It seems to me that the men and women are put into roles just as they were in The House on Mango Street. The men always seem to be strong, heroic; like the men from HOMS the men go out and get jobs and do whatever "manly" men do. On the other hand the women are distractions, damsels in distress, and beautiful but weak, this is exactly how the men in HOMS saw their daughters and wives.
Why can't there be more strong women in these myths. We need more women like Sarah Connors from Terminator, Mulan, Electra, Lara Croft, Charlies Angels, and Marion from Indiana Jones.
Why can't there be more strong women in these myths. We need more women like Sarah Connors from Terminator, Mulan, Electra, Lara Croft, Charlies Angels, and Marion from Indiana Jones.
Yes, I am so happy to see someone posting about heroines! While John, Sarah's son, if the saviour of the world in the Terminator tv show, does she have her own hero's journey? I've only heard of Mulan, never saw it, but I recall a friend being so excited that there was a Disney film with a strong female hero.
ReplyDeleteDefinatly Sarah Connor has a journey. She had to defeat Terminators twice, keep herself alive so John could be born, she had to teach him everything he knows to prepare him for leading the resistance. Also she is an inspiration to all of the resistance, Kyle Reese who comes back to protect her in the first movie talks about how everyone knew her and were inspired by her strength and commitment.
ReplyDeleteMulan is a great movie and a great role model to little girls compared to most of the other princesses (no offense). She joins the army in place of her father, and without his permission and becomes the savior of China against the Huns and kicks all the other guys butts while doing it!
I've never really thought about it before, but i guess it's true, there aren't too many strong females that take the role of the heroine. It's kind of depressing to actually think about... I think it has something to do with the fact that men (in mythology) seem to feel superior to women! This seems to discourage women from being strong and independent (like Quinlyn said -- in the House on Mango Street, where the women felt trapped by their husbands). There are the few heroines seen now, who go against society's stereotypes (like Mulan... and even seen in The Princess and the Frog).
ReplyDeleteDisney has quite a few movies where there are women heroines (http://www.ultimatedisney.com/countdown5/index2.html)
ReplyDeleteAs times are changing, women have more equality and more power. I think that this may very well be the reason that there are so few movies with women heroes, because in the past, this idea was ridiculous. Women were not something to look up to, working and taking care of children was the soul purpose of women. As the years go by, we see more women as lead roles and as heroes because of it.