Strong Female Roles: Boring or Misunderstood?

[QuinnFillory]

Emily Blunt did a recent interview in which she stated that she is "bored" with the Strong Female Lead roles. According to her, those roles are written as stoic, with women acting tough. Now, with how Captain Marvel was treated online before the movie even came out, I came to thinking: are Strong Female Lead roles still popular nowadays? Or have they gotten misunderstood by everyone?

https://comicbook.com/movies/news/em...le-lead-roles/

https://www.avclub.com/emily-blunt-s...ead-1849782513

[Zelena]

I think it’s up to the writer to create a character who is not boring. Male or female. It’s the events that should force the character to be strong. A character that is just “strong” without necessity would be boring.

[babyblob]

It depends on the movie really. There are strong female characters I have loved and some that I have not enjoyed at all.

They dont have to be boring and I dont think they are misunderstood. But I think what people think of them depends on the movie and the actor that plays them.

[Agent Z]

Strong female roles aren't half as boring as the conversations about these roles.

[Vakanai]

Same as Strong Male Roles isn't it? All the emotion of a plank of wood is just a plank of wood, no matter what gender is playing the part. Stoic is fine in some quantity, but too much and she's right, you just have a bland character - but males are just as guilty of this as female characters. That said I do think Hollywood might overdo it more often with female stars since there's this pseudo-belief that you have to overdo the "masculine" trait of stoicism to compete against similar male action characters. Nonsense but Hollywood is full of nonsense.

[achilles]

There are both; it depends on the writing and the acting. Ellen Ripley---great. Rey---horrible. Geena Davis from "The Long Kiss Goodnight"----great. Captain Marvel(MCU)----horrible. Scar Jo Black Widow----great. Animated Mulan---great. Live action version, terrible. LOTR Galadriel---great. ROP Galadriel----terrible.

Like great male characters, they have to struggle, earn their victory, face strong antagonists who can conceivably beat them. And the actresses need both acting ability and charisma. Their characters need to be properly developed.

[Vakanai]

There are both; it depends on the writing and the acting. Ellen Ripley---great. Rey---horrible. Geena Davis from "The Long Kiss Goodnight"----great. Captain Marvel(MCU)----horrible. Scar Jo Black Widow----great. Animated Mulan---great. Live action version, terrible. LOTR Galadriel---great. ROP Galadriel----terrible.

Like great male characters, they have to struggle, earn their victory, face strong antagonists who can conceivably beat them. And the actresses need both acting ability and charisma. Their characters need to be properly developed.

ROP Galadriel? Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, what was ROP?

[babyblob]

ROP Galadriel? Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, what was ROP?

Rings of Power. The Show on Amazon Prime.

[Vakanai]

Rings of Power. The Show on Amazon Prime.

I honestly forgot that exists, I don't have Prime. Thanks for the answer!

[Kirby101]

There are both; it depends on the writing and the acting. Ellen Ripley---great. Rey---horrible. Geena Davis from "The Long Kiss Goodnight"----great. Captain Marvel(MCU)----horrible. Scar Jo Black Widow----great. Animated Mulan---great. Live action version, terrible. LOTR Galadriel---great. ROP Galadriel----terrible.

Like great male characters, they have to struggle, earn their victory, face strong antagonists who can conceivably beat them. And the actresses need both acting ability and charisma. Their characters need to be properly developed.

I agree with your point, if not your choices.

[achilles]

I agree with your point, if not your choices.

Eh, as always, YMMV with particular choices. Those were just mine.

[Riv86672]

I think it’s up to the writer to create a character who is not boring. Male or female. It’s the events that should force the character to be strong. A character that is just “strong” without necessity would be boring.

^^^This, for me.
I mean that’s what it all comes down to.

[Mister Mets]

I think the problem may be a lack of alternatives. It would be fine to have these along with a more complex range.

[Adam Allen]

Katniss Everdeen was a strong female character, right up to the point when her motivation inexplicably became focused on a romantic relationship with a male character. Not even that there was necessarily wrong with her love interest, or that she might have any romantic feelings at all ... but yeah, unfortunately, with the whole revolution-of-the-violently-oppressed thing going on -- I mean, which she is literally in the middle of -- it kind of undermines the character, to have her focus on a romantic relationship as a priority over everything else, with lives being lost all around, even being lost depending on your choices. I don't think a "strong" person makes getting their honey back the most important thing, over life and death consequences for millions.

(Not lost on me that the romantic aspect was likely completely necessary for the series' success with its original and target demographic audience. Does not change my opinion.)

[Ulysian_Thracs]

Emily Blunt did a recent interview in which she stated that she is "bored" with the Strong Female Lead roles. According to her, those roles are written as stoic, with women acting tough. Now, with how Captain Marvel was treated online before the movie even came out, I came to thinking: are Strong Female Lead roles still popular nowadays? Or have they gotten misunderstood by everyone?

https://comicbook.com/movies/news/em...le-lead-roles/

https://www.avclub.com/emily-blunt-s...ead-1849782513

The issue isn't strong female characters. The issue is bad writing that treats its 'strong' female characters as caricatures of emotionally stunted, weak-willed, and often violent men because that's what they think feminism is supposed to be. As my wife--a sitting judge, past president of our county's Women's Bar Assoc., and certainly no wilting violet--said after watching barely 20 minute of Captain Marvel, 'whoever wrote this must not know any actual successful women in real life, because there is a big difference between strong and just being a bitch."

I think her point is valid. A smart, strong, confident woman doesn't need to act like a bitch or hide all her emotions to out-guy the guys. In my experience, those are much more common traits in women who aren't any of those three things.