Like, forever ago, I posted a list of my animated female heroes and swore the list of live-action ladies was soon to follow. Well, obviously not. There are just too many! I will try and get back on this but in the meantime, Defamer has just posted a really awesome tribute to "The Top 10 Female TV Characters Women Want To Be Like And Men Want To Be With." It's awesome! There's one with which I viscerally disagree, but with the others I viscerally AGREE. Check it out.
Showing posts with label BADASS LADIES. Show all posts
Showing posts with label BADASS LADIES. Show all posts
Friday, August 8, 2008
Monday, December 17, 2007
Sex and Gotham City
The trailer for The Dark Knightis finally out, and it's pretty fucking exciting. I was never worried about Heath Ledger as The Joker, I figured from the beginning that he'd be awesome and the trailer bears that out. But what hadn't realized? Maggie Gyllenhaal! She's the Official Woman! And she punches The Joker in the stomach!!!! So Chris Nolan is furthering his track record of women in Batman movies being infinitely cooler than women in Spider-Man movies. I can't wait for summer 2008.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Whom I'm Thankful For: Animated Edition
Inspired by a lovely TV-and-movie critic I know who is working on an end-of-the-year list, I thought I'd try my own compilation. So I shall here list my favorite female TV characters of all time. The criteria were a mix: embodiment of feminist principles, coolness, strength, intelligence, importance, making it in a man's world, badassosity, and my personal affection. In short, characters who made me say, "She's so frickin' awesome!" and who made me feel cooler about being a girl. And extra points for any character I dressed as for Halloween. I've decided to make a separate list for animated shows, since they were highly represented! So, without further ado: Oh man, I loved this broad. Oh man, I STILL love this broad. Not the game show or the video game version (though I loved them by association)--the cartoon series version. The version where she was voiced by Rita Moreno and always got away. Not only was she an outlaw and a rebel, she was smart, witty, badass, cucumber-cool, and could operate solo just as well as with her legions of overly-appropriately-named henchpeople. The secret to her success? In her own words: "Think out your plan like a woman of action--act out your plan like a woman of thought." (In 8th grade it meant so much to me that I could quote that and it specifically said woman.) Her pride was sometimes an asset, sometimes a liability, and her refusal to use violence opened the door to 100% likeability for girls like me. And she taught me about female pirates! Halloween costume? Check--11th grade. Truth be told, I would be her anyday. 3) Rogue (X-Men) Storm was too Spock-like, Jean unforgivably lame for preferring Cyclops to Wolverine. But Rogue? She was a firecracker, had awesome powers (flight, invulnerability, super strength) and an awesome backstory, plus the affections (however star-crossed) of Gambit, who was let's-be-honest SO FRICKIN HOT OMG. But I digress. The serious downside of her power (draining people's strength=not so much with the smooching) only made it cooler that she held onto that southern charm--and Gambit dug her even if she couldn't put out. I would be her for H-ween in a second if I thought I could pull off the unitard. 4) Ivy (Where on Earth Is Carmen Sandiego?) 6) Officer Renée Montoya (Batman: The Animated Series) Even before she was outed in a comic book, I knew Montoya was the real deal. She would probably be higher on this list if she'd been in the cartoon a little more, but she certainly wasn't neglected. A foil to the sloppy and pig-headed Bullock (pictured), she was the only one of Gotham's Finest besides Gordon whom Batman, and the audience, could totally trust. When suspended due to a mysteriously botched bust involving Batman, Montoya pursued the case even without gun and badge, and was proven right in the end. A resolutely tough cop, she was still undeniably human--in one episode, upon hearing the (false) news of Batman's death, she allows herself a rare moment of vulnerabilty, not just in front of us, but in front of Bullock. Far grittier and more interesting than, say, Bat Girl--in part because she's a creature of reality and not fantasy--it's no wonder she got more attention in 52. 7) Daria Morgendorffer (Daria) If I sounded critical of Ms. Morgendorffer before, well, the greatest heroes are flawed. But who could not relate to this girl, whose chirpy, popular younger sister derides her as a "brain," whose parents and teachers don't understand why she can't put down the books and hit the pep rally...whose friend Jane has a dreamy musician older brother who would never be right for her but...oh Trent...drool... Sorry, where was I? Right. As the series went on, her character actually developed (!) and she was more than just a collection of deadpan quips. But her words from the first episode are still the most telling: "I don't have low self-esteem! I have low esteem for everyone else." Who hasn't been there? (Halloween: two years ago.) 8) Aeon Flux (Aeon Flux) Do I really have to explain this one? She's a renegade, a double agent, on no one's side but her own, she kicks ass in EPIC AMOUNTS and her sexuality is totally her own. And don't let the ridiculous fetish garb fool you--business comes first. In this strange totalitarian regime run by her on-again, off-again lover Trevor, she might appreciate boning for old times' sake, but fond feelings don't mean she won't put a bullet in your head. Plus, the show is SO WEIRD. But I think I'll pass on Halloween for this one. 9) American Maid (The Tick) [Sorry for all the links...man I love this show.]
2) She-Ra (She-Ra)
I have a great attraction to sidekicks. And like many sidekicks, Daria Morgendorffer's artsy friend Jane was the coolest character on the show. This gravelly-voiced, alternative-looking lady was just as sarcastic and principled as Daria, but you got the strong feeling that she was an outcast because she WANTED to be, not because she had to be. Though a scholastic underachiever, she was a gifted artist and, in one episode, a track star (before quitting out of disgust that athletes were given academic shortcuts), and when she wanted to she did well with boys. In an early episode she meets a guy at a party and promptly makes out with him in the laundry room, and you know that's behavior I approve. In a later episode they even addressed the burning Would-Jane-Sleep-With-A-Girl question. (The answer was no, but it was impressive that they broached the subject.) Perhaps most importantly, she was a crucial foil to her bespectacled best friend. She actually had interests and wanted to DO things--and she often got Daria to step a little bit outside all those fences she put between herself and the world. Way to send the message that high school may be lame, but you don't have to be.
I hope you all know this show--if not, you definitely owe it to yourselves. If you are familiar with the escapades of that giant blue moron, you will also remember American Maid, the only competent superhero living in The City. The "World's Most Patriotic Domestic" was your go-to girl-- she had strength, agility, and a tactician's level head. Though she'd roll her eyes at the ineptitude of Die Fledermaus, Sewer Urchin, and The Tick himself, she never hesitated to dive in with them, whether battling Chairface Chippendale or checking out that new superhero nightclub. But just when you think she's all-business and too cool for this crowd, her constant bickering with Die Feldermaus (obviously her ex) would interfere at a climactic moment, and you'd love her all the more. Halloween? Last year! I got recognized, like, once, but it was worth it.
10) April O’Neill (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)
Honorable Mention: Detective Elisa Maza (Gargoyles)
Next time: Live action!
*Actually, a lot of these ladies had low/rich/gravelly voices. Interesting.
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