Girl Power!

           In this weeks blog, we will be why we think the Birds of Prey will make a successful blockbuster hit and basically in this day and age.  The idea we really want to focus on and don’t think has been talked about enough, is women’s roles in movies. Last class there was discussion about Buffy the Vampire Slayer. One could say that this show is about vampires, Satanism, stakes, garlic (etc…) and this is perhaps the reason for its popularity. But in another light, one can say this show was popular because it had a kick-ass female lead who wasn’t afraid to do mid-air drop kicks and throw punches to vanquish her enemies. In the history of movies female characters have very often been put into various stereotypes. We all know them : the damsel in distress, the dumb blonde, the femme fatale, the cheerleader, the evil corporate climber, the sex kitten, the supermom (etc…). To say the least, we have not been portrayed in the most empowering light. Empowered women did/do, however, exist in the realm of comic books, a medium that although certainly has its dedicated followers and talented writers/artists, but I don’t think many would consider “mainstream”. Not to say that women in comics don’t face their own stereotypes and sexual objectification…... *cough* *cough* hyper-sexualized costumes.

What is more significant is that the common stereotype most seen in the media is women’s dependency upon men. But there is some good news on the horizon. Lately in the past couple decades, there have been successful mainstream movies and television programs that have challenged female stereotypes and proven to moviemakers that these are the kinds of movies people will pay to see. Movies and shows like Charlie’s Angels, Kill Bill Vol. 1 + 2, Thelma and Louise, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Alien, the recent movie Salt and even the animated film Chicken Run amongst many many more. What’s even more encouraging is that this trend seems to be on a roll with upcoming movies such as Sucker Punch (which comes out on March 25) and a television reboot of Wonder Woman starring Adrienne Palicki.

            The article by Daniel Frankel titled, “ The Female-Driven Blockbuster is on the Rise” speaks directly to this long-awaited and much-needed change. (http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/35333235/ns/today-entertainment) Frankel talks about the female audiences who have driven blockbusters like “Dear John” for example, whose audience comprised of 84% women, 64% of which were under the age of 25. Ok so maybe “Dear John” isn’t the most empowering movie for women but this shows that it is not just young teenage boys who have the power to make a movie a hit, but women as well. And its seems that executives have caught on to this trend and for that reason and increasingly making more “female-friendly” movies portraying strong female leads because they have proof that women will pay to see it. It seems the term “chick-flick” is being re-defined.

   

         In the Birds of Prey, female characters will take center stage. The Birds of Prey hopes to follow in this vein of strong female characters that aren’t afraid to show the villain who’s boss but who are also, more importantly, real women… not stereotypes.