Strong Women are Awesome, Bad Writing is Not

[@CatotheE]

Yeah. Most people have no problems with strong female characters. They just have to be written well. I recently watched Alien and Ripley is a good example of a strong female character.

[@Satire_Filmz]

Ripley is the textbook example. She’s awesome 🔥

[@marhawkman303]

@@Satire_Filmz Another is Red Sonja. Both end up in that "men want her" area. Not solely for her looks, but because she's a woman who'd be helpful as a spouse. But the modern "feminists" want women to avoid men and NOT be married....

[@AnakinSkywalkersYoutubechannel]

Vasquez, man, Vasquez. She was the best of everything. Hot beautiful, can kick your ass, professional, ready to fight, ready to die to make sure people live. That's a real fuckin hero man.

[@BrandonScott-mi5pz]

GREAT NERDWORD SKIP GIRLS BOSSES.

[@RemcovandeLangenberg]

Yep, indeed...

[@StarOfElyon]

Alita: Battle Angel (2019) was a movie with a great female character and the world slept on her.

[@John-fk2ky]

I loved the movie, but it is something of a hard sell. It’s based on a manga (which I think a couple anime adaptions), so some people are already going to be unsure there for various reasons. Alita’s extra large eyes (digitally changed to be much closer to actual anime proportions rather than human ones) were off-putting for some viewers. And then there’s the ending, which doesn’t wrap everything up, leaving an obvious sequel hook. Had I not already seen it and loved it, I’d have ignored the film today based on that fact alone.

[@StarOfElyon]

@@John-fk2ky Hey I know all the reasons people skipped over it. But I have seen countless comments from people on social media who gave the movie a chance and said "how come nobody told me this movie was so good." So at a time when people were asking for something new and different, they still chose the MCU over something new and different and then ended up missing out.

[@grimsoncrow]

I love the manga, and I like her character, flaws and all. I was disappointed in the movie, but that's just my opinion. If I never read the manga, I likely would have liked it more.

[@StarOfElyon]

@grimsoncrow I know people who have read the manga, besides myself, and they love the movie. I know some who don't love it.

[@user-cd6dd3ye8k]

The lesson there is that the greatest females are made. Like sex robots from Real Dolls! And you can own one of your very own for just XXX amount!

[@mischake]

One aspect that I think explains some of the badly written female characters, i truly feel, is that in some cases the person writing the character inserts their own narcissistic characteristics into the character and feels justified in showing off these traits that they themselves probably don't dare portray themselves. But usually these traits surface once the backlash to their work explodes and they start to defend their work in the most toxic ways possible

[@alexkoronec4326]

That's easy can we just say, Kathleen kennedy and Leslie headland

[@mischake]

@alexkoronec4326 that's a start

[@nosotrosloslobosestamosreg4115]

You cannot create something that's not in you first.

[@josephfisher426]

It's a less experienced quality of person who is likely doing the writing today. The entertainment of decades ago was written by war veterans, and before that was common, by people with extensive exposure to the classics as determined by centuries of well-read humans, rather than by 5 years of trendiness.

[@RemcovandeLangenberg]

@@alexkoronec4326 ah yes, Lucas & Spielberg's sour and/ or bitter coffeegirl and weinstein's grooming assistant...

[@nicoleg2544]

I think the best way to distill why we don’t like “strong female characters TM” is because they exalt vices instead of virtues. Selfishness in place of selflessness. Self service in place of self sacrifice and service to others. Strength for the sake of dominance in place of strength for the sake of protection. Ego in place of humility. Vices are neither aspirational nor inspirational. Nobody looks at a raving narcissist and goes “yeah I wanna be like that guy”. Despite the slow degradations of modern society and norms, humans still gravitate towards virtue, we still set as role models those who give rather than taking and protect rather than destroying. More importantly, we look to those who grow from their flaws and mistakes because we seek to grow from our own.

[@ekozoidmajiker6186]

we do gravitate towards virtue, but our actions reflect the opposite

[@giannid.7794]

I have nothing against writing well-written strong female characters, don't confuse being strong with unpleasant, self-centered and self-centered. the example of Mulan "from the animated films" is perfect, here is a well-written female character, she is feminine, warrior, while remaining gentle, lover, with a sense of duty, who loves families.

[@ianesgrecia8568]

The biggest irony is that the worst written female protagonist were written by FEMALE WRITERS. So the point of "maybe because these writers don't understand women or just DONT KNOW HOW TO WRITE" even more ironic.

[@r.babylon2885]

Thank you. I heard the absolute dodge in the fact that women are writing these. I don't think the narrator did

[@nosotrosloslobosestamosreg4115]

"Don't try to understand women. Women uderstand women and they hate each other", Al Bundy.

[@Kal911]

“How do you write women so well?” “I think of a man, and take away rationality and accountability”

[@RachelNichols-writer]

They don't know how to write. Being a woman doesn't automatically make someone a good writer. I don't think they understand human beings.

[@indiajohnson]

​@@Kal911 *reason and accountability

[@MARSHALL_SLAYER]

When I went to watch Last Jedi and Rise of Skywalker with my ex, she was calling out plot points and saying how she could see it coming cause it fit like a fanfic and I could never unsee it cause Disney Star Wars does not feel like it's for its fans anymore. It all feels like fan fiction and inauthentic.

[@Blindluck92]

It's worse than just fanfiction. Hollywood these days makes poorly written "bashing" fics, but instead of bashing specific characters, they bash a whole demographic.

[@Nyet-Zdyes]

You're right about it not being for the fans. Who it IS for... is Kathleen Kennedy and those like her. Modern LucasFilm exists for no other reason than to provide with a paycheck and platform for pushing her own agenda.

[@ravens-crypt]

I was able to figure out how the rise of skywalker was going to end . I did because one it was known Leia was going to dye in this film before it was released which I thought was appropriate since CF had passed away. Now there’s two ways you can read the title of the film 1 leia rises into the force or 2another the character is going to take on the skywalker name. And considering how some parts of the film reminded me of the empire strikes back and the return of the Jedi it was safe to assume that they would add a new hope Element in it as well.

[@christianellegaard7120]

Stop calling it Fan Fiction. Fan Fiction is, usually, badly written, but from a standpoint of love for the original. Whoever wrote this is not a fan. This shows nothing but utter disdain for the original story.

[@Nyet-Zdyes]

@@christianellegaard7120 Yes... this crap is h8 fiction.

[@lordsinister707]

The worst part about it is that we all can see that it is a intentional effort to write female characters as you described. Why do I say this? Because for some reason we all see that most modern day writers downplay a lot of previously written female characters from the 70s or 80s. As if to say that there was something wrong with these characters because they just weren't good enough.

[@robinthrush9672]

When they don't pretend that there were no female action characters until the MCU came out.

[@xrosslegends1279]

What's funny to me is that it's actually easy to make even a Mary/Gary Sue/Stue likable, just make them humble, anime has tons of examples, and also Superman, he would be terrible if he wasn't a golden retriever.

[@lordsinister707]

One of the most recent examples of what you're talking about is Shadow from Eminence in the shadow. He's a complete Gary Stu but no one holds it against him because he's such an idiot

[@Keemperor40K]

@@lordsinister707 Rimuru and Ainz Al Gown also fall into this category. Rimuru, because he is a likeable guy who just wants to chill, he doesn't lord his power even though he eventually becomes a god. Ainz is an idiot savant, he has immense power and can be incredibly sadistic, but we like him because he is usually the last person to know what's going on and he is aware that he is playing against infinitely smarter people, whom he believes would turn on him if he did not play his role as evil all seeing overlord to the T

[@BrandonScott-mi5pz]

EXCELLENT NERDWORD WORK.

[@shamanking2695]

Saying Superman is a Gary Stue just because he is overpowered in disingenuous. The thing with Mary Sue/Gary Stue's is not how they are characterized, but that the story they are in bends in their favor almost all the time. Makes them always right, always overcome their situations easier and everyone who opposes them most of the time are just punching bags. It provides no struggle for a character to face, which in turns leads to no depth revealed and no impactful character moments existing. You can characterize an op character that is an absolute asshole while being an mc and not make them a Mary Sue simply by not bending the story for them and make them face an actual struggle.

[@robinthrush9672]

Superman is a Paragon, not a Mary Sue. Well, maybe initial run and 60s Superman were Mary Sues. Superman's conflict as a character is more about his ability to relate to humans and guilt than it is the physical confrontations. Also being TOO powerful and holding back. Spider-man also has this last habit.

[@SpiderSora]

I dont like how female characters these days are always written to have hostility towards men and I especially dont like how if you say you dont like these female characters some women accuse you of being a misogynist like you aren't allowed to dislike a character that happens to be female, it proves in todays day and age your not allowed to criticize a woman without them pulling the gender card

[@warwolf88]

i personally love a movie with a strong female lead but the movies that have been coming out lately with female leads have been so poorly written that the femae leads has been so insufferable and unbelievably irritating😊

[@Nyet-Zdyes]

People with chips on their shoulders are one type of "party pooper"... and most people just don't want to be around party poopers.. regardless of their type 1/type 2 status.

[@bryanwoods3373]

And then they don't get that they created the backlash by permeating everything. A movie could have an Aunt May character being the emotional backbone of the movie, and they'll reject it because the idea of a motherly figure being strength doesn't register for them.

[@warwolf88]

@bryanwoods3373 exactly

[@askarsfan2011]

We can root for an underdog; we can't root for a bully.

[@Tazirai]

Unless its a white male?

[@jimharrison2513]

I absolutely love Edge of Tomorrow. One of my favorite films of this past decade along with Hell or High Water, Wind River, Ford V Ferrari, Baby Driver and Hacksaw Ridge. I guess you could also add the John Wick series to that list lol.

[@wilberwhateley7569]

Sorry, but since I read the source material (“All You Need Is Kill”) I can’t regard “Edge of Tomorrow” as anything more than an inferior copy.

[@jacotromp59581]

I have absolutely no problem with woman in charge and being a hero. I mean, I find it sexy when a woman takes charge, but I have a problem when a 70Kg woman beat the living hell out of a huge 130Kg muscle man that has years worth of fighting experience. Woman who are extremely smart, and use that smarts to win is hot.

[@Nyet-Zdyes]

Yes, there needs to be some other "in-universe" explanation... such as, for example, Selene in Underworld (vampire), to increase strength... or magic... or "super-soldier serum", etc.

[@inazuma3gou]

@@Nyet-Zdyes yup, there was no problem Buffy beating up everyone because she was the Slayer. And even Buffy did some training and built new skills over the seasons.

[@KirkGrimm]

⁠@@inazuma3gouAlso, Buffy is the most successful Slayer due to her willingness to make friends and allies that fight alongside her while other Slayer fight and dies alone.

[@Unworshipediety]

I don't care. If a guy can take on thousands of soldiers... I don't need reality. I don't need someone over my shoulder whining about how John Wick should have died a billion times over. I'm like... "Ok... cool. I saw an action movie where unrealistic action happened." I finish my popcorn and go on about my day. I don't go out and say... _"Oh no Lady Wick isn't believable!"_ It's like looking for a reason to be mad for no reason at all. It's a movie... It's a cartoon... it's not real. Why do you want your imagination to have no limits, but you want to limit a female imagination on what's possible? I don't think women are thinking to themselves... _"This movie makes me think I can fight someone 3 times my own size!"_ I just don't think that's happening is all I'm saying. So I'm confused about why this is so bothersome to folks? Why limit totally pretend stuff over someone's gender in a totally not real scenario that could never happen? Seems weird to me to even care about it. Life is what it is, I don't see a bunch of ladies becoming confused and suddenly thinking they can pick up a car or battle 10 men at once. lol

[@FredrikHaugen]

Growing up in the '70s and '80s I engrossed in strong characters who was females. Princess Leia, Ripley, Valeria and a whole line of female superheroes. These were people who in times of hardship stood up, using what they got. They were strong in a multitude of ways. Frankly they set a rather high standard for me regarding females. Those caricatures they push as strong women today aren't even a shadow in comparison.

[@theoddegg8462]

This is so true. Theres a difference between a girl boss jerk who treats everyone like shit and a boss who happens to be a girl and embodies actual leadership traits. Whats tragic is that this was not a uncommon trait for women characters for the past 50-ish years. This terrible updated stereotype gives good characters like that a bad rep and needs to be analyzed and brought back to form by the writers of these properties.

[@claytonveno3710]

The time has come to stop calling them "girl bosses" and to officially start calling them Vaj Bosses in order to call out the absurdity of the concept as a whole!

[@pntr92]

9:47 Yes! Thank you. That's exactly what I've been saying. I've often sighted Tiana from the Princess and the Frog as someone I relate to the most despite being a straight white male Canadian. I'm not black, I'm not a woman, I'm not from America and I didn't marry into royalty. But I relate to Tiana because of her struggle to work multiple jobs while also receiving the same lecture from my mother about not letting life pass you by. Through applicability, we can all relate to Tiana whether we are boys, girls, black or white. She teaches us that even though it's good to have faith in something we desire, in order to achieve our goals, we got to put forth the effort and work hard at it. Additionally, she has to learn that working hard is always important, it's also important to not let life pass you by. That's why I think she's a good role model and one of my favorite princesses from Disney. But that's the thing: The only reason why I can say that about her and why I relate was because both of the directors put in the leg work to flesh her out and give her these traits and shortcomings instead of just focusing on identity politics (like what current Disney have been prioritizing) and just calling it good without fleshing out the characters and narrative.

[@PatricksCrazyPlace]

In Masters of the Universe: Revelations, Evil Lyn tried to literally destroy all of creation and she got forgiven, unpunished, and a full redemption...ok.

[@JHOTA5220]

Edge of tomorrow is one of the best sci Fi films ever. And ya I think Rita is easily one of the best female characters ever on film. Her and Eowyn

[@Bjorn_R]

What I really dislike about Rey is that the older movies made it a point to show hard the force is to master and control. She is not only a bad character she litterally disparaging the old movies at the same time. Glad to hear someone who "gets it" with these modern movies

[@AlbertusMagnus_44]

You said it. These people can’t write. Hollywood today is dominated by talentless amateurs.

[@Raycheetah]

Part of the issue is that some writers appear to feel that a female protagonist MUST be the best and most powerful character in their story in order to be interesting. Unearned power, or power without acknowledged character flaws, is boring. An obnoxious character who uses such power to elevate herself over others (e.g., Captain Marvel) can be gratingly offensive, and cause the audience to check out emotionally, or worse, actively come to dislike the character. Can a female character start out powerful and competent? Sure, just like any male character *can,* but their story needs to support this with balancing vulnerabilities and/or a personality with which the audience can connect. ='[.]'=

[@dorian_aguayo]

4:54 exactly! And that's the problem with movies made for "modern audiences." These movies are only as good as the writing...and since these writers lack a moral compass. They have more in common with movie villians, hence why they go out of their way to justify those actions.

[@Uggaphat]

Edge of Tomorrow was great. Although Cage is the main character, the movie really starts in act 2. Rita was the main character in the first act, and how she became so badass - as well as broken - is told through Cage going through the same thing. Act 3 is them working together, and would not succeed if they went it alone. If a movie engrosses you with good writing/acting, and the credits roll without you having to choke on the writers political views that were forced down your throat, I'd say it's a good movie.

[@kishawnlewis4635]

My friend, it is a crime not to acknowledge the Masterpiece that is Alita Battle Angel. Despite her enormous power and strength, she never uses it to emasculate, she embraces her desire for companionship even with someone who is flawed and less powerful. And even when she did humiliate Zapan, I absolutely revelled in it 😂.

[@reelfishstories]

You articulated so well what I was feeling about this current age of female characters in cinema. Flaws are what make us unique and similar at the same time. It gives us our humanity, and the triumph of overcoming obstacles and growing is what makes us compelling.

[@RagtimeBluedream]

This channel should have a million subs

[@teddyvanpaar5809]

The writers of these OP characters rob us viewers of the satisfying moment when characters overcome the obstacles and win the day. Audiences want to see the underdog winning. We cheer for Mulan (the animated one) because we saw her struggle. We cheer for Steve Rogers because we saw him struggle. Characters that are "the best" from the beginning don't give us that and sometimes all we want for them is to see them fall.

[@dustinwashburn1283]

An OP protagonist can be interesting, but like is said in the video only if something in them changes. Whether that be a loss of status that forces them to improvise or just a new worldview. Otherwise, yeah, they simply aren't interesting, and at best come across as annoying.

[@jaredrobinson7071]

I love how you put that. "she doesn't go OUT OF HER WAY to humiliate him" You are correct, She just humiliates him and stuff cause IT IS on the way. lol I just liked the way that ended up being worded. And it's poor writing. Instead of weaving a narrative where they MAKE you feel sorry for the character, they just tell you to feel sorry for the character while they self insert what they think is badassdom and call it a film.

[@gouravchakraborty9801]

Marvel Rivals have strong female characters way more well written than Woke Hollywood alone.

[@kennethellingsen5902]

The character Rey was so badly written, but I thought Force Awakens was ok. With that said, I still think TLJ is the worst movie ever made!

[@stevenwoods5787]

I’m so embarrassed looking back, the mental gymnastics I did to convince myself that TLJ was good, so cringe

[@John-fk2ky]

I think, while it was quite flawed, The Force Awakens was salvageable. The Last Jedi decided, in ways that prove that Rian Johnson is in fact incompetent, to destroy everything beyond all hope of recovery.

[@WolfLadyHali]

I think the ideal behind female character using her streght for herself and not other is a poor attempt to critisize the idea that in the past a woman exsistance was made purly for others. She tends the house, care for the husband and kids, that was a woman place, and the movies tries to critisise it by saying "women for themselves!"and while in real life some of this is true, it is not inspiring. I mean you could make it into a story of a certain strife to free yourself from a destiny that is not suitable for you, but instead they just kick and reject everyone around them to prove their narcisistic strenght. Arcane is a great example of both trying to better life for yourself and for others rather then rejecting any idea of helping others

[@Hollyucinogen]

I personally like strong female characters, but a lot of screenwriters design them as JUST being strong. They don't grow into it; there's no character development. It's boring.

[@Locaneo]

Fantastic video, thank you for saying it so concisely and simply and in a way people can understand and barely argue isn't the problem.

[@r.babylon2885]

I'm going to be that guy. All of the complaints listed here as problems with the characters: being needlessly combative, a perpetual victim despite having the upper hand no accountability, and so forth. It just sounds like every modern feminist I've ever met. Movies and shows are a reflection of the Era. Well, ladies, here's your mirror.

[@UnhingedJessie]

They cannot make anything without filling it with self-inserts.

[@smthnew861]

I love great characters. Men, women. When story is organic, you see how that character is, how it grows, changes... And i dont need to see myself in this characters appearance.

[@Eficiente_VSB]

Shouldn't it say, "Strong Women are awesome, Girl Bosses are not"? Good video, good script.

[@ZachHenke]

One of my favorite characters is Olivia Dunham from Fringe. She’s dedicated, tough, intelligent, and fiercely protective, but she also has a lot issues of her own to deal with. Very well written and engaging.

[@JohnDoe-jk5ns]

Just yes. i loved that show and her character and acting.

[@Nyet-Zdyes]

These modern SFC's always seem to have a chip on their shoulder... and combined with everything else that is happening IRL, it sends a message to the audience, regardless of any INTENT to actually send it. When these SFC's are ALSO in a genre that is predominantly male viewers, such as SciFi, action, etc... and again in combination with IRL topics such as patriarchy, etc... it comes across as a 2-hour butt-chewing session... sometimes called a struggle session. Who wants to pay good money to spend the next 2 hours getting ripped a new one?

[@kazekamiha]

One story idea I had was about a guy with no station or training having an interest in becoming something in a completive field (Combat, sports, a Yu-Gi-Oh styled card game, ect) and having to face off against a rich, privleged girlboss type who easily bests him at the start but he bests in the end thanks to training, effort and a good teacher.

[@DaveFeldman-r9x]

Thank you for this excellent video that especially gives emphasis on the amazing character of Rita. She is easily one of my favorite characters in sci-fi,.. When you think about it, her heroism is quite spectacular because when she quickly kills Tom Cruise character at each failure point, she’s aware she’s killing herself and everyone else in her timeline so that there can at least be one timeline where they succeed for sure, even if she’s not in it. Talk about taking your duty seriously. I think modern writers don’t realize just what the service they’re doing to their ultimate cause when writing female character so poorly. The mistake is in thinking we won’t empathize with them unless we share their physical characteristics, but the Hero’s Journey has and always will be popular because it’s relatable to us all. The best stories are overcoming the internal as well as the external, often with the internal being far more interesting and relevant to us.

[@Kaelronpa4299]

This is a little of topic, but for me, Disney's most successful live action princess is Cinderella (2015). She was given a much stronger character in the movie, even though she was abused by her step mother and step sisters, she never play victim. She indure all their crulity until she met the prince for the first time (who is known as Kit in the movie). And at the final moment, when she have a chances to escape, she took it, but never punish her step mother. Before she leave with Kit, she turn to her step mother and forgive her. That moment really hit me hard. P.S: her promise to her real mother always tear me up. "To have a courage and be kind"

[@danielconroy6695]

Your videos are incredible, thanks for the insight

[@the1magageneral323]

100% agreed. People want compelling female characters, not these woke fake girlboss characters who are mary sue characters like Rey from Disney Star wars, female Ghostbusters and other failed woke characters and films.

[@andrewlim9345]

Thanks for highlighting The Princess and the Frog as a good example of a self-made female underdog. I enjoyed it and think it is better than some of the newer Disney films like the 2020 Mulan remake. Fern from Skeleton Crew is someone who started off as a bully but became a better person as a result of her adventures with Win, KB and Neel.

[@gellax111]

I remember watching Nausicaa for the first time in 2022. That movie felt like a breath of fresh air in the midst of modern day female protagonists.

[@OutOfElmo]

Emily Blunt looked absolutely radiant in that movie. I’d not been much of a fan before, but I fell in love when I saw her in that one. At the end, I want another 15 minutes of the two of them.

[@toganium4175]

The fact that I’ve been called a misogynist for disliking Rey despite some of my favorite characters being women is just the most infuriating thing.

[@Jorlaxe]

I Thought it and then you said it Great video. I subbed a bit ago. Glad I did.

[@PassanCat]

If anyone wants a good "Strong female led story" I recommend Frieren.

[@teggy689]

Stories used to be about being a better person, now its about just being who you are. Unfortunately, if who you are is a narcissistic bully, then that's who you remain.

[@scoutart1508]

On a bright side, at the very least, (even though i enjoyed as star wars fan the further trilogy that turned out to be an optional continuation yet visually well crafted by fans persay though with questionable elements now in retrospect) in the case of latest WAR OF ROHIRRIM is that it stands out as a solid stand alone tale of the LOTR franchise since it had its creative freedom of giving some additional focus to the Hera character and being influenced by the works of Hayao Miyazaki in terms of a strong female protagonist, not to mention being a milestone coming from WB animation by being officially the 20th animated production coming from Warner Bros Feature Animation Group, right?

[@Allan_aka_RocKITEman]

Make a good movie, people pay money to watch it. Could not be simpler.

[@orangeslash1667]

But that requires good writers, which there aren't enough of.

[@Allan_aka_RocKITEman]

@orangeslash1667 >>> I suspect there is a sufficient pool of good writers. The problem is the powers that be are not hiring them.

[@orangeslash1667]

@ (Make a good movie, people pay money to watch it.) Sadly it's not that simple, there have been times when good films that underperformed, Transformers One, Iron Giant, The Secret of NIMH, even Princess and the Frog didn't live up to Disney's high standard. Then there are films that most don't like but did well anyway Avatar 2009, The Garfield Movie, Minions, the Twilight films, most of Disney's live action remakes. Except for Mulan, that surprisingly bombed???

[@dirge7459]

Man, Princess & the Frog was the last good 2D animated movie we got from Disney with a decent story and captivating villain and femme MC, and we're just never going to get something like that from Disney ever again (especially in the 2D dept).

[@michaelbrashears8293]

Spot on, great video!

[@cesargonzalez4146]

I would have liked if the writers put the crushing finale of the manga, once the time nod alien is dead the war seems to not be over, and its because both Cage and Vratavsky are alive and essentially working as time nods, so one of them has to die to eliminate the nod and advance the war.

[@JohnDoe-jk5ns]

Im always astounded how much we regressed in writing female charakters. End of the 90's and about the first decade of the 00's we had in shows, movies and pc games a lot of examples for well writen female charakters, that could be badass, but not hollow. It feels we went a step back, not to the damsel in distress, but to the other extrem, the Marry Sue girlbosses. Writers manage to write male charakters interessting, i dont get why it has become so hard, to do the same thing with females. Luckily there are still lights in the dark. Arcane was a good example, Fallout is another. Ella Purnell seems to be one of those actresses with a good hand, to pick her roles. Great Video.

[@Gnomleif]

100% agree. I grew up with a lot of strong female characters, from Ellen Ripley to princess Leia, Lara Croft, Buffy, Alita, Joanna Dark, Charly/Sam from The Long Kiss Goodnight, The Bride from Kill Bill, Evelyn Salt (didn't say it had to be _good_ movies, but I liked it. Shoot me), Alita, and Lorraine Broughton from Atomic Blonde. The common denominator was that while some of them might have some rough edges they weren't insufferable C U Next TuesdayS like a lot of today's female protagonists are. And since you mentioned Star Wars I remember watching The Force Awakens in the theater, and had my immersion ripped away from me when Rey did the mind trick without us getting any sort of explaination as to how, leading me to resort to "because plot needed to happen."

[@YodaOnABender]

Idk if you mention it in the video but I heard that Emily Blunt is turned off from script offers where part of the pitch involves the phrase “strong female character”

[@Nyet-Zdyes]

Feeding that hungry algorithm...

[@bugmeanie6526]

If you want to write good characters people can connect with you need to understand the value of a sacred, the cycle of man, the hero's journey and the folly of man.

[@kayleighdriessen]

what many of these "strong female characters" seem to have an abundance of in physical strength and dominance over others they lack in emotional intelligence and the ability to build healthy supportive connections. Another thing, going through self-actualization whether for a character or for yourself in real life is not about realizing you were perfect all along, in comes with great self-confidence and a sense of fulfillment yes but you embrace the fact that you're beautifully imperfect while also acknowledging that there's always room for potential growth & improvement without worrying about it too much by making the best of the time you have in the present moment, therefor the way Hollywood portrays self-actualizaton in it's perfect "strong female characters" has been one of their worst writing flaws for years now.

[@sterlingmartin3235]

I agree with you about Princess and the Frog. I appreciate that they chose to focus on the story of the individual characters rather than the politics of that era. They could have written an awful story about racial prejudices, but Lottie and Tiana had no hand in the social and political structure of that era, they just lived in it and made their own individual choices about how they lived and who they loved. By avoiding commenting on the contextual forces around them and instead on the individuals and their personalities, it became a much warmer and authentic story where you could relate to all the characters in one way or another without picking sides or having some accusatory or victimizing narrative jammed down your throat.

[@johntumahab323]

You could have a female protagonist abuse their abilities in a villainous way BUT, in addition to suffering consequences, have it be a moment of character development and growth. I think the reason most modern female protagonists have all the problems you laid out is because writers are so focused on telling stories that bring to the forefront the struggles of women against the "patriarchy" that they hate the idea of showing a weakness or character flaw that needs to be overcome...because they view that as saying "women are inferior to men". Another problem with that view is it basically admits your female hero isn't even a real character but rather some embodiment of women everywhere from the writer's perspective.

[@dustinwashburn1283]

I'm glad you brought up Tiana. She is definitely a character who starts with good virtues but still has room to change for the better throughout the movie.

[@dougsmith6262]

Yes! Stong female character: ❌️ Strong character who's female: ✅️

[@oicirbaFabricio]

Go watch crouching tiger hidden dragon. Also great female characters in that one.

[@connorfitton4294]

100% agree with this video, some female characters are more like narcissist who think they are beyond everything, and that is the female heroes most of the times, not the villains. It's like roles are being switched around, why can't bad guys just be bad guys, and good guys be good guys?

[@MaryLopez-c9q]

You're doing a fantastic job! Just a quick off-topic question: I have a SafePal wallet with USDT, and I have the seed phrase. (mistake turkey blossom warfare blade until bachelor fall squeeze today flee guitar). How should I go about transferring them to Binance?

[@LuxisAlukard]

You wanna know what movie I hate because of the bad writing, even though it's from my favourite franchise? Rise of the TMNT. Movie starts with Casey Jones being sent back in time by old Turtles, and he is baffled how (among other things) Michaelangelo can't do magic, as in his original time period. And in the end, Mike opens a magic portal and saves Leo, just because Casey told him he will be greatest magic user in the world. That's really bad and lazy writing. So, we can criticise bad movies, and we will despise them, wheter they have male or female or whatever protagonist. Cheers!

[@chrisholland6052]

It's not just they write a strong female character who can't be beaten, it's also that they must tear down any strong male character in the process. See Dial of Destiny as an example.

[@VictimPoliticized]

Just gender swap the characters and the issue becomes undeniable. The most toxic and unlikable leads you've ever seen. Only Andrew Tate would like a male She-Hulk.

[@lacolem1]

Weak and wavering characters can be just as interesting as strong ones. I don’t want or need every important character-male or female-to have an overall “strong” disposition

[@StarFall97]

The problem, in my eyes at least, is not that we have necessarily forgotten to write male or female characters. It’s that we’ve forgotten to write people. Ellen Ripley is a Strong Female Character, that much is certain, but not because she is defined as a Woman. But because she is written as a person with flaws, a person who makes mistakes, and survives through pure instinct and the Will to come out of the situation living. Someone like John Rambo can be equally compared to this. He has flaws, makes mistakes, and survives through pure instinct and the Will to come out of the situation living. The same principles, flaws, mistakes, and strengths, whose only difference is that one is a woman and the other is a man. People are people, so why should it be? You and I should get along so awfully?

[@Player-kq6fd]

What i also hate how they do female villains . I hate how the show make them more dangerous and commented more crimes than the male villains and make the male villains pathetic, but when punishment time, the female characters literally make them sympathetic, but they get less punishment . The males villains who don't really do anything get either killed or tortured. I have seen it so many times. That's why jinx from arcane is a best example. What i love about Jinx is she gets punished for what she did, and the show doesn't even defend it either. That's why I love arcane because they did it right.

[@bryanwoods3373]

One question I want to put out in the world is to name a movie with a strong female lead and female villain as the first outing. So, The Hunt or Supergirl (1984). What usually happens now is they make it a battling the patriarchy thing. Wonder Woman fought Ares in the first movie and Cheetah in the second. Not even sure there's many initial movies that have women as the villains. Blue Beetle.

[@Azrael__]

Edge of Tomorrow is one of my favorite action movies, probably watched it a dozen times by now and have never realized Rita as a woman in a position of authority over a man. I always just saw her as the most competent person doing what she needs to do. Unlike the modern trend when they make it annoyingly obvious they're trying to make a point about female empowerment.

[@MalJacraFett1414]

its videos like these that make me subscribe.

[@1SpicyMeataball]

I've been calling it "girl bossy" instead of girl boss, because a boss' job is to be a leader and foster teamwork ideally (Sorry to everyone out there who has a sh*thead boss 😮‍💨) These characters are just like school yard bullies; smug, condescending. They give them the stoicism of gruff men characters, while forgetting what makes characters like that likeable in the first place.

[@overgrowndweeb]

Two points to add to this great take: 1. Female characters get heightened scrutiny and pushback when they don't follow traditional gender norms. It goes from 0-100 real quick if your character isn't absolutely narratively perfect. Somewhat understandable, as it's a political hot button and everyone has an opinion. 2. Because of traditional gender norms, there are fewer recognizable character archetypes that will land with audiences. Characters like a feme fatal or a manic pixie are known and liked, but any kind of antihero is still kind of new, all things considered. Conversely, over the course of 100 years of film, we've seen all kinds of male characters and we know what works. At this point, we've seen many male antiheros do just fine with audiences, and that's a character category that is very easy to get wrong. Even with these issues, I still think that these recent female characters were just bad. So bad that the writers should have known better. Rey was obnoxious and Carol Danvers was a psychopath. I do not understand how they got approved through so many people in the production team.

[@josephfisher426]

I really like Hero and the Crown and its preceding sequel (well, except for the age- and status-asymmetric relationships of the heroines, which seem to be the one trait definitely carried forward to today's popular writing!). But I'm glad the current crop of adapters hasn't gotten their hands on them. Same with Anne McCaffrey. Her stuff isn't the deepest, but she was an adult who recognized that there were multiple kinds of person and did not lazily rely on stereotyping them.

[@BookOfWorms]

To their credit though, for those of us trying to make solid women protagonists, they have given us quite a sifting template to scrutinize

[@PiiskaJesusFreak]

Some comments on highlighted character: - The movie version of Jane Thor was actually a lot better than comics version. The movie was bad, but I actually really liked what they did with Jane. The cut away almost everything that was stupid about the original story, like Thor losing his first name when Jane lifted mjolnir, Jane being worthy despite never previously acting like it (in movies she is a lot less problematic and lifts mjolnir because Thor enchanted it to always protect her), cheapening her sacrifice by instantly resurrecting her, or constantly trying to show that she was better than Thor. She might not have been perfect, but this is the best version of this character I've seen and one of the best parts of a mediocre movie. - She-hulk instantly controlling her rage is comics accurate, I have no complaints about that. She doesn't have the deep child trauma, multiple personality disorder or anger management issues that Bruce has, so she has it way easier. She has no idea what her cousin has been through, so she thinks shes just better because she's a woman. And Banner doesn't connect her because he's a man. I think this is fine too. It becomes problematic only because the show treats her mistaken perspective as objective reality and doesn't challenge it.

[@TheFlash-vb9bj]

Spot on. I hate Girl Boss characters and I a female myself saying it. The men in those movies are always made to look stupid instead of equally. The girl boss are written so poorly they Narcissistic, better then everyone else , no compassion, and never do anything wrong. and verbally puts everyone one down even other female characters. To the point they're more of a villain then the actual villain in the movie. Tiana in the princess and the Frog was a good choice you made. I loved her and the movie, she is a perfect example of how a good female character should be written.

[@Xenix73]

When I was a kid and watched ripley in aliens and Sarah Connor in terminator. I absolutely loved them. I never questioned why they were women. I just thought “wow what cool characters in awesome movies” there characters are not about being women. They’re about overcoming their problems in their lives which are not related to being women. They just so happen to be women. Just like how most male characters also just happen to be male.

[@innocuousalias6632]

I first noticed these types of characters in the YA film adaptation craze and just as is was fizzling out someone thought it was a good idea to just move these writers into mainstream movies and it went about as well as oil and water.

[@itssean1492]

Also why is everything so dark lately?! Like are there no lights on set?? lol

[@theusernameicoodfind]

6:11 hey now calling her Palpatine is an insult to Palpatine. She’s Rey Nobody.

[@SepRoyle]

I love Edge of tomorrow 😍 😊😅one of the best movie 🎬 ever ❤️

[@ThBlueSalamander]

Oh hell no.

[@613harbinger316]

This pairs well with what Emily Blunt has said about the recent trend of forced strong women characters in media. Gave me a lot respect for her when I heard about it. Notice how much of the typical characteristics of a Strong Female Character is just a female embodiment of the worst stereotypes of so-called toxic masculinity that are espoused by feminists. It's almost like they've spent so much time in their heads hating and criticizing men that they've never encountered real ones (which could be a further indictment of male feminists, since they are all they know, lol).

[@TheUnmitigatedDawn]

Kinda wanted to ask, where would Hazbin Hotel fall under in this case?

[@smthnew861]

Cringe tumblr category.

[@TheUnmitigatedDawn]

@@smthnew861 I mean, yeah, but not necessarily under the bad category. So again, where would it fall under?

[@victorcates9330]

If you capture a realistic dynamic where someone is powerful due to their bravery, tenacity, then that's something that could be imitated. Empowerment that's based on being born perfect doesn't give you anything to imitate. The two paths of overpowered female characters are 1) just handing them superman powers or 2) relying on telekinesis (matilda, eleven, etc). By contast, most male characters aren't either aren't overpowered or they have a secondary struggle. The power might have a weakness (kryptonite) or might have a mana cost (if the power burns out and requires pacing) or has another cost (eg. if you had a superhero where the power emitted radiation). It's something for a narrative to be about. In terms of narrative, I think I have an infantile part of myself that wants to be superior. Some stories might be an expression of feeling small as a child and hating it. But if you're operating in a more real-world realm, you need more than wish fulfilment (with a side of sadistic score settling). There's more complexity if victory isn't assured or morality isn't assumed. I'm not a writer. I don't know that much about it. But I had thought it was standard to give characters a fatal flaw. Like writing 101.

[@jairusjackson7799]

The irony. A lot of these terribly written strong women, are written by women. Then women on the internet ask, why Hollywood doesn't understand women? And Hollywood goes, but, but, we let women write these characters, what's the problem. The problem is Hollywood hiring people more obsessed with political opinions and wish fulfilment fantasy, rather than talented story tellers. People who are passionate, and actually care about the stories and characters they are writing for, rather than their own agenda. There are women in those writers rooms, the problem is they just don't have any talent.

[@Tootongtaoako]

Apparently virtue is a means of the patriarchy to oppress. Take lore of an IP for example, its why people are drawn to this stories. Established characters and rules which mostly are founded on good values. But as some modern Star Wars writers have said, the lore is too constrictive stifling their creativity.

[@keegobricks9734]

Nah. I've gone my whole life with nothing but "strong-women" as the ONLY kind of female character to be allowed to exist. I'm ready for just "Women-women" in fiction now.

[@mjolnair]

The title sums up everything

[@TheRadioAteMyTV]

Not a fan of Tom Cruise at all, but Edge of Tomorrow is an awesome movie. Your analysis is spot on.

[@matthewboyd8689]

Finally somebody said it Theres nothing wrong with strong woman characters, its just that modern protratals of "strong woman characters" would be considered the bad guy if they were the opposite gender. Or shallow characters that are perfect have no growth, the growth is what makes a good character and story.

[@shamanking2695]

Personally, I believe you can write a villain protagonist(ex: Light Yayami from Death Note). Protagonist is simply who's pov we follow. It doesn't necessarily entail they're moral or virtuous. Also, saying that self-actualization stories are boring way to write is what current slop makes you believe. Self-actualization is not about realizing your perfection, but about actualizing your potential. In fact, many classic heroes stories are in part that of self-actualization. I also believe that saying that stories of virtue and sacrifice will be remembered more than those of seeking power is disingenuous. Sure, if the second is written badly, that would be the case. But if written well, it can be as much inspiring and thought-provoking as the story about virtue and sacrifice. Overall, the problem doesn't lie in how current female characters are narcissistic or play a victim. The problem is that those things are written terribly, with no actual understanding of them.