Exploring How Women Are Portrayed In Action Movies

At their best, action films are money-making, high-octane entertainment, and we could spend all day breaking down the subgenres and making lists of our favorite movies. However, there is one element that is often overlooked but gaining more recognition.

In a video essay by Confessions of a Film Buff, they deconstruct and digest the roles female characters are given in action films, and the fact that much more can be done for better parts.

Women in action films often fall into three, broad categories. There’s  the Young Adult Heroine, characters along the line of Jennifer Lawrence‘s Katniss Everdeen of “The Hunger Games” franchise of Shailene Woodley in “Divergent.”  This trope often sees women work through a violent world, use their cunning, and remain the master of a specific skill.

The Sexualized Fighter is a hard trope to miss as it is laid bare in the physicality of its heroines. There is a ballet-like grace to their fighting. These women balance their femininity with their skills in combat. Finally, a rather manipulative role, The Leader is often the villain. Written as cold and regal, they make the demands, which must be met.

When it comes to female driven action films, there are few and far between. We’re seeing a resurgence with films like “Wonder Woman” and the upcoming “Tomb Raider,” but Hollywood is being pushed for an overdue overhaul of change, and creating more complex, tough, and driven female characters like that of Imperator Furiosa in “Mad Max: Fury Road.” Having women kick ass isn’t enough; their characters need to be as well-drawn as their male counterparts as well.