Fantaghiro - strong female character done right

Today, I want to talk about one of my favorite childhood fairy tales, Fantaghiro. In my opinion, she’s a much better and stronger female character than the ones Hollywood has been trying to create over the past decade, and I want to explain why in this video.
#fairytales #fantasy #strongfemalelead
Fantaghiro 1 (part 1): • The Cave of the Golden...
Fantaghiro 1 (part 2): • The Cave of the Golden...
Fantaghiro 2 (part 1): • The Cave of the Golden...
Fantaghiro 2 (part 2): • The Cave of the Golden...
Fantaghiro 3 (part 1): • The Cave of the Golden...
Fantaghiro 3 (part 2): • The Cave of the Golden...
Fantaghiro 4 (part 1): • The Cave of the Golden...
Fantaghiro 4 (part 2): • The Cave of the Golden...
Fantaghiro 5 (part 1): • The Cave of the Golden...
Fantaghiro 5 (part 2): • The Cave of the Golden...

[@randomthoughts6680]

I'm a simple girl. I see Fantaghiro, I click.

[@CrestOfArtorias]

"Because strong female characters have never been done before" - Some modern audience writer. "No you just havent been watching them or lack media comprehension" - Anyone whoever watched a decent amount of movies.

[@friendcomputer5276]

Or alternatively: "You cleary have no idea what a strong character is". Because a lot of the time it seems like they mistake being an asshole for strength.

[@Mik-H]

I've never heard, or seen, Fantaghiro. But now, somehow, i need to try and find them to watch. Thank you for bringing them to my attention 😃

[@FolkWalkCZ]

The links for the series are in the description. Enjoy 😉

[@zumzoom6368]

Yeah, I've seen this as a kid too, Fantagiro was one of my first crushes. Funnily enough I completely forgot the name of this series and struggled to remember it about a decade later when I first got access to internet. Then something prompted me to remember it (or maybe I stumbled upon it), and that was like the best nostalgia rush!😄 Your video made me realize that it's in Italian, and I wanted to learn the language some years ago. Maybe I'll start with Fantagiro.🙄

[@QueenPersephoneKore95]

*Lamberto Bava, the director of all five "Fantaghirò" films, also produced other Italian fantasy films such as "Desideria and The Dragon Ring", "Alizea/Little Sister and the Prince of Dreams" and "The Princess Mirabella and the Pauper Boy/Plebeian Boy". Amedeo Minghi instead composed wonderful soundtracks for all these films!!!

[@warcheef]

You'd probably be surprised to know Fantaghiro was often on TV in the former Soviet Union in the nineties and early two-thousands. I remember enjoying it very much. The US really missed out on this one. I even saw the animated spinoff show later, when it was on TV in my country as well.

[@roosterdf]

I'm Polish. Can confirm.

[@skipperg4436]

Can confirm. Watched it on TV when I was a kid.

[@rpgadventurer32]

Thank you for making this video. Fantaghiro was a classic series and I grew up on the series as well! Despite the relative lower production values compared to modern day productions, the series of movies from 1- 4 (because I don't consider the 5th at all) was a beautiful resonating adaptation of that classic tale that presented a great tale with a female heroine who wasn't a "girl boss" but had heroic qualities and managed to save those she loved using her skills, her wit and with the help of her companions. The series had an incredible OST and beautiful medieval European aesthetics. If there is anything that deserves to be remade with a big budget it's Fantaghiro because it actually deserves to have proper respectful modern adaptation with a big budget whether as a series of films of a live action tv show. She was a perfect character for Hollywood to adapt and they never did. Perhaps it's better if they don't try because they can't create compelling, believable female characters anymore.

[@FolkWalkCZ]

Well said 🙂 And yeah, I would love the idea of a Fantaghiro remake, but it would have to be made by someone who genuinely wants to tell a good story, without the temptation to insert preachy politics into it. And I would still want them to be true to the original series in some aspects that were great about the original.

[@mojrimibnharb4584]

Strange thing is, this is exactly the character arc we have ALWAYS seen with male heroes. Joseph Campbell laid this out 75 years ago but, for some obscure reason, modern media has decided that female heroes must be mary sue perfection from the start.

[@jackdeniston6150]

Because that is who women are. No learning, complete denial of any fault, no hint of discomfort. This is why every relationship fails, because women destroy everything.

[@usagi3093]

Loved watching this fairy tale as a kid, I loved the Black Witch. And of course the main musical theme is a masterpiece, still often plays in my head.

[@FolkWalkCZ]

Yeah, the Black Witch woke up something in me 😅 But she was really just a cool over the top villain 🙂 I really liked her knights but looking back at it, their armors are ridiculous (especially the oversized helmets). But when I was a kid they seemed really cool to me just because they wore black and were mostly silent (sort of like Boba Fett or even better, Darth Maul) 😁 Even the king seemed cooler when he was in black with that iron mask 🖤 That whole aesthetic was pretty metal 😃 I also loved Tarabas 😁

[@hammad9091]

Always happy to see another video here.

[@ROMANTIKILLER2]

Now this brings back memories! In the 90s, Fantaghiro movies were broadcast on Italian tv around Christmas, and I remember really enjoying them as a kid (at least the first three). And indeed, Fantaghiro was an engaging character because she went from a rather insufferable brat to a kind-hearted badass, and I remember that as a kid I found her becoming a knight-pricess by overcoming all the challenges in front of her to be really cool. Modern Hollywood woke female lead are despised by most not really because of politics but because they are badly written characters with the depth of a puddle, who essentially amount as power fantasies of their (activist) writers.

[@FolkWalkCZ]

Well said 🙂

[@vulfreyde]

They're making a Fantaghiro remake? I think we all know exactly how this is going to end up.

[@alexschwarz4749]

Oh god please no. What's happened in the past years to many classics is the media equivalent of grave desecration. Can't they write something new?

[@Zaphod771]

​@@alexschwarz4749, uh...no. I think that everyone knows that the "new" characters they invented are as gay as the rebooted versions of old characters

[@patrickkelmer6290]

The Fantaghiro series were my introduction to Brigitte Nielsen

[@the1band1wagon]

New movies to watch and new cosplay goals. What a great start to the day.

[@danielaf1487]

As an Italian woman who has always considered herself a feminist (meaning an advocate for the equality of the sexes), I'm delighted to hear that Fantaghirò was appreciated and known in Eastern Europe, which I had no idea of! I'm reading the comments here and discovering that Poles, Russians and Czechs all appreciated this character, brought to life by the lovely Alessandra Martines! I always thought these films, that are broadcast around Christmas time in Italy, were not known at all outside of Italy. All the things you listed that are wrong with contemporary "strong" female characters, are totally wrong, and tenfold, about the Galadriel character in The Rings of Power series. I was so looking forward to that spin-off a few years ago, but was very much put off by yet another ridiculously one-dimensional "strong female character" who makes you want to root for the villain. I honestly did not expect perfection (I'm not a Lord of the Rings purist) but I cannot believe what has been done to the fascinating character of Galadriel in that extremely disappointing series! I think the public wants to see the humanity in their character, regardless of gender. A strong MALE character is therefore a man who is also vulnerable at times, who isn't ashamed to show weakness or fear, but will try their best regardless, facing that fear, and summoning their strength even while feeling weaker. And a strong FEMALE character is no different! What these current "strong female characters" are achieving, is to emulate toxic masculinity. A "strong" woman who never shows any vulnerability or imperfection, is exactly what toxic males aspire to be. So why would the liberation of women be achieved by copying all the worst traits of toxic men? It will only make women more toxic, too.

[@endlessstudent3512]

It was very successfull in western Europe also, Germany and Netherlands for example. I grew up with it and she was a role model for me. A girl who knew what she wanted and was ready to fight for it and go a different way. She managed to do all she wanted and still love with all her heart. I wish they would make more characters like that. Though not all of the modern women are badly done. The Fallout series or Pokerface series are both very good with really cool female leads. They do them better in TV compared to movies, especially disney and amazon produce the downright anti-women stuff...because the women in them are so unlikable that they damage feminism.

[@danielaf1487]

@@endlessstudent3512 - Thanks for the recommendations - I'm just about to start picking the new series I want to watch, now that autumn is back. I completely agree with you, these horribly written, formulaic "strong" women are giving feminism a bad name. Maybe people who are 30 or older have more cultural context to understand this, but I feel for today's teenagers, though I trust they're intelligent enough to find their way towards better role models than Amazon's Galadriel or the most recent Velma (remember that attempt to destroy Scooby Doo for all its fans?).

[@ReviveHF]

1998 Mulan and 2003 Ella Enchanted were another example of how to create good strong female characters.

[@Lylantares]

yeah. Mulan was pretty bad at fighting (because why would she know how to fight?), but carried through with determination and intelligence. What set her apart from the male soldiers was her out-of-the-box-thinking skills and her ability to adapt. Hero's journey, though she never got overconfident. Her set-back was being discovered as a girl, so she had to regain the trust of her comrades, who in turn had to accept her skills as a female warrior (and also accept the value of feminine skills).

[@Antonio_DG]

Per precisione, Fantaghirò non è una creazione originale di Italo Calvino, fu messo su carta da altri due autori prima di lui, Gherardo Nerucci, Vittorio Imbriani, addirittura già nel 1880, ma in realtà la storia è antecedente, si tratta di una fiaba popolare italiana. Poi è vero, nella serie è stato creato un personaggio complesso e non piatto come invece fa il cinema hollywoodiano, il cartone è stato prodotto in spagnolo. Probabilmente la fiaba ha influito in un libro di Calvino, "Il cavaliere inesistente" di genere fantastico, dove c'è una donna guerriero, Bramante.

[@aleksandarspasic6067]

I watched animated series growing up in Serbia 20 years ago. It was great, each episode brought something new. The intro song is still playing in my head.

[@patiencebear]

I watched those movies as a kid. I don't remember much, tbh, except the feeling of an underlying sadness.

[@jindrariley1824]

Yes please! Tell us about more underrated stories! 😊 I really enjoyed this video, as my mum always liked Fantagiro and I grew up watching the animated one - it was pretty good in my oppinion - although I don't remember much from it. (That Mandrake character and the wise catfish stuck with me, for some reason 😊) ah...nostalgia

[@jojoton4eva]

The Fantaghiro movies were some of my favourites when I was a kid in the 90s, especially the first one! Those and Desideria and The Dragon Ring :)

[@johntheknight3062]

The character is only as smart as the writer. The same goes for morals and everything else. These new "strong female lead" characters are written by incompetent, evil and obnoxious people so obviously it reflects in their character as well.

[@elizaj4431]

I think this so often happens, society has a shift and there's a course change. I feel like in the 90s this had happened for women's roles and also although to lesser degree but definetely moving so for gay people. It was more organic and balanced. Then people were digging it and feeling rewarded and it became a flooded market eventually flogging a dead horse and overreacting to milk the movement to a no longer positive but rather destructive degree. I think this pretty much encompasses much of the state of current social justice movements. Historically there is a tendency for the oppressed to become oppressors if they get an upper hand.

[@FolkWalkCZ]

@@elizaj4431 Yeah, I agree with everything you said.

[@fabriziopedani5315]

As an italian who was a kid in 80's and 90's i've seen much of it. General consensus they were enjoyable tv movies but they also were those cringy local production they aired every year around xmas holiday to cover the long afternoon hours along old cheap to air movies, and so were half a dozen derivative production like the above mentioned Princess Desidera, an actually decent sudo-fantasy prirate serie with that actor who played Tarabas in Fantaghiro, and so on

[@Animiel1]

Sono d'accordo con Virokka, saluti da Filkarion

[@fabriziopedani5315]

@@Animiel1 Piacere di sentirti!

[@jacekraniowski3891]

Thank you for covering this classic tale :)

[@Zerel]

Thank you for introducing me to such an interesting story.

[@rpgadventurer32]

You can watch the series on KZbin with English subs.

[@floodgates182]

Fantaghiro was simply charming.

[@0deadx21]

I remember both live-action and animated Fantagiro.

[@Blorenzo129]

Fantaghiro is the best female character ! I watched this serie every year when it passed on tv on chrismas hollidays, almways made sense to me women colud be as badass as men. Thanks for talking about it !

[@MatJan86]

I remember watching this as a kid. It was great 😁 Good to know it can be watched 😁 Yeah any remake in modern times is one giant red flag from the beginning. Please do a video about the other one.

[@Lylantares]

One of my childhood's favourite shows. I just claimed that episodes 9&10 did not exist. She'd never leave Romualdo behind for some random swashbuckler.

[@gobihoukou1]

Same here. Fantagiro only had 3 seasons, and that is the end of discussion :)

[@mashinigun]

thank you so much for the links boss!! this is a really great video and proper homage to a classic that doesnt deserve to remain in the shadows

[@ShairaDarkmoon]

I know i saw it as a child, but remember only two things- that it was awesome and one death by something like a set of 3 giant sets of metalic jaws(if it was even from the show). Should really give it a watch again. It´s been at least 20 years.

[@LakrimaProject]

Ohh Fabtaghiro! In Poland we had it on TV too. Great series with such charm.

[@jeshus_deus_est]

I ve also watched the most of the movies in my childhood😂

[@fablucia]

Fantaghiro!!! A whole part of my childhood was just unlocked

[@paulinagabrys8874]

Oglądałam Fanthagiro jako 8-letnie dziecko. Ale wersję animowaną, która (jak twierdzi wikipedia) jest kompresją wątków z filmów. I nawet to lubiłam. Ale wtedy ja, jako głupie dziecko uważałam że kobieta nie powinna być główną bohaterką i ratować swojego faceta XD. Wiem jakie to jest głupie ale mam wrażenie że hejt na każdą główną postać kobiecą (i to bez względu czy jest napisana dobrze czy źle) to skutek takiego myślenia. Bo Fanthagiro z animacji była trochę Mary Sue ale bardziej jak Usagi czy jak jakaś księżniczka Disneya. Jednak jej pomagierzy jak ten kamień i gęś dużo dawali od siebie i bez nich nasza bohaterka zginęłaby

[@Antonio_DG]

Fantaghirò is the protagonist of a much older Italian folk tale, first transcribed in 1880. Warrior women have actually existed since ancient times, in command because they were noble.

[@martulaznik]

I loved it as a kid. ❤

[@christiansorensen7567]

Nice! I wasn't aware of this series, and I've been to Český Krumlov.

[@nosotrosloslobosestamosreg4115]

No man would reject the idea of going isekai'd and being reborn as Romuald just to earn Fantagirof's hand.

[@thayet]

Oh wow, now that's a name I haven't heard in 20 years

[@JohnnyTheAngel]

I always watched this as a kid, I loved it.

[@immortaljanus]

That main actress looks like a British actress I remember from a few movies. Prince of Persia was one of them.

[@TheRCvie]

Only watched one Fantaghiro movie as a kid, didn't know there were more. Saw it on Aussie tv a couple times, named some of my game characters Fantaghiro too.

[@simorote]

I didn't know Fantaghirò was known outside of Italy. I recommend everyone checks it out with their kids or young siblings. ❤

[@gobihoukou1]

Úplne súhlasím, Fantaghiro je ďaleko lepšia než ktorákoľvek nová "silná ženská postava" spoza veľkej mláky. Jo a hudba, no tak niektoré tóny si často hmkám ešte teraz po 2 dekádach... Edit: Remake? Bez šance.

[@Varg235]

Fanthaghiro aired when I was becoming a teen and was full of thestosterone. So to me at that time Fanthagiro the character and all the sentimental girly-stuff wasn't for me. But.. and that's an important BUT. But I loved the show as a teeny-nerd. I didn't really care that Fanthagiro was the lead, or a strong female. I cared about that the whole story, the screening, the costumes, the music satisfied my needs of awesome fantasy. Not my favourite still.. but an awesome piece of fantasy.

[@alexhulea2735]

OH MY GOD!!!! i never managed to see the first seasons in full..... from the start all the way to the end of the Nekrad story arc..... gonna start looking for them now

[@isilfelagund]

First of all! I love Fantaghiro, she's called Fantagaro in French, and the series used to be on TV around christmas, during the holidays, when I was a kid :D I always watched it, because I too, craved anything fantasy on screen. Years later, friends gifted me the complete dvd series. And I still love it very much, in my mind in clonfates with the swashbuckler movies with Jean Marais I watched as a kid too and still do because they're awsome. I was delightfully surprised to see a Fantaghiro video opening up youtube. As for what you are describing as the strong female character type, I agree with another comment on this video : these are how hollywood think is a good female characters, and it's just tropes, lazy writing, for money (especially the marvel shot of all their female characters when they are barely on screen the rest of the movie, never interacted with each other and are just dolls (like some of the males ones) to move around). These female characters are one dimensional, with no further thoughts put into them, beside marketing an money. The saddest thing about she-hulk, was that the actress played the main characters in Orphan Black, another tv series, and she was very good in it, portraying so many different women, that felt all real. Fantaghiro learning to be humble and to ask for forgiveness, doesn't negate her strength, because we know about it as an audience, we saw how she evolved and what she went through. I think that it's also the lack of diversity and variation, as well as the lack of a well written journey, in the portrayal of strong women characters, that makes it so annoying and/or disappointing.

[@candide1065]

Orange is the new black is a very woke show that portraits women as super strong lesbians or freaks. You also forgot to mention that it's feminist who writes these one-sided characters and it's not just hollywood but you can see that in many european or canadian shows.

[@isilfelagund]

@@candide1065 ??? I didn't forget to mention anything, because I just wrote my opinion. And you wrote yours, nothing to do with mine. I never mentionned Orange is the New Black but Orphan Black. Not the same series at all. And I don't think feminism has anything to do with those characters, rather maybe, the idea hollywood has of feminism, and as I said, it all comes down to money, it's the use of lazy writing and big tropes just for an easy way to making more money with shallow ideas and no depth, with pretty visuals to make it all more appealing.

[@candide1065]

@@isilfelagund The one single thing you're correct about is that I misread something as "Orange is the new black" since I was almost sure that one character from the show was also involved in "She Hulk". Other that that, I didn't write an opinion but a fact, speak for yourself when it comes to opinions. It's obvious that you are biased and deflect any (negative) responsibility of feminism but if you really deny that modern movies are far more feminist and far more often written by feminists, there is no need for any further discussion since that would be gaslighting basically.

[@isilfelagund]

@@candide1065 And from that misread you went and said that feminism is the source of these badly written characters, when I was talking how sad I found that the actress who portrayed complex characters in Oprhan Black was reduced to play the same strong woman trope Marvel pushes in their movies/series, while simultaneously making nothing of them... but bad clichés. I said I disagree with you, that to me, it all comes down to appeal to certain parts of an audience with bad tropes as an easy way to make money. Feminism has nothing to do with it for me, especially when it comes to big budget tv or films. It's all marketing. So yes, i did speak for myself saying it was my opinion and you wrote yours. Because it is an opinion, not a fact. Who are those feminist your are talking about? Producers and writers are mainly men in Hollywood, are they all a majority of feminist ? I doubt it. Beside, what is feminism ? Because if, to you if it's spreading the trope of strong violent women hating on men on screen, what kind of feminism is that ? Those writing this kind of characters aren't feminist, on the contrary it's a disservice to women because they are missing the point, which to me, is to write female and male character equally, portraying them as human, complex with flaws and qualities.

[@rpgadventurer32]

It's not just that. They are portraying women in an unrealistic way that goes to extremes that can't be ignored by viewers. Women should be portrayed as women, not as men in dresses, it dosen't work. Hollywood only find value in masculine traits and have tried to erase all feminine traits from their modern day female characters.

[@spikeee07]

Great video, as always, thank you! 🙂 If I get it right, they (modern media) often try to justify their choices in the name of "representation", which is just a cheap explanation for pushing their views. The way they portray their female characters almost makes me ashamed for being a woman. I think anybody could relate to any character if they choose to, no matter the physical attributes. As you mentioned, stories are great for gaining new perspectives. I enjoyed playing such games that had a preset male character (like GTA, Gothic, the Witcher etc) just as much as the others where you could choose or create your own. Thanks for the series recommendation as well, haven't heard of it before. Will definitely check it out. Aldo when I think about "badass female character" Buffy comes to mind and maybe the witches from Charmed. Sorry if I didn't make much sense, my English is rusty and I tend to ramble 🙂 Greetings from Hungary

[@candicemceady308]

Exactly!!! I'm a girl myself and completely agree!!! I like strong female characters when they go through trail and error just like guys do. Anime and manga does it and don't forget to give the girl characters love interest male love interests which is absolutely adorable nothing wrong with that.

[@spikeee07]

@@candicemceady308Yeah, it is so disappointing what happened to male characters in western media. At best they are completely sidelined, at worst they are made out to be fools to mock. It may sound clishé, but we need both sides, some kind of balance. I think those who had a job at a workplace made up mostly/all female coworkers can relate, but maybe I just had a bad experience, twice.

[@RandomCommentHandle]

James Cameron understood "strong, female character" better than no one.

[@Perceval777]

I'm from Bulgaria and grew up watching Fantaghiro in the 90s and early 2000s. I absolutely love the soundtrack! May I ask where you got the tracks for this video? Some are on KZbin, but I can't find the epic one from the battle in the castle, the one you've used in this video from 3:25 to about 5:05.

[@FolkWalkCZ]

You mean this one? kzbin.info/www/bejne/iX_IemOFgreIbMUsi=J2hw7rn45DXGuCCO

[@Perceval777]

@@FolkWalkCZ Oh, yes! Thank you so much! (^-^)

[@elvensteen1]

In the USA the movie was called "The cave of the Golden Rose" if i recall right.

[@DennisCNolasco]

Please recommend other classic fantasy movies. I’ve only seen American ones, and the majority are bad, except for a few shining gems.

[@FolkWalkCZ]

I'll try in the future videos 😉

[@alexschwarz4749]

One that comes to mind is ""Desideria and The Dragon Ring" I'm not sure where exactly you can find it. I prefer Fantaghiro over it, but it's still a very solid fantasy classic too.

[@davidb7292]

Good video. Cheers!

[@SwordOfJustice2007]

Wow. I'm going to watch it!

[@jonathanwright8025]

You should look at Batman Subzero and how the handled Batgirl in that movie. She is strong and capable, but there are also situations where she needs to acknowledge she needs help. Better than the way they treated her in Batman and Robin or The Killing Joke.

[@ekaf1735]

Oh, I remember, I watched it when I was little

[@guts8909]

somebody once told me: a good femal character is when you write a good character and make the gender optional

[@rpgadventurer32]

Well no, because men and women are different. Writing a female character without acknowledging the differences is simply unrealistic. Fantaghiro did acknowledge these differences, she wasn't a girl boss and had to find ways to get pass hurdles, not with physical strength.

[@Instarius]

@rpgadventurer32 In fantasy or s-f where women can have magic/super powers, they can be equal to men in strenght or stronger than them, so that aspect of "gender differences" shouldn't matter

[@guts8909]

@@rpgadventurer32 if you replace ripple from alien with a man, it will all fit perfectly

[@candide1065]

@@Instarius Lol, you're talking about female power fantasies then. Even in sci-fi/fantasy men would be naturally (much) stronger.

[@alexschwarz4749]

@@candide1065 Not really as that's completely up to the author of the world. I agree that it can be even more compelling, when differences between men and women are acknowledged in those scenarios and you work with them somehow. But a general rule "Women can't be naturally stronger than men" ..... sorry, sounds like limited capacity to imagine to me.

[@QueenPersephoneKore95]

*I'm Italian young woman and I grew up with the five "Fantaghirò" movies (even though the best are the first four movies and the fifth one should be deleted as far as I'm concerned) in the 90s. She's always been one of my favorite heroines and princesses!!! :D

[@trattogatto]

Better if Disney doesn't touch it, believe me!

[@elvensteen1]

I totally agree about the 5th movie! As a dad i allways watched the movies with my daughters when they were little, brings back sweet memories! Disney should stay far away from them, though...

[@margaretwordnerd5210]

Bad writers with progressive views are *bad writers* just as bad writers with conservative views are bad writers. Traditionally we only associate bad writing with something other than poor craftsmanship when we find a bad example paired with an uncomfortable idea. It's not so much that bad conservative writers are given a pass more often than bad progressive writers, but when they are slammed it's for being bad writers rather than being conservative writers.

[@rpgadventurer32]

They are not progressive. That agenda has always been regressive. Conservatives writers barely get anything because Hollywood dosen't portray traditional writing in any way. They pushed conservative out of the industry.

[@candide1065]

Original comment is such blatant gaslighting to shift the blame from progressives to conservatives, lol.

[@FrankJonen]

Back when story mattered.

[@lindildeev5721]

I recently read The 1001 Nights and as unbelievable as it might seem, it's filled with strong female characters, from Sheherazade, who puts her life in danger during 3 years to apease the king to Sympathia, the impossibly knowledgable Greek slave who immediatly takes the situation in her own hands when her master is ruined. Honestly, these stories deserve to be adapted: we just need to remove the many racist moments and some of the sexual content.

[@candide1065]

I highly doubt that it contains many strong women and I doubt even more that you understand the 1001 nights or the principle of adaptions. Why should it be adapted? Just for the strong women? You sound exactly like a smug hollywood-feminist who doesn't care about stories as long as they push your agenda. The "sexual content" is the point of the 1001 night because it's part of the culture and just because something looks racist to you, it doesn't mean that it is for reasonable people.

[@cvokcz5321]

Fantagiro, that one gives me PTSD :D My sister loved it and played it on VHS over and over again :D Not every character has to have some kind of character development (whether male or female), it just depends on the type of story. I honestly rather hate how it's been pushed and demanded in recent years, I really miss characters like the original Conan and Belit, Red Sonya of Rogatino (the real one, from The Shadow of the Vulture by Robert E. Howard) When characters they were just badass whether they were male or female and didn't have to go through any deep development or justify their skills to the readers because otherwise it's supposed to be WOKE :D The same applies to the villains, almost every villain is misunderstood and they are rarely evil nowadays because they are simply evil psychopaths :D

[@candide1065]

Males and females aren't the same and there is no need to pretend that they should be depicted the same way. You also simply dropped that modern characters benefit the agenda of one sex and are hostile towards the other one. The way you say it, it seems like you don't think the word woke is actually a thing.

[@cvokcz5321]

It is fiction, entertainment, escape from reality, not every story has to have some great lesson or reflect reality. It can just be a journey from one adventure to another, with a cool badass character. It's interesting that earlier, similar "power" fantasy didn't bother anyone and they understood it. It is necessary to distinguish reality from fiction. The problem today is often more in the quality than in WOKE.

[@candide1065]

@@cvokcz5321 Not sure if you talk to me since you don't really refer to anything I wrote. You also contradict yourself: Since it's just fiction/entertainment, there is all the less reason to make a particular sex super strong and cool and the other one the opposite - because that's exactly what is woke. The bad quality of shows comes from their wokeness. "Earlier" power fantasies did in fact bother me. I neither like the Karen from She-Hulk nor do i like Ripley or Xena just because they don't openly hate men.

[@cvokcz5321]

​@@candide1065 But it's not about gender, that one is stronger than the other :D The protagonist is a badass and I don't care if he's a man or a woman. I love characters like Conan and his story, his love Belit, where the author doesn't have to justify or explain why they are so great in combat but focuses on the adventure, the same old Lara Croft (in game and comic), she is a cool woman who kicks everyone's ass. She's simply the protagonist, that's why she's stronger than the others. And the fact that someone sees in films the hatred of one gender over the other, is often rather the fact that they dissect individual scenes too much and try to find some subtext in everything :D Wokeness, wokeness is to blame for everything :D Even for global warming :D I find it annoying how they try to justify in one word that everything is wrong. No, the problem really isn't "woke" content, the problem is the quality of the content and the fact that some shout WOKE at everything :D

[@candide1065]

@@cvokcz5321 I respect your patient and friendly style of disussion but you're just really wrong and your point is basically borderline feminist. What you expect or want are completely unrealistic fantasy characters who are just randomly strong and defy any logic/natural law. That might work for children shows in best case but it would be ridiculous in shows for adults. Men are just stronger in every regard by nature. Of course that doesn't mean that men in movies/shows should constantly humiliate women and beat them in everything, but what people are doing today and what you're defending is the radical opposite: The obviosly weaker sex crushes and humiliates the stronger sex and whines on the way. Stories can be fun and cool (and no psychological study) but still realistic enough to depict people like they are. Women can be nice/cool characters without collecting male tears in a glass. Btw, men don't need to be Schwarzenegger either, I would be glad about more realistic men, too. I hope I could make my point somehow understandable. Movie characters don't have to be super realistic all the time and they can have superpowers but women crushing men will never be believable and it will always be a toxic plot device.

[@Bassanova95]

Neasi, Dračí prsten sem jako malej capart miloval a dodnes mi nesmyslně cool jména slouží při hraní DnD...

[@Uhraya]

I loved that Fantaghiro was always saving her prince 😆 I need to rewatch it. The actress ist such a cool beauty!

[@candide1065]

cringe

[@comentedonakeyboard]

Modern strong, female characters aint bad characters, they aint characters at all. The writers obviously dont bother to write well and just want to celebrate themselfs for their "activism". (The same applies to diverse or whatever else)

[@crusader2112]

Very good video. If I may, a really good video on positive and toxic Femininty in Avatar the Last Airbender by Pilgrims Pass. It’s a really good video comparing and contrasting Katara and Azula.

[@candide1065]

There is neither positive nor toxic femininity/masculinity and the opposite of toxic is not positive. Those are just manipulative terms coined by feminist in order to pathologize men and it backfired because they are now called toxic, too.

[@tasse0599]

Hmm, the yt-videos of the show are blocked in Germany

[@FolkWalkCZ]

That's a shame. Use some VPN or maybe try to find it with German dubbing. I think there's a chance you might find it since Fantaghiro was pretty popular in your country as far as I've heard.

[@madmare1814]

Bro... To český Errrrr

[@daviddrake5230]

Comment for the algorithm

[@lesteryaytrippy7282]

See, Hollywood has always had great female characters. We still do but they won't be on a very popular media. To me, there's always something going on top that prevents writers from doing what they do know best. I'd rather see hiccups from a dedicated writer than corporate cutout "strong" characters.

[@Aalisrocklist]

Fantaghiro was written by a father of a daughter. Ripley was written gender neutral, and became Ellen when they cast Sigurney -- Alien 1st film had an all-male direction/production team. James Cameron and his wife Gale wrote Sarah Connor. See, my point is that men have always written and directed amazing female characters for the screen. It is 100% a current problem. The peak of this issue in my opinion is found in The Witcher for Netflix, which 'baffles me and everyone with a brain: does the female producer hate women? Is that it? Is this the reason why she destroyed Yennefer of Vengerberg, one of the most iconic fantasy characters, also written by a man? Is it that producer´s own character failure, is it lack of maturity, what is it? At the end of the day, as a woman, I have very little empathy with these new "strong female" characters because they are completely unrelatable.

[@candide1065]

It's almost like modern shows are way more often written by women (inclusion and so on) who are feminists and write female power fantasies and you're just afraid to talk about the elefant in the room. Besides that I would argue, as long as I live, that Ripley or Sarah Connor are just She-Hulk without open misandry.

[@minutemansam3122]

​@@candide1065if you argue that then you really are an idiot.

[@minutemansam3122]

​@@candide1065as of there hasn't been shows written to be power fantasies where the men are impossibly strong and durable.

[@rpgadventurer32]

@minutemansam3122 Not impossibly strong just emphasizing their actual real strength. Men and women are different!! Men are naturally far stronger, faster, quicker to react, they are much bigger and have more stamina, they also have the instincts to fight and be violent. These power fantasies make sense for men!! Men are natural warriors, they are the ones who fight on the front lines, we are referring to more than 99% men on the front lines in most if not all world armies, even today! Men are the ones who are the first to react and act as protectors in most situations because they are biologically wired to do it! Look at who makes the most firefighters, the most soldiers, the most rescuers, the ones who fill most if not all physically demanding jobs in overwhelming percentages! The power fantasies of men are based on reality! They are just exegeerated versions of that! The power fantasies of intersectional feminist activists are based on subverting reality and presenting an unrealistic illogical picture to the viewers. Normal people immediately recognize it as a political propaganda of a radical ideology because that's what it is. These radical feminist activists don't know how to write female characters because they refuse to acknowledge their inherent weaknesses and real character traits while male writers have often correctly recognized them going back to classic literature from hundreds of years ago. The best written female characters have all been written by male authors. By the way, some of the best male characters have been written by female authors, so this observation often goes both ways.

[@candide1065]

@@minutemansam3122 Power fantasies for men are still much more realistic because men are much stronger than women and more likely to do contact sports and survival stuff, lol.

[@berlineczka]

What you describe about the female character being instantly good at everything and so much better than everyone else (and especially every men) has a name: it is called a Mary Sue character. And it is not viewed - at least in the feminist milieux - as something positive, but rather as lazy writing and disservice to female representation in media. The "woke agenda" you quote has nothing to do with feminism - it's about money (rage baiting is free advertising) and about quick and easy ways to make new movies/books/series and make profit off of it. You may enjoy feminist critique of media and literature - you say many similar things that are part of the established research in the field.

[@music-is-my-world-83]

Well said!

[@berlineczka]

@@music-is-my-world-83 Thank you!

[@candide1065]

You don't seem to have talked to any feminist ever since Mary-Sues have been invented by feminists and serve the feminist purpose of depicting women as super strong and cool (in opposition to men) - but it backfired, like everything feminists ever did (the trans-ideology for instance).

[@nosotrosloslobosestamosreg4115]

But al femi-orcs think they're better than men in everything, even on being a man they are self appointed experts.

[@FolkWalkCZ]

@@berlineczka If there are any feminists who criticize the state of modern pop culture and Hollywood's misguided push for representation and similar things, I find it strange that they aren't more vocal in these discussions. It would definitely help ease the societal tensions that these divisive attempts at progressive activism are causing.

[@holextv5595]

Chtělo by to konečně něco o českých pohádkách 😅

[@FolkWalkCZ]

Poslední týden přemýšlim o tom, že v blízký době možná udělám video o nějaký český pohádce.

[@afrinaut3094]

This ignores the recent success of strong-women characters in fiction, women in Black Pather, Wakanda Forever, Arcane (yes they had moving blk female characters as well), The Woman King etc. But most of these examples are Blk, so to the sensationalists of "no proper strong-female characters in modern films" crowd, these ebony women of various types of expression of strength are oddly not talked about.

[@FolkWalkCZ]

I don’t ignore them (I loved Arcane for example), but shows like that are unfortunately too few and far between. In fact, Arcane just supports my argument even more because it doesn’t make a big deal out of having strong female characters. They’re just well-written characters who happen to be women. The show also doesn't denigrate the male characters and they're well-written as well.

[@rpgadventurer32]

Arcane is well written and its female characters aren't "girl bosses". It's a rare example of a show with good strong female characters that aren't over the top, that have flaws and as mentioned already, the male characters aren't diminished. Black Panther was successful because of its "cultural" impact due to Disney's smart marketing, not anything else. The strong female characters in it weren't successful, they were just a part of that film. The female warriors worked in that film but they were taken to the extreme later on. In the sequel they pushed intersectional feminism and the male characters were sidelined, they also made these female warriors capable of facing and beating far stronger super powered male opponents that made no sense in the "Falcon and the Winter Soldier" series on D+.

[@patnor7354]

I believe the subject was GOOD female characters. So those do not count.

[@ansfelt8154]

While there is a real issue with the writting of way too many mary-sues, there is a fact that writting a female character nowaday is a political act more than ever. It's like including minorities a few decades ago, you can't "just" tell a story, because art has an effect on real world society. The problem is people who have no clue what actual feminism is are being forced by conservative magnates of entertainment to include it into a comedic or leisure storytelling. Feminism and the writting of meaningful female characters is something very hard and very important because very political. The fact that most showrunners and scenarists in the US are shit and infeodated to corporate interests means we only get mary sues ergo, non-feminist, non-interesting, female pseudo-heroes

[@rpgadventurer32]

"Conservatives" have no control at all over entertainment. The Left in the US has controlled almost all of entertainment for decades, at least since the mid 90's but it goes far back. The "Mary sues" are written because of idiotic radical left wing activists in positions of power, who took classic liberal feminism to the extremes in recent years. "Minorites" have been a part of Hollywood since its very begining, but now they are over pushed and overrepresented while the white European originated majority, including white men, is being deliberately erased from on screen representation even in their own cultural properties!!! This is the result of identity politics inserted into mass entertainment. Feminism is a political ideology, always has been, and has always pushed against society's accepted norms for women. The problem is that this went beyond having basic human rights to pushing unrealistic expectations and demands from women in a way that has become detrimental to both women's human rights and to western society as a whole. This social engineering has had long term negative effects. Women and men are biologically different and have different skills and tastes. The feminist movement has unfortunately pushed for new norms that do not match reality and will never match it. This has resulted with the current day intersectional feminist ideology that has taken over current Hollywood. This "woke" infested Hollywood has been trying to push women to essentially become men on-screen while trying to erase all their feminine qualities. They've tried to switch the roles between men and women in tv shows and movies and this ridiculous, insane attempt is not only being rejected by the audience, it's also going to bankrupt the industry, unless they change direction before it's too late. Writing a good feminist character or more accurately, a good strong female character, is not an easy task, but the first you need to do is understand that no matter what, women can't be men and vice versa. You need to understand the simple fact that most women are not what the activist feminist movement has been trying to portray them as, they never have been. You need to write believable female characters with all the struggles, the strengths and the weaknesses together with a variety of female characters as they truly exist in reality and not based on the whims of radical political activists.

[@candide1065]

What is "REAL" feminism? Because I bet money that like other "REAL" feminists who are the only ones who know the truth, you can't explain your kind of "REAL" feminism. Feminism seems to be like the Qu'uran or any unhinged religious book: Anyone can project anything into it.

[@True_Christian]

Xena is an extremely woke lesbian show. You are hurting your own credibility by citing that as an example of a good character.

[@easternlights3155]

I'm probably gonna regret asking but... what's wrong with lesbians?

[@rpgadventurer32]

@easternlights3155 I think they are trying to say that it was made with cringe unrealistic tropes related to that sexuality as well as to modern feminism. The show had "girl boss" moments from the start and in fact, while not to the current extremes, many of the current "girl boss" tropes did exist in that show but just to a far lesser degree. Xena wasn't flawless and suffered many hurdles, though they did portray her as overpowered many times during the show. Technically, Xena started as a normal show. Both her and Gabriel were portrayed as straight women for most of it. It's only really in the later half of it that the show leaned into her deeper feelings towards Gabriel in a way that made it clear that it was more than just a friendship. They teased it until that final season and it was clear the showrunners were influenced by the demands from the LGBTQ side of the fandom at that time.

[@Mirin_the_Witch]

Agree with the first half, don't understand how the second half follows. Xena is glorious.

[@margaretwordnerd5210]

@@rpgadventurer32 sweet job of sanesplaining, but the OP is pretty blunt about what he hates. It's good you want people to get along, but maybe we could achieve this by outgrowing prejudices rather than disguising them as misunderstandings.

[@CappnRob]

@@easternlights3155 my mans his tag handle is "True Christian" and his PFP is the NASA logo edited to say "liars", his youtube page openly says outright they're flat earth nut job trying to use scripture to justify it. This is classic ultra-conservative nut job, what do you think they feel is wrong with lesbians? lmao.

[@candide1065]

Highly doubt that and I absolutely don't think that Xena or Ripley are good "strahng femule" characters. They are exactly the same as modern "strong" women but they don't openly hate men. I'm still waiting for a SINGLE good argument as to why we even need "strong" women in books, movies etc. As if there weren't tons of great books, shows etc. without "strong" women or any kind of women who play much of a roll. How does the strength of a woman make a show better and aren't there any other traits that could be important, especially in a woman? Hope this generation heals from its mental damage some day.

[@FolkWalkCZ]

As I said in the video, in my opinion, female warriors have always been cool. I'm not entirely sure why, but I'd guess it's because it's something unusual and therefore interesting. I welcome real diversity, not the artificial kind that Hollywood tries to present to us. For example, I don't like that Netflix took Slavic fantasy like The Witcher, cast all sorts of minorities in it, and completely destroyed its atmosphere that way. But as I mentioned in one of my videos in the past, I would welcome a fantasy film or series inspired by African culture and folklore. That would be much more unique and interesting than trying to force "diversity" into settings where it doesn't belong. And likewise, I want to see original, well-written characters, and the fact that some of them are women would be a positive thing for me because I want to see someone go on an adventure from their perspective, which differs from mine and is therefore new and interesting to me. I can't really explain it any better. By the way, the way you're responding so aggressively to a lot of the comments under this video makes you come across as quite obnoxious, so maybe you should think about that, because you're not exactly making a good impression for your side of the argument.

[@candide1065]

@@FolkWalkCZ You don't have much of an actual opinion, you just want to please all sides so you tend to half-aZZed criticism of "false" diversity but you also stress how much you love "actual" diversity. You liked a really weird feminist comment that babbles about "gender roles" but you also argued against feminists in another comment. That all makes you come across as opportunistic. Neither you nor anyone else here made a single good argument as to why women need to be strong (instead of motherly, nice, intelligent or whatever else). You guys pretend to oppose wokeness while you embrace most of it. I really just want to understand why people think that we need any diversity or why women must be strong. I write so many comments since many other comments here are, like yours, very meaningless and superficial and miss the point. Funnily, nobody besides you told me that I write too many comments. In fact, 3 people liked my comment so far. I think it's a you-problem. I'd also like to know why I'm "not making a good impression for my side of the argument" but I worry that you can't answer that either. With all due respect but if you don't have to say anything or if you're afraid to make a clear point, nobody forces you to say anything.

[@minutemansam3122]

Why do you care if there are strong female characters like Xenia or Ripley? How does it hurt your enjoyment other than some weird hypocritical obsession with suspension of disbelief? I bet you have no problem with a sci fi that breaks physical laws, or a fantasy with monsters that couldn't exist. Do you get mad that Godzilla is capable of walking despite the fact that it would be physically impossible for such a creature to exist? It's only when it's a woman does your ability to suspend disbelief disappear. Which makes you weird.

[@g.d.2059]

Based on your views, I understand that you do not care about half of the world's population. Your mentality is the description of mental damage since you can't form any possible positive thoughts surrounding this subject without lowering women. I hope you heal someday from this mental damage.

[@FolkWalkCZ]

@@candide1065 I liked that "weird feminist comment" because it came from someone who was initially skeptical about what I have to say but still chose to listen, and in the end expressed some appreciation. While parts of the comment raised red flags for me, I don’t have to agree with everything people write under my videos to remain friendly - just like in real life, where I can still get along with people who have political opinions I disagree with, as long as we share some common ground (like a love for fantasy and pop culture). I’m not being opportunistic; I’m just a centrist (who leans slightly to the right). But I don’t care much for politics in general - I find it boring and exhausting - and I mostly want to enjoy my entertainment and be left alone. The only reason I began engaging with politics about ten years ago was that I noticed this preachy progressive ideology creeping into the hobbies I love, ruining them and making things worse. That’s why I’m critical of it. But lately, I’ve grown tired of the culture wars altogether. Even though the left initiated this shift and should be held accountable, I don’t like how the right sometimes reacts either, losing any sense of grace and coming across as deranged. I know it's hard to be charitable towards someone who comes in bad faith but you can still change someone's mind if they're willing to engage with your points or at least convince them they you're not who they think you are. There are also people who are still undecided, they are following these discussion out of curiousity and if you come in agressively like this and just argue with everyone, you turn most people off. That’s why I’m not a fan of your comments. It’s not really about how many you write (altough it's a bit strange to reply to so many people) it's more about the way you're commenting. I'm just trying to explain that you come across as unhinged weirdo who should touch grass more. And I don't mean it as an insult but it just is what it is. I don't disagree that there should be more female characters who are just "motherly, nice, intelligent or whatever else" but I also don't see the reason why we can't have strong female characters if they're well written and they're not the only ones we see all the time in entertainment. I find it strange that there’s a push for female characters to only be "strong" lately, often just turning them into male-like figures. However, I think having a broader variety of female characters is a positive thing. I appreciate complex, strong female characters - like Yennefer or Calanthé from The Witcher books for example. And I also like female warriors like Xena because they're just cool and there doesn't have to be much more to it.

[@olgalokoshchenko7270]

I don't think all the modern female characters are bad, there many good ones. And the bad ones are getting too much shit imo. No one ever complained about male leads like that, because in that case, it's just a 'bad movie'.

[@candide1065]

Yes, they are terrible and you just try to defend them desperately because you're a woman and identify with toxic females. I criticize male characters, too, so your only strawman is down now. Superman, Batman etc. are bad, but at least they are not some aggressive misogynist boss-dudes.

[@guts8909]

Forever cursed…

[@timkinss]

I clicked on this because the film seems interesting, and I will look it up. I'm not going to bother with the video itself as just one more essay bitching about female characters and declaring "no-one likes them" (speak for yourself) is just white noise now. Laters

[@candide1065]

It's not female characters in general but a certain kind of characters and if you saw the video you'd know that the guy isn't b*tching around but defending them if anything. But that would take a interested and reasonable viewer who isn't miserable and hurt by other opinions. Hope she sees this bro.

[@minutemansam3122]

​@@candide1065that's what we call irony.

[@lidu6363]

This video would be so much better if instead of "activists," you used "corporate performative activism" because I don't know about any real-life human being who would be enjoying the modern Hollywood attempts at "srong female characters..." and the _activists_ I know often have similar opinions to yours.

[@rpgadventurer32]

You are apparently unaware of the radical SJW activism that has spread like fire on social media, mainly Reddit and Twitter, since 2014 and has pushed the major corporations and Holywood for these changes in the first place. The radical social political activists - and the political figures who supported them -are the ones who've pushed for these changes while the stupid corporate executives followed them after being pressured for several years. Now, this ideology is being rejected more and more so companies are starting to reverse course. But yes, radical political activists who came directly from idiotic gender studies in the propaganda filled "universities" are the ones who first pushed for these changes around a decade ago, some of this rotten identity driven ideology goes back to the late 90's.

[@candide1065]

Lol, who are you trying to gaslight? There are tons of youtube activists or activists in university who loves that kind of movie and it's them who push agressive agendas by protesting.

[@lidu6363]

@@candide1065 Tell me names. I haven't seen literally anyone outside the alt-right strawmaning circle-jerk parodies...

[@candide1065]

@@lidu6363 I shouldn't have expected anything more from you that br*indead buzzwords. In order to see those activists you have to actually enter a university or just search for "feminism" on youtube. Bust most of all you shouldn't be a manipulative person who tries to gaslight people about feminism. Do you think I have a fckn list of feminist activists who spread bs? That list would be endless.

[@pringrings22]

Another great video, @FolkWalkCZ !!

[@FolkWalkCZ]

Thanks 🙂

[@jerrymail]

I really enjoyed to watch this TV movies. In my country, France, the name was "La caverne de la Rose d'Or". Even if the special effects can look pretty cheap, I love the story and I have watched it many times. kzbin.info/aero/PLgwcG68r_jWodjQcFf9hOMBUaC1R4y3gt

[@fafiklata]

FIRST!! Hey @FolkWalkCZ nice to see you! :-)

[@FolkWalkCZ]

Thanks 🙂