Having looked at female characters on network (young, mostly white) and cable television (less young, less white), let us now turn our attention to women in 2011;s biggest movie releases.
Twilight: Breaking Dawn
- Bella
Let’s just get Bella out of the way. Here she is. She exists.
Thor
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I read that some took issue with Jane Foster’s moony behavior over Thor, but personally, I didn’t have a problem with it. Maybe because I was so happy to see her played as a believable astrophysicist. Sif was also decently done, although a bit of a one note warrior woman.
X-Men: First Class
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X-Men: First Class had a fine line to walk. The women are scrappy fighters with power, but they exist in the 1960s. So, Emma Frost gets sent with a pat on the ass to fetch ice for Shaw’s scotch. Moira MacTaggert is doubted by everyone around (all of whom are men). Angel is an exotic dancer. Raven is very much under the control of her brother until asserting herself at the end. All of them are played at points for titillation (Raven gets blue and naked, Angel is an exotic dancer, Moira and Emma in bouts of lingerie). It could have done a better job, but it seemed to take a lot of lady cues from Mad Men.
Captain America: First Avenger
- Peggy Carter
BAD ASS. I love her no nonsense attitude.
Green Lantern
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The best thing about Carol Ferris is that she wasn’t the slightest bit fooled by Hal Jordan’s Green Lantern “disguise” (unlike Lois Lane, who was fooled by Clark Kent’s glasses for years). Otherwise, Carol is your garden variety girlfriend/damsel, even if she can fly a jet. Amanda Waller was practically just a blip with little to do (other than being rescued).
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt 2
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Sucker Punch
- Sweet Pea, Rocket, Baby Doll, Blondie, Amber
Possibly the most critically derided bunch of women of 2011. My view on this movie is…well…unpopular (I liked it, own it on DVD). While I liked Sucker Punch, I do think Zack Snyder committed a marketing boner by constantly saying he wanted it to be empowering to women (‘cuz when you’ve got a movie that looks like all fan service, sometimes you’ve got to say the “e” word to get women into the theater, even if it isn’t true). It could’ve been a knowingly false sales pitch from him or he fell into the sexy-woman-with-a-gun trope that’s become popular shorthand for Strong Female Character ™. Neither is good, but either way, I didn’t find Sucker Punch to be a female empowerment film.
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
- Caroline Aranha
Appendage. At least she wasn’t a damsel in distress.
Battle: Los Angeles
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Michelle Rodriguez reprises her role as Soldier Woman. Bridget Moynahan fills the role of Possible Love Interest Who is Dangled Out There But Never Explored as well as the role of Feminine Carer.
The Adjustment Bureau
- Elise Sellas
In The Adjustment Bureau, it wasn’t just David Norris’ future at stake – Elise’s future was treated as equally important as his. And even though true love prevailed in the end, both players had equal risk and equal reward.
Like yesterday’s cable installment, I’m breaking at this point to throw it to you. I haven’t seen the movies below. Some because they haven’t come out on DVD yet (like Immortals), others because I didn’t care (like Transformers).
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
- MIchael Bay making a point that women are interchangeable
Pirates of the Caribbean 800: The Quest for More Money
- Angelica
Conan the Barbarian
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Cowboys & Aliens
- Ella
I Am Number Four
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Red Riding Hood
- Valerie
Beastly
- Lindy
Fright Night
- Jane Brewster and Amy
In Time
- Sylvia Weis
Immortals
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The Three Musketeers
- Lady de Winter
What are your thoughts on this bunch?
Tomorrow! The big picture.
Previously:
Related Stuff:
Lisa Fary's earliest influences are Princess Leia, Rainbow Bright, Astronaut Barbie, and her 6th grade teacher, Ms. Palmer. She's angry that it's 2011 and she still doesn't have a hovercraft, but will accept a jetpack as consolation. That jetpack had better be pink with a rhinestone monogram. 
