I'm one of those people who whole-heatedly believes that the stories we hear and see as kids are what mold our ambition, and even our image of ourselves. Stories have a lot of power. So whenever I see a potentially dangerous story or trend popping up in the mainstream or even the pervasive underground, I get worried.
I'm a little worried right now.
I checked out the trailers on apple.com recently, and I saw that we've got two upcoming movies with angsty bow-and-arrow wielding girls as protagonists. The first is Brave, a PIxar film. I have all the faith in the world in Pixar. They are such wonderful storytellers. Sure, they make a misstep every once in a while, but...doesn't everyone? The other is based on a recent novel, The Hunger Games. And I read that book. Wasn't so impressed. Just felt nervous and a little nauseated at the end of the third book.
So, why am I worried? See...these movies have strong female characters, which I think is great, because little girls really need that. But...if I remember anything about Katniss, and most "strong female leads" that I've seen lately...it's that they don't grow. They don't learn. The arcs they seem to experience are as follows:
Start off awesome and angry, show girl power, embarrass men and women with old school values, make every male character fall in love with you, go home awesome and angry.
To me this shows girls that they will never have to concede, never change, never grow. They'll experience a lot of sadness, but at least they are always right. And that's what matters, right?
Now, to any women pointing out that most male-driven stories work the same way (See older James Bond or House MD), I want you to know that I agree 100%. But men are already screwed up enough to think that they are born strong and tough, hyper-sexual, and 100% right all the time. Why on earth would anyone want to send girls down that same path of destruction? And if it's "to compete with men", you're already ten steps down the wrong path.
Female characters should go through changes. They should try, fail, change. ALL characters should do that. It's not about strength or competition...it's about finding out who you are and how that relates to the rest of the world.
But, Pixar might not let me down. I recall a line something like, "You want your freedom, but are do you know what it'll cost you?" Shows me they're working on something good.
I'll be sure to check it out.
MythSmyth
