female characters in films

[Hobbit XIII]

I remember many years ago back in the 80s or 90s my grandmother was complaining about lack of women in strong parts of films.

Naturally I took it upon myself to inform of the great movies of the age and to basically say 'this is the 80s! women got empowered already '.

So who do you think is a strong female character ?

I am going to take one of the best chameleons in hollywood and upset everybody else for picking her first :

Vasquez from Aliens.

If you want to hunt rabbits or deer or people who have inferior weapons or preferably just want to depopulate civilians, you call on the Colonial Marines that work for the big terra forming company.

They probably would do well against similar armed soldiers too but i expect they would get some substantial losses because as tough as they are - there is no disputing that, they are tough, they sure do have a lot to be desired on discipline and how the company manipulates the personnel around them does not help.

Aliens, I won't go into spoilers of the bigger storylines of other films of the franchise.
Ripley a survivor from the film Alien (and pretty damn good horror film in its own right) is tasked to advise the marines on a creature that may be same as the one she came across.

One of those marines is Vasquez, the actress said herself that women and gay men for years came up to her and said how she inspired them.

I like Vasquez because she can stand up to anybody on that squad. It shows me that even if she was not a marine, if she was Vasquez the flower arranger on Earth, nobody no matter how big they were she would meet them as an equal and if they tried to get 'funny' with her she will put them in their place.

a male marine 'hey Vasquez, anyone ever mistake you for a man?'
Vasquez 'no, have you?'

Who do you pick and any reasons why ?

Quoting from Steven1mac :
Why do people assume female empowerment means the women need to be able to physical beat everyone up or everyone is dumb except the heroine. Gone With the Wind, the main character wasn't strong, nor smarter than anyone else, but Scarlet was able to not only survive but grow as a character and character her own destiny. I think she would be a good example of a strong female character.

good points made on his post and to illustrate this is not just for the Vasquez types.

[AustrAlien2010]

Édith Piaf from La Vie en rose.

[Chaosolous]

I'm baffled you chose Vasquez and not Ripley. Vasquez was more the buff woman archetype than the strong woman archetype.

Most James Cameron films have strong female leads or characters in them. He's got a thing for powerful women, just look at all his ex-wives.

[Hobbit XIII]

Ursprungligen skrivet av Chaosolous:

I'm baffled you chose Vasquez and not Ripley. Vasquez was more the buff woman archetype than the strong woman archetype.

Most James Cameron films have strong female leads or characters in them. He's got a thing for powerful women, just look at all his ex-wives.

I am not choosing Vasquez over Ripley she was just by choice. I'll take Ripley as yours?
Refraining from going into details of other leads and letting people pick and review their choices.

[Rumpelcrutchskin]

Vasquez was crappy soldier because she was arrogant and overconfident.

[Hobbit XIII]

Ursprungligen skrivet av Rumpelcrutchskin:

Vasquez was crappy soldier because she was arrogant and overconfident.

and who is your choice?

-doesnt have to be from Aliens your choice in all films.

[steven1mac]

Why do people assume female empowerment means the women need to be able to physical beat everyone up or everyone is dumb except the heroine. Gone With the Wind, the main character wasn't strong, nor smarter than anyone else, but Scarlet was able to not only survive but grow as a character and character her own destiny. I think she would be a good example of a strong female character.

The Wizard of Oz also shows a strong woman character without being over done. She overcomes all the obstacles, with her courage and a little companionship. The main villain was a woman as well.

I like the Sara Connor in the first terminator over the second. Her character developed throughout the show, without any need to be physically strong, just needing the mental fortitude to be able to beat the terminator at the end. The second Terminator, there really was no character growth, she was already a bad ass, and there was no change. I am happy they didn't go to far and make her a musclebound moron for the sake of empowerment.

[Hobbit XIII]

Ursprungligen skrivet av steven1mac:

Why do people assume female empowerment means the women need to be able to physical beat everyone up or everyone is dumb except the heroine. Gone With the Wind, the main character wasn't strong, nor smarter than anyone else, but Scarlet was able to not only survive but grow as a character and character her own destiny. I think she would be a good example of a strong female character.

The Wizard of Oz also shows a strong woman character without being over done. She overcomes all the obstacles, with her courage and a little companionship. The main villain was a woman as well.

I like the Sara Connor in the first terminator over the second. Her character developed throughout the show, without any need to be physically strong, just needing the mental fortitude to be able to beat the terminator at the end. The second Terminator, there really was no character growth, she was already a bad ass, and there was no change. I am happy they didn't go to far and make her a musclebound moron for the sake of empowerment.

I don't want to reply to each posts as they arrive as it can affect the flow of conversation and posting but this is to clarify.
That is a really good point you make, it is open widely to people's views on who they would choose.

I'll quote some of your post for the original post to keep it open as intended.

[Xautos]

Even a few women known by the "dumb blonde" stereotype have used that to drive on their careers and made names for themselves in the US. There are different ways to be empowering, not necessarily beating men in brute force, or who has more confidence or what not. No one has to lose anything or needing to gain anything more to become stronger for it, it's how they apply themselves with what they got.

[Original Cast Recording]

The US Army didn't fully lift restrictions on women in combat roles until 2013. So people can reasonably claim characters like Vasquez were somewhat progressive, even if they became a trope, and even if not all women need to aspire to similar expressions of strength.

[Rumpelcrutchskin]

Ursprungligen skrivet av Hobbit XIII:

Ursprungligen skrivet av Rumpelcrutchskin:

Vasquez was crappy soldier because she was arrogant and overconfident.

and who is your choice?

-doesnt have to be from Aliens your choice in all films.

Somni-451 from Cloud Atlas.

[Zilkenian Davenport]

Mulan, from the animated movie.

[Stingray_tm]

If Aliens was released today unchanged, conservative people would cry "woke".

[isomorphic_projection]

Selene, Underworld.

[steven1mac]

Ursprungligen skrivet av Stingray_tm:

If Aliens was released today unchanged, conservative people would cry "woke".

I doubt it, it is lacking a overly diverse cast and your not hammered with a political message throughout the shot. The main character still has flaws and weaknesses in the movie, which is against woke messaging as well.

[jimbalayajones]

Jennifer in 'I Spit On Your Grave'...If you can get past what was done to her...The revenge she visits upon them is just plain fun...