Gilpatric analyzed 300 films - the top 20 most popular action movies each year between 19 - to see if any female action characters appeared and how they behaved. "It is now commonplace to see female action characters engage in hand-to-hand combat, wield swords, shoot machine guns, and employ high-tech weaponry to destroy people and property - once the exclusive domain of male action heroes," she wrote.īut Gilpatric's study examined whether women shooting at things ultimately challenged any stereotypes of female characters, and femininity in general. Kathryn Gilpatric of Palm Beach State University, action movies changed to make room for heroines when Ridley Scott's "Alien" starred Sigourney Weaver as Lt. In 1979, according to a recent study by Dr.
She is one of a quickly rising tide of fighting females at the box office, whose creators offer relatable portraits of young women with both strength and compassion.ĭaring to move beyond traditional movie tropes, which dictate that female characters must either be highly sexualized or victimized, Merida and some of her current box office companions are offering audiences a change, and 2012 could be the year of the real girl.
This particular heroine, however, is in good company on the broader movie landscape. Its protagonists, with all their variety in species, shape and personality, have until now been exclusively male. She is, after all, an adolescent princess, a staple character of children's movies for decades.īut Merida, with her flaming hair, impressive archery skills and feisty Scottish brogue, is both a departure for the studio that created her and a powerful addition to what is becoming a cinematic trend in 2012: a new wave of action heroines.
Next to such a list, Merida does not look at first glance like a particularly adventurous choice of protagonist for "Brave," the latest film from hit machine movie studio Pixar. This weekend, a teenage girl joins the ranks of Pixar heroes - alongside an old man in a floating house, a superhero gone to seed, a robot, a car, a toy cowboy, a monster, an insect, a fish and a rat. Related article: Doug’s take: Pixar hits the bull’s-eye with ‘Brave’ Related article: Disney and Pixar’s new film ‘Brave’ is a story about family
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