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therightfangirl2012-07-09 10:52 pm
brendala.livejournal.com) wrote in therightfangirl2012-07-09 10:52 pm
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WTF review of 'Brave': EW article says "Girl not wanting arranged marriage=LESBIAN"
A friend of mine pointed me to this article. It's Entertainment Weekly's review of Pixar's Brave. Well, it's not a "review" so much as a manifesto declaring that the main character is a lesbian because....she refused an arranged marriage and disliked wearing gowns that limited her mobility.
I think it's pretty telling that films starring single females who remain single for the entire film are so rare that, the moment a big studio makes one, everyone (including paid professional reviewers) goes nuts and assumes the girl MUST be gay or sexually confused or whatever.
I hate the implication that a girl who doesn't immediately want to date/marry once they hit the proper age must have some deep-rooted issue with her sexuality. Heck, Merida herself never said "I don't want to get married to a man EVER". She just hated the idea of being given out like a carnival prize to some bozo she's never met!
This article reminds me of how Velma from Scooby Doo (one of my favorite fictional characters, btw) has been pegged as a butch lesbian for ages simply because she's "ugly" (translation: she doesn't fit the Barbie mold that 90% of female protagonists fit into) and didn't act like a typical "token girl" character. Even as a kid, I never got why people pegged her as a tomboy (what self respecting "tomboy" would prance about in a red mini-skirt?). Her overall demeanor and behavior was rarely any less feminine than Daphne's. I guess it's because she had non-girl interests like....being smart. :P
While I sympathize with gay folks who want to find a character they can relate to; it still bugs the crap out of me when dumb stereotypes are used to prove that a character is a gay icon (even if their canon has established them as straight).
I think it's pretty telling that films starring single females who remain single for the entire film are so rare that, the moment a big studio makes one, everyone (including paid professional reviewers) goes nuts and assumes the girl MUST be gay or sexually confused or whatever.
I hate the implication that a girl who doesn't immediately want to date/marry once they hit the proper age must have some deep-rooted issue with her sexuality. Heck, Merida herself never said "I don't want to get married to a man EVER". She just hated the idea of being given out like a carnival prize to some bozo she's never met!
This article reminds me of how Velma from Scooby Doo (one of my favorite fictional characters, btw) has been pegged as a butch lesbian for ages simply because she's "ugly" (translation: she doesn't fit the Barbie mold that 90% of female protagonists fit into) and didn't act like a typical "token girl" character. Even as a kid, I never got why people pegged her as a tomboy (what self respecting "tomboy" would prance about in a red mini-skirt?). Her overall demeanor and behavior was rarely any less feminine than Daphne's. I guess it's because she had non-girl interests like....being smart. :P
While I sympathize with gay folks who want to find a character they can relate to; it still bugs the crap out of me when dumb stereotypes are used to prove that a character is a gay icon (even if their canon has established them as straight).
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Or watch RED and watch guys and girls kick butt.
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I heard that was good!
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Also love Expendables and can't wait for Expendables 2.
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"Die Hard, Lethal Weapon, True Lies, Independence Day, etc. There are tons of 'em."
Those three movies are between 15 and twenty-five years old, though.
Certainly, there are still action films and men who star in action films. But there IS an overall trend of male characters in the media, whether it be movies, TV, commercials, print ads, et cetera, who are boyish and child-like and "soft", and in many cases are portrayed as foolish, lazy, passive, and just not admirable or heroic in any way.
On the whole, the male celebrities who fit the traditional masculine mold are NOT the current young crop of stars. Guys like Harrison Ford, Kevin Costner, Bruce Willis, and George Clooney are in their 50s and 60s, and they have few, if any, counterparts among the younger generation.
Even the younger stars who are fairly masculine still have a somewhat "boyish" persona and are not "leading men" in the same style of previous stars.
I'm not impressed with the "butt-kicking girl" concept, at all. There are ways for a character to be "strong" that don't involve physical strength or getting into physical fights.
TBH, I don't need a female protagonist to enjoy a story, at all. The whole "we need more strong female characters!" thing doesn't resonate with me at all.
To each their own, but I actually find it very refreshing when a book/movie/show has an all-male or mostly-male cast.
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That said, there are still many modern films with strong leading men, they're just - IMO - not as good as the heyday of Ahnold, Bruce Willis, etc. Jason Statham, Vin Diesel, and more are modern action stars, and all have tons of movies to their names. A lot of other guys do both action and "normal" films: Clive Owen, George Clooney, Brad Pitt, and more. There are tons of current strong male leads in films, you just have to know which films. =o)
I, however, love butt-kicking girls. Buffy FTW! Katniss FTW! Heck, even Hermione FTW! I don't object to the idea of physically or intellectually adept female protagonists, because it's about darn time, and when I was a kid, the only physically strong women I had to look up to were the Power Rangers.