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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Women as Heroines in SciFi/Fantasy

Discussion in 'Archive: The Amphitheatre' started by Undomiel, Mar 24, 2004.

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  1. Darth-Seldon

    Darth-Seldon Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    May 17, 2003
    Isaac Asimov's novels did have strong women, sometimes stronger than the men.

    Susan Calvin of I, Robot, was the smartest, coldest girl around. She was a nice lady and very intelligent

    The Mayor of Terminus from Foundation's Edge was also very intelligent, and a good political leader.

    Bayta from Foundation and Empire was innovative, smart and was able to save the day in the end.

    Arcadia from Second Foundation was a very smart little girl who went on an adventure.

    Dors from Prelude to Foundation, and Forward the Foundation was a body guard, a teacher and a pretty smart lady who saved the day.

    Bliss from Foundation's Edge and Foundation and Earth had a whole lot of power as well as brains and common sense as well as kindness.

    So to wrap up Asimov made many strong women in his science fiction novels.
    I should mention that some of them were made in the 50s and they showed strong women. Others were written later on.
     
  2. Forcebewitya

    Forcebewitya Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Jun 7, 2002
    Naomi Armitage for one

    indeed. I was going to mention her as well. I find that now there are a lot more heroines than before. And I think your right I think people want to see more heroines such as Riply etc... I for one do. I've begun to write fan fiction and by random chance the majority of the major characters are women.

    Forcebewitya!
     
  3. CodeName_Targeter

    CodeName_Targeter Jedi Master star 5

    Registered:
    Nov 7, 2003
    Persoanlly, I like watching shows where the women are the ones to kick arse, like Buffy and Charmed. Now I know some of you guys brought up how Buffy could only do what she did because of the Slayer strength, but she also had to learn how to use her strength right?

    And if you look at Charmed, while all three of those girls have magic, they use the magic as a tool, not as a crutch. Phoebe doesn't exactly have an active magic power there so she uses her kung fu fighting or whatever it is.

    THere's an author named Tamora Pierce who writes with girl heroines who have to fight for their goals. Persoanlly, Id love seeing these made into movies because they have real girl heroes who know what they want and work ofr it.

    Just my two cents.

    :Targeter:
     
  4. zvezdy

    zvezdy Jedi Youngling star 2

    Registered:
    Sep 26, 2003
    It just seems that the only way a female heroine can be implanted into any sort of script is if she's sexy and barely clothed.

    Maybe it's just me, but I happen to like the age-old ideal of a male superhero that saves the world. Oh well.
     
  5. MikeSolo

    MikeSolo Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Aug 6, 2002
    Princess Leia Organa one of the greatest Women Heroines in SciFi/Fantasy IMO. With the exception of her being Jabba's slave girl for awhile most of the time she isn't running around half nake.
     
  6. Drew_Atreides

    Drew_Atreides Jedi Grand Master star 5

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    Apr 30, 2002
    How many women actually list "Aliens" and "Terminator" as movies that they enjoy watching?

     
  7. itchytasty79

    itchytasty79 Jedi Youngling star 3

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    Oct 2, 2001
    Possibly more women than you think. I know that both my wife and my mother enjoy the Terminator movies and Aliens (as well as the other Alien films.

    Another good sci-fi flick with a strong female lead is George Romero's Day of the Dead. Sarah is a very strong person. In fact in the commentary, the actress who played Sarah said that she sometimes wished that she could be more like the character that she played.
     
  8. Drew_Atreides

    Drew_Atreides Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Apr 30, 2002
    ...ha.. perhaps more then i think, but i'm pretty sure it's fewer then you people realize..

    There aren't alot of "strong female action hero-type characters" because, quite honestly, the majority of girls don't like watching action movies...

    They prefer stuff like "Jersey Girl" and "The Virgin Suicides"...

    It's the nature of the species. Pretty sure it's all related to some chemical imbalance.
     
  9. Syntax

    Syntax Jedi Grand Master star 5

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    Aug 1, 2001
    How many women actually list "Aliens" and "Terminator" as movies that they enjoy watching?

    I know quite a few, personally.
     
  10. DarthArsenal6

    DarthArsenal6 Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Oct 16, 2001
    ^^^^^^^^

    I concure !



     
  11. Jabba-wocky

    Jabba-wocky Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    May 4, 2003
    I think it's largely a reflection of our culture. Similar questions can be asked about the absence of minorities in Sci-Fi/fantasy.

    People are shaped (and in some casse, limited) by their experiences. So in that they haven't seen women in important positions, they have trouble imagining women in important positions. Thus, fewer of them ever appear.

    Hopefully, things are changing, or will continue to change.

     
  12. Space_Man

    Space_Man Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    Aug 16, 2003
    Undomiel: I have a daughter, so I certainly hear your concerns. Off the top of my head, I can think of a few specific films that I don't think have yet been mentioned:

    1.) Ghost In The Shell
    2.) Spirited Away
    3.) The Ring
    4.) Resident Evil
    5.) Night Of The Living Dead (the re-make at least)
    6.) The Stepford Wives (to an extent)
    7.) Halloween
    8.) The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (the remake)

     
  13. Space_Man

    Space_Man Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    Aug 16, 2003
    (Oops -- too late to edit)

    9.) Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within.

    Now, I know (rightly so) some will look at a few of the horror films on my list, and roll their eyes. And yet, in my own defense, I want to say: yes, I acknowledge that just about all the central female figures are doing in those films is running and screaming, but...at least they are surviving the ordeals in which they find themselves...and -- sometimes -- there's a lot to be said for that.
     
  14. _dArTh_SoLo

    _dArTh_SoLo Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 11, 2002
    Yuna from Final Fantasy X and X-2.

    Buffy from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
     
  15. gezvader28

    gezvader28 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Mar 22, 2003
    Undomiel
    In The Matrix, the real hero is one man. Neo. Sure he needs his lady, but he doesn't ACTUALLY need his lady She can't do what he does because....Uh.. I mean, come on!

    I honestly thought that Trinity's role in M1 was just as important as Neo's. she's the greatest sci fi/fantasy heroine in my book, and without her Neo would have stayed dead.

    I agree with you in general, there aren't enough movies where the woman is the main hero.
    But certainly Sarah Connor, Buffy and Xena are great.
    Srah Connor wasn't nuts in T1, and in fact it was Linda Hamilton who requested she be nuts in T2.

    And what about Dana Scully - she has no super powers and she's a great heroine, intelligent, brave, beautiful but not at all bimboesque.


    g
     
  16. Space_Man

    Space_Man Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    Aug 16, 2003
    Wow -- how could I have forgotten one of my all-time favorite films?
    10.) Contact
    Oh, and another film that I was quite fond of:
    11.) The Cell
    And let's not forget the rather obsure:
    12.) Mimic

    For what it's worth, I'll second gezvader28's arguments for Trinity (heck, what about The Oracle, Niobe, & Zee for that matter?) from the Matrix films. Yes, Neo (a male character) was at the center of things, but I don't think that in any way diminishes the value of some of the wonderful female characters in those films.....
     
  17. Forcebewitya

    Forcebewitya Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Jun 7, 2002
    And what about Dana Scully

    yeah! lets not forget about her. I'd say that she is one of the most influential characters in science fiction. And you can't make the arguement that X-files is about Mulder because I think Scully is equally a part of it (or more I guess because Mulder does get abducted).

    Forcebewitya!
     
  18. DarthArsenal6

    DarthArsenal6 Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Oct 16, 2001
    Dana Scully - Yeah i could rate her

    but she is a bit boring compare to Ellen Riply though
     
  19. The2ndQuest

    The2ndQuest Tri-Mod With a Mouth star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Jan 27, 2000
    Babylon 5 has several strong female heroines- though Sinclair and Sheridan are undoubtably the main heros of the series, both Susan Ivanova and Delenn are very strong characters of great importance to the story.

    Hell, Delenn essentially disbanded her own government through sheer force of will alone- and THEN went on to save Babylon 5's collective ass (in one of the most memorable scenes in the entire series).
     
  20. DarthArsenal6

    DarthArsenal6 Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Oct 16, 2001
    Even freakin' Harry Potter has one real hero, a boy named .... Harry Potter


    Now thats something
    Try talking to J K Rowling
     
  21. DarthArsenal6

    DarthArsenal6 Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Oct 16, 2001
    Speaking of which i think Undomiel is right

    I last past few years a lot of Sci-fi women have taken into sexy roles which are completely unessary

    Look at Enterprise T'pol -
    when is the last time did you ever see a Female Vulcan dressed up in a tight custume. And did we ever see spock bare chest not that i want to see it :(

    Boost ratings ? - pethetic !
     
  22. Forcebewitya

    Forcebewitya Jedi Padawan star 4

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    Jun 7, 2002
    but she is a bit boring compare to Ellen Riply though

    meh, I never really liked Riply that much.

    Forcebewitya!
     
  23. Waning Drill

    Waning Drill Jedi Knight star 5

    Registered:
    Dec 30, 1999
    Look at anything written by Joss Whedon or Chris Claremont. If anything, they like writing women a lot more than they like writing men.
     
  24. Space_Man

    Space_Man Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    Aug 16, 2003
    Captain Kathryn Janeway from Star Trek: Voyager. Janeway rocked!!
     
  25. DarthArsenal6

    DarthArsenal6 Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Oct 16, 2001
    ^ erm ....no [face_plain]
     
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