April 15, 2013 - Written by: Yazmin Joy

Kick Ass Movie Heroines

Over the past few weeks I’ve been trying to short list my top ten female characters in film. It started as kind of a fun game, but as I delved deeper into cinema’s archives I began to feel a bit depressed. Don’t get me wrong, there are some amazing, incredible performances by female actors out there, but when you cut out all the housewives, drug addicts, psychopaths, victims of domestic abuse, dumb-asses, strippers, prostitutes and journalists there aren’t actually that many characters to choose from. Also I wanted to exclude female characters whose soul purpose seems to be the measuring gage on the development of the male lead.

So with out further adue here are my top ten KICK ASS FEMALE HEROINES. Pow!

10. Lisbeth Salander, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2009)

What I respect about Lisbeth is that she doesn’t allow herself to become a victim even though she is often victimized and suffers horrendous sexual and physical abuse. I mean the girl ties her abuser up and tattoos ‘I am a sadist pig and a rapist’ to his stomach – what a dude – I struggle enough painting my own nails. Sweden’s Lisbeth undercut the mainstream hollywood female archetype and I hope more diverse and complex female protagonists like her appear on on the mainstream movie circuit in the future.

9. Katniss Everdeen, The Hunger Games (2012)

She’s the ‘girl on fire’ who puts her own life on the block to save her little sister from entering the arena. Katniss thinks on her own accord, shows courage and is nifty with a bow and arrow.

8. Matilda Wormwood, Matilda (1996)

Based on the children’s classic by Roald Dahl, Matilda is a book-loving child genius who has been adopted by the wrong family and becomes faced with the headmistress from hell. I think Matilda is just a brilliant role model. When I was a kid she just made reading look so appealing.

7. Stephanie, Rust and Bone (2012)

The character of Stephanie in this movie deserves to be mentioned on this list, not because she experiences incredible trauma but how she copes with it. After losing her legs in a tragic accident Stephanie’s emotional and psychological will to live her life without self-pity and shame is empowering and inspiring.

6. The Bride, Kill Bill Vol I & 2 (2003-2004)

The Bride wants her baby back. Thank you Quentin Tarantino for bring us this super chick. What I like about Kill Bill is that Tarantino treats his chicks as if they had dicks. The Bride is bold, brave and has a clear objective. She just gets on with it. She’s not over sexualised either. That iconic yellow catsuit has minimum exposure but maximum impact. Kill Bill is on my list because it proves an action film with a leading female protagonist doesn’t have to alienate the male demographic and can kick ass at the box office too.

5. Ellen Ripley, Alien Franchise (1979 – 1997)

Ripley single handedly out wits and defeats this…

In Aliens she also saves a small child. Talk about girl power!

4. Maya, Zero Dark Thirty (2012)

Maya is feminine but don’t be fooled by her gentle cooing pigeon voice. She is tough, smart and lets her actions speak for themselves. Maya proves you don’t have to be a bloody great ball-breaking-bulldozer to be a high achiever. She is also responsible for finding Osama Bin Ladan. That’s quite impressive.

3. Dolly Levi, Hello, Dolly! (1969)

When I was a kid I wanted to be Barbara Streisand in this film. Adapted to the big screen from the hit broadway musical, this is the story of a New York City match maker who has her sights on a grumpy “well known, un-married, half a millionaire” played brilliently by Walter Matthau. I love Dolly because she’s funny but NOT dumb. She’s smart, witty, playful, glamerous and determined – AND she’s hilarious.

2. Erin Brockovich, Erin Brockovich (2000)

Forget Pretty Women, this is my favourite Julia Roberts performance by a mile, in this brilliant portrayal of straight talking, single mum/activist/legel clerk who, despite not having a law degree, was instrumental in winning one of the largest law settlements in American history. This, of course coming second to the fact she helped hundreds of people gain compensation. She also comes up with some cracking lines….

1. Scarlet O’Hara, Gone with the Wind (1939)

My number one HAS to go to Scarlet. I mean what a bitch. Uncomprimising, selfish, spoilt, ruthless and absolutely fabulous. Why do I think she deserves the top spot? Because she literally kicks ass. Forget about class, civility, decorum and manners, Scarlet fights for her land, her family and her life. I also love her because she IS afraid, she IS lost, and she IS proud and vulnerable, but despite this she ISN’T afraid to get her hands dirty.

“I’m going to live through this and when it’s all over, I’ll never be hungry again. No, nor any of my folk. If I have to lie, steal, cheat or kill. As God is my witness, I’ll never be hungry again!” Scarlet O’Hara, Gone with the Wind.

Unfortunately looking at my top ten it’s a shame that none of these roles were for women of colour or anyone above a size 10. But I guess we’ve gotta take one battlefield at a time people.

In her article, ‘It’s a Man’s (Celluloid) World’, Martha M. Lauzen revealed that only 11% of the 100 top grossing films in 2011 had ‘clearly identifiable’ female protagonists. Sayyyy whaaaat??? And what’s even more shocking is that according to Lauzen’s findings, this figure showed a decrease in numbers, compared to 2002 in which there was 16% of female lead protagonists in top selling films.

As Keiran Turner-Dave aptly points out in The Independent, 2012 did see a sudden flurry of strong female warriors in the movie theatre such as Snow White and the Huntsman, Brave, Zero Dark Thirty and The Hunger Games. Maybe the tide is changing? I hope so, because in a society where young women often idealize and emulate the lives of their on-screen heroes, we need some strong, dynamic, witty women to look up to. I am talking about chicks WITH problems, who have a good cry then put their Kleenex aside and do some ass kicking.

So I’ve shared mine, who’s you’re ultimate movie she-heroes?

Have a great week peeps!