The 2012 smash summer hit The Avengers featured a superhero team consisting of Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, Hawkeye and Black Widow. While four of the six characters have been featured in spin-off solo movies, the team’s only female member, Black Widow, has been an exception.
This example is not unique: women in movies are often portrayed as a supporter on the man’s journey. These women are too often treated as just a reward for the male heros. They act as objects or just plot points, not like characters.
Next time you go to the movie theater or shop for a DVD, try finding a PG-13 or R rated action movie featuring a woman who is not hypersexualized. You’ll be at it for quite a while.
Outside of the mainstream, there are some films starring empowered women who are able to function without men, such as Ellen Ripley from the Alien movie franchise. The captain of her own ship, Ripley saves herself from a deadly creature. She also runs around on her spaceship in a full spacesuit and flight suit, not skin-tight spandex.
Another great example of a strong woman in pop culture is Buffy Summers from the popular television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Buffy has a male mentor, and she is considered sexy by some viewers. However, these points do not define her as a character.
DC and Marvel, both major comic book companies, have tried making strong female protagonists with the release of the Catwoman and Elektra movies, respectively. Unfortunately, these movies feature terrible effects and poor script writing, a disservice to their female protagonists.
DC’s and Marvel’s comics feature a cluster of female leads, including Batwoman, a wealthy lesbian heiress who puts her money into stopping crime on the streets, and Ms. Marvel, a Muslim-American teenage girl who has shape-shifting abilities. Both of these characters are interesting and popular enough to maintain their own movie franchises, but are being passed over for other, usually male, protagonists.
The failure of the Wolverine and Ghost Rider movies did not stop Hollywood from producing sequels for both, even at the expense of other, stronger characters. Hollywood should stop looking at white male protagonists for inspiration and start looking at the strong women they are ignoring.