The roles actresses are cast for reflect the social milieu the movies are marketed to. That milieu has been slowly changing in the Western world ever since movies have been made.
The first black and white silent films, it seems to me, often showed them as damsels in distress. The advent of talkies let women speak, and some of them were made to speak very wittily. Usually in an upper-class or British accent. My first film crush as a boy was Katherine Hepburn because she was smart and sophisticated as well as hot.
In the 50s women were allowed to be sexual but only as whores with a heart of gold. In the 60s about the only women who sought sex were naïve flower children, forgiven for doing so only because they were dummies who didn't know better.
The trend that I like most is for more heroes and superheroes. Likely because I grew up reading Westerns which usually had strong women who could handle a Winchester and a frying pan with equal aplomb.
In the 70s I got Leia and Ripley. They didn't need huge muscles, cause they had blasters and flamethrowers. As Colt's ads for Peacemakers said, "It doesn't matter your strength or size, just call on us we'll equalize."
In the 80s and 90s my heroes were Sarah Connor (weapon of choice: AK-47) and La Femme Nikita (weapon of choice: scoped rifle and silenced pistol).
The first decade of the 21[SUP]st[/SUP] century saw more heroes and superheroes. This included Charlie's Angels, a three-woman team who could kick butt and sneak as well as any James Bond. I also enjoyed Angelina Jolie as the Tomb Raider and as other heroines in movies which were big earners. I was made unhappy, though, by superhero misfires such as Catwoman and Electra. Then came the various X-men movies, with almost too many characters both women and men, all with superpowers.
An enduring hero is Lisbeth Salander. Ferocious and armed with superhacker skills, all the muscle-bound and billionaire bullies in the world with half a brain would quail and slink away rather than arouse her ire.
The second decade had more powerful women as leads. Most influential I believe was The Hunger Games series with Katniss Everdeen as the hero. I also think the Harry Potter series had a big influence. Harry is nominally the lead, but smart and plucky Hermione Granger stole every scene she was in. Then came the Wonder Woman film which proved that not only women leads but women directors could make big money.
What's coming up with women heroes and superheroes? Another Tomb Raider movie with Alicia Vikander as the lead. Red Sparrow with Jennifer Lawrence as the lead, an assassin who wants out a la Le Femme Nikita. More X-Men stuff. Then Alison Brie in Captain Marvel, an already tough fighter pilot amped up by a transfusion of Kree blood.
That's my highly personal view of the trends in female roles, highly influenced by my teenboy enthusiasms. What do YOU think of what has happened recently in female roles and where those roles are going?
The first black and white silent films, it seems to me, often showed them as damsels in distress. The advent of talkies let women speak, and some of them were made to speak very wittily. Usually in an upper-class or British accent. My first film crush as a boy was Katherine Hepburn because she was smart and sophisticated as well as hot.
In the 50s women were allowed to be sexual but only as whores with a heart of gold. In the 60s about the only women who sought sex were naïve flower children, forgiven for doing so only because they were dummies who didn't know better.
The trend that I like most is for more heroes and superheroes. Likely because I grew up reading Westerns which usually had strong women who could handle a Winchester and a frying pan with equal aplomb.
In the 70s I got Leia and Ripley. They didn't need huge muscles, cause they had blasters and flamethrowers. As Colt's ads for Peacemakers said, "It doesn't matter your strength or size, just call on us we'll equalize."
In the 80s and 90s my heroes were Sarah Connor (weapon of choice: AK-47) and La Femme Nikita (weapon of choice: scoped rifle and silenced pistol).
The first decade of the 21[SUP]st[/SUP] century saw more heroes and superheroes. This included Charlie's Angels, a three-woman team who could kick butt and sneak as well as any James Bond. I also enjoyed Angelina Jolie as the Tomb Raider and as other heroines in movies which were big earners. I was made unhappy, though, by superhero misfires such as Catwoman and Electra. Then came the various X-men movies, with almost too many characters both women and men, all with superpowers.
An enduring hero is Lisbeth Salander. Ferocious and armed with superhacker skills, all the muscle-bound and billionaire bullies in the world with half a brain would quail and slink away rather than arouse her ire.
The second decade had more powerful women as leads. Most influential I believe was The Hunger Games series with Katniss Everdeen as the hero. I also think the Harry Potter series had a big influence. Harry is nominally the lead, but smart and plucky Hermione Granger stole every scene she was in. Then came the Wonder Woman film which proved that not only women leads but women directors could make big money.
What's coming up with women heroes and superheroes? Another Tomb Raider movie with Alicia Vikander as the lead. Red Sparrow with Jennifer Lawrence as the lead, an assassin who wants out a la Le Femme Nikita. More X-Men stuff. Then Alison Brie in Captain Marvel, an already tough fighter pilot amped up by a transfusion of Kree blood.
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That's my highly personal view of the trends in female roles, highly influenced by my teenboy enthusiasms. What do YOU think of what has happened recently in female roles and where those roles are going?
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