pameltoe mccord van kempen — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:31:34 EDT

i'm still in search of my dollar for dollar, penny for penny salary match. but as for the whole entertainment industry angle, if female characters didn't have to be assertive and sexy, brave and sexy, or, my favorite, smart and sexy, i think that would be a great help.

pameltoe mccord van kempen

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

Iconocleft — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:31:28 EDT

Penelope Cruz, Volver. The cast is almost all women, all strong in their own way. That's all I got.

Iconocleft

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

kelsium — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:31:27 EDT

Ghost World for sure.
Also, it's a love story so it sort of doesn't count, but Scarlett Johannsen's character in Lost in Translation has always sort of been my favorite "real" female character. Surprise, surprise, though. That was directed by a woman.

kelsium

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

Ipomoea — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:31:03 EDT

@badmutha: @Sukie in the Graveyard: Joss Whedon is our god now!

Strong women in my DVDs? V. Mars, Frida, Bend it Like Beckham, Whale Rider, Firefly/Serenity, Buffy, Labyrinth .... also (why am I so obsessed with this movie today?) Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants-- I'd rather show that to my little sister-in-law than anything else based on popular teen fiction.

and then the next thing that came to my mind was "Alanna: The First Adventure" and I had to sadly remind myself that that isn't a film, but a book. But I wish it was a film.

Ipomoea

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

Sodypop — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:30:35 EDT

@SarahMC: I LOVE Dr. G.
She is sooo awesome.

Sodypop

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

jenalicious — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:30:32 EDT

@bettyfelon: omg i LOVE that movie. love icebox.

Law & Order SVU has three strong females in major roles - Det. Olivia Benson, ADA Casey Novak, and ME Dr.Melinda Warner

jenalicious

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

special_boots — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:30:30 EDT

@aspiringexpatriate: But they can probably justify their love of it based on, I don't know, its homages to certain books/movies/videogames, its sci-fi whatever, its merits as a film... whereas I was just like OMGZ MAH BRAIN IS EXPLODING FROM TEH AWESOME!!!111

Which is not a very constructive comment, really.

special_boots

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

LBB — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:29:39 EDT

Oh for FUCK'S sake. Just off the top of my head, listing characters that came after, or predated but stuck around for a while after, 1997 (the year There's Something About Mary came out IIRC: Buffy; Scully; Veronica Mars; Zoe on Firefly; Sydney, Irina, and Nadia on Alias; all of Cate Blanchett's roles that I can think of; CJ and Donna on West Wing; Dana and Natalie on Sports Night; Elizabeth in the Pirates movies.

I'm usually the first to complain about the lack of good roles for women in Hollywood [which is why I intend to write them myself], but this journalist could've come up with better examples.

LBB

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

hharlowe — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:29:12 EDT

alien vs. predator (best. movie. ever.)
jackie brown
set it off

hharlowe

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

gluecake — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:28:25 EDT

I really want to see a female version of Boondock Saints - absolutely no mention of relationships (unless you count Rocco and the unfortunate event with Skippy) and all about fighting EVIL.

Every time I see a goddamn action flick with a woman there's something that revolves around a romantic relationship. Hollywood? STOP IT. Love has no place in a gun fight.

gluecake

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

hatepaperdoll — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:27:49 EDT

@catalina: Opps, I was too late! But really, I love his movies. After I watched All About My Mother with my mother, she said "I liked that, this reminded me of how good a movie can be"

hatepaperdoll

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

Elisheva — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:27:11 EDT

@badmutha: Yeah, but I've also got some issues with the "male oriented" category. I'm more into Sweeny Todd, Resident Evil, Pirates of the Caribbean and action movies in general than I am into the stuff supposedly directed at women. I wouldn't be caught dead watching some of that female-oriented crap.

Elisheva

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

badmutha — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:27:06 EDT

@kitsune: OHHH Yeah FARGO! And Trinity from the Matrix movies.

badmutha

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

noseriously — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:27:04 EDT

@angryblackgurl: My God, they showed that movie at a teen church lock-in and it was TERRIFYING. I had to run downstairs and watch Tron for the fourth time. And it was Tron. Everyone was wearing a Day-Glo helmet.

@kinamoto: Hey, now, what are you sayin'? Buffy is getting me through this pregnancy. Do not mock the Buffy.

noseriously

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

not.a.clever.name — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:26:28 EDT

@haguenite: I was just going to say the Gilmores!

I only have, like, five movies. And I don't know if Sally Albright is a strong woman.

not.a.clever.name

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

effeteaesthete — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:26:21 EDT

@shellibears: You're right: the code basically ruined movies. And of course post-war there was that whole get-women-out-of-the-factories-and-back-to-the-kitchen movement...

effeteaesthete

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

Haystacks — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:26:14 EDT

This is not surprising. It is a backlash. Why do you think Rocky faught a black man just as the black power movement could be declared a success? Why did he fight the russian when we were still scared of the cold war? The more actual women become educated and powerful the more they are going to reassure the nation by portraying them as slutty or stupid or both.

Haystacks

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

NapalmKitty — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:26:04 EDT

@alicetheowl: Pre code means before they instituted the Hayes Code, which was a morality code. No nudity, cursing, sex, or drugs.
Before that movies were dirty as hell and absolutely delicious with lots of strong female characters.

NapalmKitty

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

kitsune — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:25:32 EDT

How about Frances MacDormand?

I do agree with the premise of this post, though. Another interesting tangent: what about Girl Humor? Action movies for women? How would they be different from these genres that today cater to males? If I were planning on starting a PhD soon, this would be my topic.

kitsune

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

Elisheva — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:25:04 EDT

And, I may be way out there, but Molly Grue in The Last Unicorn kicked some major ass.

Elisheva

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

badmutha — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:25:01 EDT

Well, damnation. Nothing is really in the "real" world is it? I mean look at the male stuff: Rambo, Sweeny Todd, War movies that only tell part of the story. This is kind of a crap line of reasoning.

badmutha

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

andBegorrah — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:24:47 EDT

My moms loved loved loved Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman. Not a movie, not on tv anymore, and pure cheese, but I love my mom, so there.

andBegorrah

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

haguenite — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:24:38 EDT

All three generations of Gilmore Girls, in their own ways? Sure, they're not picture-perfect feminists (or should I say feminazis), but I love 'em anyway.

I love Julia Stiles. She's not really there yet, strong character wise, but I love that she's unapologetic about going to university (as she damn well should).

Er... Bend it like Beckham. Young English/Indian girl stands up to her family to pursue her dream of a professional football career. Definitely.

haguenite

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

shellibears — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:24:32 EDT

alicetheowl, from what I'm dredging up from memory, "pre-code Hollywood" refers to censorship they enacted in the 30's. I guess it was a free-for-all when it came to movies before that and a lot of the stuff could be quite spicy. I think this is when they came up with the whole idea of married couples could only be shown sleeping in twin beds, etc. I wish I could remember more facts about all this. The code was sort of a precursor to the McCarthy era when they were so focused on ferretting out the Red Menace in Hollywood and so many actors and actresses were driven out of their craft.

shellibears

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

aspiringexpatriate — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:23:44 EDT

@AllThatYaz: Tilda Swinton in anything is another great one.

I mean, she's Gabriel in Constantine, and great at being flippant and omnipotent. And then in Michael Clayton, she kicks righteous ass as a villain and is strong willed even into the end.

aspiringexpatriate

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

Sodypop — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:23:26 EDT

@alicetheowl: pre-code means before censorship. I just watched "IFC indie sex" and talks about that. It is very interesting.

Sodypop

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

edgyspice — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:23:24 EDT

@alicetheowl: "Pre-Code" refers to films made before the Hays Code.

[en.wikipedia.org]

edgyspice

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

glamzonhobbitfeet — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:23:19 EDT

ugly betty!

glamzonhobbitfeet

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

hatepaperdoll — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:23:13 EDT

All of the women from "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown" and "All About My Mother" ...pretty much all the women in Pedro Almodovar's films. Max in "Being John Malcovich"

hatepaperdoll

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

BicSharpie — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:23:03 EDT

What about D.E.B.S.

BicSharpie

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

funnyface — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:21:43 EDT

@FancyInk: Ooh, yeah, she was really strong in The Prizewinner of Defiance Ohio.

funnyface

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

Elisheva — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:21:35 EDT

The new version of "Hairspray" was kind of awesome in terms of chubby chick and racial empowerment, I guess? (And John Travolta in drag, C'MON.) I also find stuff like Resident Evil, Doomsday, Underworld et al to have strong female characters, but, again, it is mostly in fictional worlds.

Elisheva

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

bettyfelon — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:21:28 EDT

Two words: LITTLE. GIANTS.

Call me icebox!

bettyfelon

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

chelotoyou — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:21:15 EDT

Serenity? Nancy Drew? The Brave One? Anyone, Anyone?

chelotoyou

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

RosettaStoned — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:21:08 EDT

That picture is my avatar on my Stumbleupon account.

And my name on that account is RedHeadedJezebel. (Uh, cause I have red hair).

RosettaStoned

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

SarahMC — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:20:23 EDT

Dr. G Medical Examiner

SarahMC

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

Parasol — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:20:13 EDT

@kinamoto: Sacrilege. Take that back. ;-)

Parasol

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

Ms T. Pointy-Winkelstein — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:19:54 EDT

@jezebelacious: Actually JJ Abram's upcoming show Fringe seems to have a strong Scully/Sydney type lead lady. The rest of the pilot just totally rips off his older stuff, but she's kick ass.

Ms T. Pointy-Winkelstein

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

aspiringexpatriate — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:19:26 EDT

@special_boots: There's boards full of Doomsday lovers at io9. You're not the only one.

@FancyInk: Yes, because The Hours and Magnolia were such strong female roles.

I will agree that a lot of the strong female characters are in 'unreal' environments, i.e. Elizabeth in the past [though in the second film they made her weaker... which was just, stupid].
But let's look at it again, aren't most of the big hollywood films entirely in an unreal environment? [I'm including period pieces in this because it has no realistic relation to today, just as much of an analogical relationship as fantasy.]

Hollywood is 'far out there' in general, so strong women will be out there as well.

aspiringexpatriate

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

AllThatYaz — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:19:04 EDT

Girl Interrupted, even though Angie was a crazypants!

And, I can't believe I'm bringing it up, but Tilda Swinton in The Beach.

AllThatYaz

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

Sukie in the Graveyard — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:18:56 EDT

@badmutha: YAH! For Sure!
(my boyfriend's mom has met Joss and almost the entire cast of Firefly. she is my hero, along with Zoe.)

Sukie in the Graveyard

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

Ms T. Pointy-Winkelstein — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:18:53 EDT

@badmutha: @Sukie in the Graveyard: Buffy rules. This is all.

What about SheRa, guys?

Ms T. Pointy-Winkelstein

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

Pinkosaurus — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:18:52 EDT

@Macloserboy: Hmmm, you may have helped me figure out my plans for this weekend. Who can resist that AND some fake butter popcorn?

Pinkosaurus

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

catalina — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:18:38 EDT

@arodriguez.romero: word. almodovar's movies are full of strong women. All About My Mother has 4 of them (and one is a tranny).

catalina

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

Ptarmigan — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:18:25 EDT

@blondegrlz: Hellz yeahz.

Ptarmigan

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

Parasol — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:18:17 EDT

@KittenFluff: Miss her and point taken.

Parasol

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

booksnotboys — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:18:16 EDT

i@kitschenette: Amen. I think if we compared the female character representation in the entire film outputs of today versus the 1930's we would DEFINITELY see an improvement. Where I see unfair, dumb, stereotypical, borderline mysogonist representations of women in media today tends to fall under Reality TV which this website seems to embrace.... hmmmmm, kind of tricky

booksnotboys

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

ErrolFinch — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:18:11 EDT

Comment on Where The Hell Are The Strong Women? I can see Hari's point. Maybe it has to do with age? The older the actress the better and more powerful the role: Meryl Streep (Lions for Lambs, Devil, etc.), Judi Dench (Mrs. Henderson Presents), Helen Mirren (all of them really). Yeah, some fantasy roles of powerful women have been available to some actresses since the 30s: Beatrix Kiddo, Yu Shu Lien, Marge Gunderson, Diana Christensen, (God help me) Erin Brockavich; but these are anomalies (and, therefore very memorable).

ErrolFinch

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

TheOtherJen — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:17:43 EDT

Oh, and Real Women Have Curves with America Ferrera.

TheOtherJen

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

jezebelacious — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:17:29 EDT

(I nominate Sydney Bristow of Alias: strong, smart, complex ass-kicking woman)
I love this poster, it's in my bedroom and the inspiration for G-Pa nicknaming me Jezebel as a baby. Bette tears that shit right UP. There will never be another of her, but I think part of the answer to this is that there are power women power-brokers in Hollywood than there used to be (OK, proportionately, we're still in the minority, but check out them lady producers etc). How that corresponds to fewer Strong Women, I think we've all bought into the patriarchy a bit/at some level and chick writers+directors get overlooked. Otherwise, doesn't this go back to yesterday's gender-speech post?

jezebelacious

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

eXXX — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:17:09 EDT

Hello! Ripley from Aliens!

p.s. Death Proof is fantastic.

eXXX

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

badmutha — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:16:30 EDT

@Sukie in the Graveyard: Yes, but apparently you and I can swear an eternal vow of friendship because Buffy is the SHIT.

badmutha

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

BlondeGrlz — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:16:24 EDT

@Ptarmigan: No, but I do love the explosions.

BlondeGrlz

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

TheOtherJen — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:16:22 EDT

Erin Brocokovich! LOVE that movie. Steel Magnolias. Fried Green Tomatos (Yay Mary Louise Parker and that gitl who played Itchy! She kicked that guys ass when he hit Mary Louise Parker.)

TheOtherJen

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

Abbi — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:16:20 EDT

Johann Hari is a man and I agree with every word he says.

Abbi

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

ForeverBlueGirl — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:15:50 EDT

Silence of the Lambs, The Hours, 10 Things I Hate About You--staples of my collection.

And I loved Glenn Close on the mini-series Damages.

Recently I'm loving Juliana Margolis in Canterbury's Law.

Jennifer Garner seems to do OK. I really liked 13 Going on 30.

ForeverBlueGirl

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

angryblackgurl — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:15:37 EDT

I loved Bette in "Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte" she was crazier then Britney in that movie!!!

angryblackgurl

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

hharlowe — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:15:08 EDT

point of no return?...

hharlowe

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

Bellzaboo — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:14:50 EDT

Um, sorry, Bette Davis DID play some simpering victims. Has this author seen all of her films?

At least she was a strong bad-ass in real life. That's where it counts, I suppose.

Bellzaboo

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

number six — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:14:38 EDT

@kinamoto:

Thaaaaaaaaank youuuuuuuuu. Seriously.

number six

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

Ptarmigan — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:14:35 EDT

Do not look for feminist insight in any Jerry Bruckheimer movie.

Ptarmigan

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

Fried Chicken Little — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:14:32 EDT

I second Ever After. My three year old has been driving me tin foil hat crazy with Disney princess crap, and I've been trying to hook her on EA. And I third "Veronica Mars."

Fried Chicken Little

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

Macloserboy — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:14:07 EDT

@special_boots: I cannot put into words how much I FUCKING LOVED THAT MOVIE! Escape From New York + The Road Warrior + 27 Days Later + Resident Evil + The Warriors + Nick Fury Agent of SHIELD! How can you not love that!?!

Macloserboy

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

badmutha — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:14:01 EDT

There was this little movie called "Alien", and the excellent sequel called "Aliens," in which a particularly interesting woman battles/outsmarts/kills this alien. I think that character was a "Strong Woman."
Also, Holly Hunter in "The Piano" was fantastic, Merryl Streep in a number of films.@blackbirdfly: and what you said.

badmutha

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

rednrowdy — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:13:50 EDT

strong women aren't portrayed in the media because for all of the advancements that women have made in the world today, they are still in the minority in hollywood.

rednrowdy

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

cate3710 — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:13:25 EDT

@KittenFluff: Yay V Mars! Also Firefly/Serenity - there are a couple of kickass women there. Admittedly, it's similar to Buffy where it's not set in the real world.

cate3710

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

Min-T — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:13:06 EDT

@arodriguez.romero: Yes! And Y Tu Mama Tambien

Min-T

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

FancyInk — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:12:58 EDT

@ineffable.me: Affirmed. Also, I think, anything Julianne Moore does.

FancyInk

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

hortense — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:12:38 EDT

Lord of the Rings? Eowyn?

I know the source material is from the 50's, but the movies are pretty recent.

hortense

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

alicetheowl — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:12:37 EDT

I've often heard the argument that entertainment is more and more misogynist. Ever heard of the Bechdel Test? In order to pass, a movie has to have the following criteria:

1. There is more than one female in the film.
2. The females have a conversation with one another in the film.
3. That conversation doesn't involve men.

Once I heard about it, I started applying it every time I went to see a movie, somewhere in the back of my mind. ONE movie made in that last 30 years passed.

Go back farther (I've been into the classics lately), and the percentages go up.

Another site I read from time to time (the Hathor Legacy) does feminist-minded reviews of different forms of entertainment, and they refer to "Pre-Code Hollywood." I'm not sure what they're talking about, but they do make a compelling case that we're going backwards in our attitudes, where entertainment is concerned.

alicetheowl

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

VegasDarling — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:12:30 EDT

What about Gillian Anderson in X-Files? I mean, it's a science fiction show, but she was a doctor performing badass autopsies all thetime, and wasn't intimidated by men, even the Flukeman. She's been my hero for years.

VegasDarling

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

Sukie in the Graveyard — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:11:59 EDT

@kinamoto: oh wow, we can never be friends. I'm sorry.

Sukie in the Graveyard

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

Min-T — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:11:55 EDT

Yeah, there aren't very many strong women in movies... unless they're kids. Juno and Abigail Breslin in Little Miss Sunshine. Addison Montgomery, before Private Practice?

Min-T

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

flaxen_vixen — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:11:54 EDT

@Katie: As much as I lurve the Kill Bills, they are totally sexist. A harem of women doing a dirty old man's bidding...and then only going on a rampage because of a maternal instinct?

I love the ass kicking, hate the paternalism.

flaxen_vixen

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

ExtensionOfBob — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:11:47 EDT

The strongest femmes I could find my collection were: Anywhere But Here, Beyond Borders, Ghost World, and D.E.B.S..

Sad.

ExtensionOfBob

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

lurkystars — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:11:30 EDT

@lurkystars: Not that I'm blaming men entirely, but when was the last time you saw a "Margo Channing" character recently? Help me out here?

lurkystars

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

special_boots — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:11:23 EDT

@Macloserboy: Please tell me you felt some of the love for that movie that I did. God, it was so good, and I know it was awful, but I loved almost every minute of it. It was everything I had hoped 10,000 B.C. would be and wasn't, and so much more.

special_boots

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

antiheroine — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:11:08 EDT

@kitschenette: Okay, I should have read the entire article. She cites a lot of examples of modern weak female characters.

antiheroine

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

CorporateTool — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:11:00 EDT

Johann Hari, Mata Hari, anyone else sense a feminist plot here?

CorporateTool

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

kinamoto — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:10:58 EDT

What about Buffy?

Overrated as hell and not nearly as clever, funny, interesting, or good as Whedon fans think.

kinamoto

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

lurkystars — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:10:46 EDT

Because men don't want us to want to idolize strong women in Hollywood. Guess who controls most of the purse strings throughout the entertainment industry still?

lurkystars

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

dashenbka — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:10:40 EDT

yeah... you forgot about Kill Bill, that woman is all Jezebel

dashenbka

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

Ptarmigan — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:10:24 EDT

They compromised and settled just like Lori Gottlieb.

Ptarmigan

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

Sukie in the Graveyard — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:10:16 EDT

@ineffable.me: Price check on prune juice, Bob. Price check on prune juice.

Sukie in the Graveyard

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

funnyface — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:10:05 EDT

What is with all this feminist analysis of Hollywood that seems to forget that there is life after the 1990s? I mean, There's Something About Mary is 10 years old!

funnyface

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

honwood — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:09:59 EDT

based on a cartoon, but Tank Girl rocks me

honwood

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

lisas — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:09:37 EDT

Because the studio heads believe that women can't open movies?

Million Dollar Baby, A Mighty Heart, what about Clarice Starling?

lisas

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

BlondeGrlz — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:09:36 EDT

I thought the Pirates franchise did a good job. Little girl loves pirates as a kid, grows up to be a pirate. Why is a movie with Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom considered "male-orriented"?

BlondeGrlz

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

SarahMC — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:09:30 EDT

They don't want to end up on Maxim's unsexist woman alive list?

SarahMC

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

Sukie in the Graveyard — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:09:29 EDT

@KittenFluff: God Bless Veronica Mars.

Sukie in the Graveyard

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

antiheroine — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:09:29 EDT

@blackbirdfly: LOL

antiheroine

Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

tailfeather — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:09:29 EDT

I will always, always love "Bring It On." Maybe this is not the best example. But I luuurrrvvvee it!

tailfeather