Strong Female Characters are ruining movies

The concept of strong female characters is not a new one and in the last few years Hollywood has created a lot of movies and tv shows centred around women female characters who are flawless in nearly every way. They are better then men, stronger than men and are pretty much exempt from every form of criticism. As a result, a lot of movies have been hampered by females who are created to be better than their male counterparts no matter how unrealistic or obnoxious.
In this video, I tackle the comparisons between female characters of the past and the current female characters like Galadriel from Rings of Power, Mulan, Rey, and She-Hulk and why they are so unlikeable, toxic and downright terrible.

[@karenielsen4713]

That little moment in Aliens (1986), when Ripley has geared up and is going down the elevator to save Newt… She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath to control her overwhelming fear. Because SHE IS SO AFFRAID to face her nightmare. But she goes down to hell anyways - that is good writing! That little moment of showing the fear💪🏻

[@garrynewby1442]

The bride from kill Bill is a realistic strong female character. If Rey Skywalker/palpatine had a similar story arc then she would have been amazing as the bride was very skillful but got hurt, trained hard to the point where it literally broke her and had a powerful motivation for doing what she did and even though she was driven by vengeance she never wasn't happy that she killed bill and she was very believable as a character because she wasn't a saint to begin with. She was an assassin and a ruthless one

[@rakeshmalik5385]

Thank you for bringing that one up. Especially the fact that the movie gradually reveals her training as the story progresses. That was great storytelling.

[@NebLleb]

"I am no man!" -Eowyn

[@separator94]

lol I know. She kinda missed the entire point of what he was saying since "man" (as in mankind) means human. Way to take things personally Eowyn.

[@ayeitburns1]

Witch-king: "When I said man, I clearly meant, like, man-kind. Why did you have to make it about gender, bruh. Just kill me, whatever."

[@nicklepin7133]

@@separator94I believe that only a woman could kill the witch king. As there was a prophecy made about the death of the witch king centuries before the war of the ring

[@kecukraftwork1988]

@@ayeitburns1 "Years of battling seasoned warriors and this is how I go down. I'll bet the guys back at Mordor are gonna laugh their asses off at me." "I could just let you live-" "Oh yeah, because Sauron's gonna want to hear about my ineptitude! Way to kill both me *and* my career, man!" "I am no man." "...Really rubbing this in, aren't you?"

[@separator94]

I enjoy strong female characters who are realistic, and flawed, so I completely agree with what you're saying here. It's blatantly obvious to a lot of people, as well, and it's been gradually getting worse over the years. So much so that a lot of movies that take place in the real world, with no fantastical elements in them, might as well be labeled as fantasy since their characters hold no semblance to reality. It's this weird, twisted, version of people, which does not exist in the real world, created solely to manipulate weak minded people in order to further a corrupt political agenda. It's been proven to create hostility and resentment between the sexes and turns people against one another. Most people don't understand how prevalent it is, and that it's not just in movies but in tons of series', commercials, music, books, ads, etc. And it's not just with the sexes with races, as well. And it's rampant. It really sucks when this kind of political nonsense rears its ugly head when all we want is some quality entertainment.

[@MKassa]

I just want strong, female characters like Shu Lien from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Most SFCs today are like the obnoxious brat, Jen Yu, who destroys everything around her & demands respect yet gives none.

[@tharding2870]

You are absolutely right. When you present your character as perfect from the beginning, you remove the need for them to grow and learn. You remove their story arcs as they evolve from A to B. The suspense of "Will she be able to overcome her obstacles and succeed?" never takes flight. You kill the story.

[@SpielbergMichael]

Well said. Hollywood now just has their warped social agenda. They’re not genuine individual writers anymore. It’s writing by woke corporations. I hope you react to Terminator 2 and the first 2 Alien movies. You could make all these comments about writing while you watch/react. 😃👍🏻 There’s so much more amazing writing from the past for you to discover. And Hitchcock’s Psycho (starting the real life mother of Jamie Leigh Curtiss). And the classic Casablanca.

[@timleelim9930]

When i heard "Leia Organa", i instantly thought of the footchase in that dreadful Kenobi episode

[@zorothe9th]

The FBI agent in wind River was a memorable female character imo. Her dynamic with the male characters is well written as well.

[@separator9417]

You're *spot on* and it's obvious to me that you have a natural understanding of film. This has been happening for a long time but it really ramped up (exponentially) over the past 10 years. It's 100% agenda driven like the other commenter said. Any time there's an abrupt and massive spike in something, across all platforms, there's an agenda behind it. Especially when it comes to entertainment media which affects how people think and act. It's the easiest way to get to people.

[@rakeshmalik5385]

And thank you for bringing up Eowyn -- she's always been a favorite character of mine also, because she is an ordinary woman who disguised herself as a man so that she could face the Witch King of Angmar one on one. It doesn't get braver than that. As for what makes a hero, I think that Alien and Interstellar also nailed it. In Alien, Ripley went back to rescue the cat. In Interstellar Coup embarked on his journey for his children, one of whom saved humanity -- and that one was his daughter. Who saved humanity because she was a scientist.

[@ayeitburns1]

The most gripping stories are the ones where the main character risks or sacrifices something important in the name of achieving something they hold to be even more important - regardless of whether they are likeable or correct. In this way we can still have good stories where the main character is already perfect and they do not change themselves - this "flat arc" is played well in Paddington 1&2 and Capt America for example. Instead we see them change people and the world around them, by risking themselves to do the right thing. Perhaps the problem is either that: - the "strong character" knows/thinks they are great, which renders them smug and unlikeable, - and/or the movie overly praises this character in a way that doesn't feel earned, either through what other characters say, or how much plot-important stuff the character gets to do or say. If the movie itself feels like its turning to me and saying "isn't this character great?!" I'm inclined to disagree. It's undesirable in any gender of character, but it seems to happen more commonly for female characters currently.

[@pntr92]

Unlike some characters that were made to be a token black females, Tiana is well developed characters that isn't defined by her race and gender but what she does and how she overcomes them. She's a strong female character that not only serves as a role model for women but also men. We all can relate to Tiana whether we are boys or girls. 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, second only to Jasmine. But the one thing she holds over Jasmine is her relatability. 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.

[@dearthofdoohickeys4703]

Ivanova from Babylon 5 is an excellent example of a strong female character done well. She’s tough as nails, stoic, and an intimidating second in command. But she isn’t bulletproof. She still has prejudices, insecurities, fears. Over the course of her story she overcomes those prejudices, shares her insecurities with her friends, and moves past her fears. You can’t help but respect and admire her by the end.

[@gelflingfay]

The writing for these rolls is what's ruining it. Strong female characters are fine. Sarah Connor and Ripley being a few. Writers these days are more interested in writing cannon fodder. Surface level crap. No depth to the characters.

[@darktenor4967]

These writers forget that making a character strong means giving them adversity to overcome, while making a character likable means having them care about someone else. Catness's care for her sister, Luke Skywalker's desire to rescue Leia, Ripley's care for her crew in the first alien film, and even more for Newt in the second. Galadriel in rings of power jumps instantly to the end point of the story, not caring for anything but revenge, and not having any obstacle accept for an upside down map. Heck, even with Galadriel the revenge motivation means absolutely nothing, since all we see of her brother is him telling her how wonderful she is, we get no idea there was any sort of family relationship between them, the series doesn't even mention his name because it's all about her! I'd say the fact of strength through caring is even more true for relating to female characters, since women are more demonstrative with affection than men, albeit I don't exactly care much for a male character whose a narcissistic arsehole either, without some reason to imply there's more there. Unfortunately, this push for empowerment, I.e. female supremacy, especially following the me too hysteria, has completely negated any attempt to treat female characters as people, indeed I'd like to see more actual equality in writing (and in real life), telling good character stories, and less "empowerment", simply holding up shallow symbols, propped up by superficial writing and pop psychology, and calling it inspirational.

[@rakeshmalik5385]

What hollywood thinks of as a "strong female character" is actually an entitled goddess who is invulnerable and entitled... no character development, and intensely unlikeable. They made it blindingly obvious that their entire goal is really to undermine women by pretending to give them what they want with these idiotic pseudo-heroes who are detestable and calling them "strong female characters" and then claiming that male audiences don't identify with female heroes. They forget all of the great female characters we've had... and what made them great. We need more of that.

[@r1ck00sharma]

Let's not forget one of the very best examples of strong female leads: Ellen Ripley from Aliens!

[@valeriopastore7310]

She's an animated cat, but Kitty Softpaws was a fantastic complete female character! She was good at her job, she was tough, but she had her issues, she had a reason for wanting the wish from the Wishing Star. She never out-maled the males because 'Me tough female you suck!'

[@AlejandroRamirez-rx1py]

Someone said this yo me and it has stuck with me. Hollywood writes women as merely toxic men, only with boobs.

[@seekingabsolution1907]

Female characters should be allowed to need help without being perceived as weak. Because all characters should. Females characters should be portrayed as complex multi-faceted beings with flaws and bonds with other characters particularly ones that compensate for those flaws.

[@Damo20]

Excellent video, absolutely spot on

[@CEWIII9873]

I highly recommend watching Romero's Day of the Dead for an example of an excellent heroine.

[@lavidaesunviaje5169]

women are incapable of wrong doing or deception... lol that was my ideal female figure... but as a teenager, putting girls in a pedestal as goddesses and what not. Sometimes I wonder if this is the mental level of the creators of the female characters you criticize in your video hehe.

[@dazalttheory8965]

Wow, I've just found one of my favourite KZbin channels. Subscription complete.

[@zak27986]

4 Annoying Main Female Stereotypical Characters That Entertainment Companies Should Seriously Stop Showing: 1. The Helpless Damsel In Distress 2. The Hypersexual Seductress 3. The Rude Spoiled Diva 4. The Whiny Misandrist Man-Hater 4 Amazing Main Female Characters That Entertainment Companies Should Definitely Show: 1. The Adventurer 2. The Clever Scientist 3. The Successful Entrepreneur 4. The Warrior Helper

[@WinterWoolies]

The mother and house keeper

[@zak27986]

@@WinterWoolies Elaborate?

[@zak27986]

@@WinterWoolies Please reply.

[@TwilightLink77]

I guess someone does not like the Alien franchise.

[@nerdword07]

I actually haven't seen it but I plan to!

[@lavidaesunviaje5169]

Ellen Ripley from Alien 1 is definitely in this category ; )

[@NebLleb]

@@lavidaesunviaje5169 And in Aliens and Alien 3, she still counted! She had her own fully realised character arcs in those films, and by the time she [does something massive] in Alien 3, she has more than earned it because not only is there nowhere else to go with the character, but her story is satisfying to see play out, even with Alien 3's flaws.

[@rolandp.6133]

@@nerdword07 You'll like her. She is like some of the other well developed characters you mentioned. There's a connection to Sarah Connor, as James Cameron made the second Alien aka Aliens. He also made The Abyss (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio as fearless scientist) and wrote the script to Strange Days, where Angela Bassett stars as an absolute badass bodyguard alongside a whiny Ralph Fiennes. He get shit on theses days for a variety of reasons, but he absolutely wrote better female characters back in the 80s and 90s than most you see today. Shit today is too lazy, too one-note, too Mary Sue.

[@misssissivoss]

​​@@nerdword07 I a little bit flabbergasted, that you didn't watched Alien. Please do it soon. I beg you. Growing up in the 80s I didn't had any strong female lead (was to young for Alien or Terminator) and every other (like princess leia or so) was only allowed to be a love interest. Geena Davis (and I) thought everything would chance after the "Thelma and Louise" and "A League of their own", because they where really succesfull and you know: we would make those movie, if the audience want it" Pffft, didn't worked that way. So I'm really really thankfull that there are female leads, with their only flaw of being a flawless Mary Sue, because I had years of year to watch the male equivalent. It's not the gender of the lead. It's the bad writing.

[@anthonylash6122]

A strong female lead i know most men deeply appreciate and enjoy is Selene from underworld. Men dont have a problem with strong women we hate horrific writing and man bashing to build feminine value.

[@jimdancing]

The problem is these women go on and on about how strong they are but they never prove it by fighting a man who is bigger and stronger than them, and winning.

[@janhommer]

I completely agree (!) with everything (!), except (!) "Rings of Power"'s Galadriel being a good example. I mean, it may seem like this if one looks at, granted, a lot of her scenes, out of context, but the "bigger picture" has me wondering how anyone can think we're supposed to view her as perfect when she's screwing up that much in the end and even before that, is constantly flirting (I mean almost literally) with the "dark side" etc.. The reason I hated "The LastJedi" is because I thought they'd be doing something similar by ultimately subverting that "strong female characer" cliche by introducing Rey as this ridiculously overpowered character to then (!) have her turn evil, making us realize that's not a good thing (!) Basically what "Game of Thrones" did, you know, which is why I don't get the hate even by the same people who, as no one seems to remember, have been accusing it of a "dumb feminist agenda" before, even using, as I recall, the words "Dany Sue"; well, we all know how that turned out...

[@animalunae]

Removing any internal obstacle from the personality of these "strong female characters" precisely undoes what makes a character actually strong. Overcoming one's weaknesses. One of the most basic pillars of storytelling is the journey and overcoming it's challenges. Starting a strong female character at the end of her journey, makes for a poor story. Especially when the main character suffers from RBF, is horribly entitled and is bitchy to anyone and everything. The story of the original Disney Mulan is perfect, even in this messed up social climate; a woman having to overcome her weaknesses to be able to survive between male soldiers. Not by becoming physically stronger than everyone, but by overcoming her physical weakness and using her wits, perseverance and intelligence.

[@woofie8647]

One point I have not heard mentioned: The best movies are ones where we "fall in love", or lust, or both, with the characters of the opposite sex. Not literally, but we do feel a strong attraction to them one way or the other. The fact is most men are turned off by the "macho" female characters we are seeing, and I would assume most women are not attracted to the weak men they see. Though the Leftists in the media would love to change our true nature they cannot. As for gay and trans characters, sorry guys, but the same theory applies to you. Regardless of your wishes and "feelings" the great majority of men and women do not find you attractive in any way.

[@derrickcrawford1081]

Are you saying gay characters can never be in any movie?

[@woofie8647]

@@derrickcrawford1081 Not at all. Gay people will find gay actors attractive, but if they are playing lead characters, which is perfectly fine, you will end up with a mostly gay audience. I think what they and other minorities want is for everyone, including straights or whites or whatever, to go to their movies, listen to their music, etc. But that would require a total change in human nature itself. You can whine, protest, scream your lungs out, but you will not change human nature, and you will only turn off those you try to change. Change will come over time, naturally, but not by tearing down another’s life and culture. Gays, trans, blacks, and others have their own cultures and are just as discriminatory as whites, and can be just as hateful as any given white person. Of course the Marxists don’t want us believing that…they want us at each other’s throats and that is exactly what we are seeing. Gays are a small minority. They will never get what they want by trying to change, upset, or scare others. They will only get more of what they do not want. They need to follow the old directive to “Live and let live”. Everyone does.

[@saiello2061]

Sigourney Weaver ( Ripley ) in Alien, and Carrie Fisher ( Princess Leia ) in Star Wars both over 40 years ago now ( yikes! ), to name but two, epitomise good worthy female characters with depth. What do we get today from Hollywood writers who in their infinite naivety think they invented the strong female character...? Unwatchable, angry, superficial, narcissistic 'karens' on missions to smash the patriarchy. Jesus wept already....

[@LaitoChen]

A modern day Strong female lead done right is Keri Russel from the TV show - The Americans ; and more recently - The Diplomat. World class acting and character depth

[@rachels.8051]

100% this. I’m a cis-woman and I present with a lot of very feminine traits. It annoys me so much that the “strong women” are almost always “tomboys”. Men don’t know what strong women look like, unless they look like men, and unfortunately a lot of women have also internalized that message. We need strong women written by women.

[@potato9677]

Like ‘She Hulk’ which was written by a woman btw.

[@These-Nuts]

Well said

[@ddsjgvk]

The girl from Scarface who was nothing but a cokehead has a better story arc than most women in movies nowadays do I hate strong female characters no but is it getting overused yes give me somebody like Rambo again it's just gotten old and stale

[@farmgirlrebel1333]

Often the writers are propping up their "strong female" lead by dumbing down or writing out equally strong and intersting male characters. You character isn't strong if you have to show it by minimalizing the males around her.

[@williamfincher2260]

They mke the characters strong, but they don't focus enough energy into making them female.

[@locutuslee2506]

well said!

[@photoguy4212]

This is why horror is the best genre, by far. Most of the leads in horror movies are women. So much so that it's a trope: the final girl. The cool thing is, the female leads are actually believable. They're vulnerable but somehow make it out alive, a lot of the time by luck or by craftiness. This is where females dominate. I could name more iconic female lead characters than males. Just think of any horror movie, there's a very good chance the lead is female.

[@arlenadietz4344]

Ripley

[@Mondomeyer]

In all fairness to Rey, she did get her ass handed to her by Kylo Ren. I don't think she really counts as being flawless and undefeatable.

[@whitewolf3051]

But she knows everything without having been taught, flying or fixing a ship, easy. Using force powers after seeing it done (or not), just as easy. Using a lightsaber, child’s play. None of those are realistic.

[@normanbennett1865]

Subscribed. It's a pleasure to discover you. Have you considered commenting on "Barbie"? I'd be interested in your thoughts.

[@kerravon4159]

Generic strong whaman characters are like the zombies of modern movies. They're emotionless, relentless and pretty much everywhere you look.

[@pedrorocha9722]

No, bad scripts are shitting cinema. Peopçe don't really want minoritys marketing, they want to be entertained with some degree of sophistication.

[@darkknight5111]

👍👍

[@AlbertusMagnus_44]

Just s thought: it’s not so much “strong” female characters as it is artificial female characters. Artificially “strong.” Artificially “determined” and artificially “strong-willed.” Poorly written, even amateurishly written, characters and garbage stories. Written by talentless, emotionally stunted people. In a more realistic world, such people would be unemployable.

[@JumpingJack6]

Yes, they all suck don't they. No depth, no relatability, completely bland and repulsive in most every respect. I go back and watch Alien and Aliens again to see that really kick ass female heroine. Leia in Star Wars, the Bride in Kill Bill, Marion in Raiders, the list is long an distinguished .... back when writing was good and "strong female characters" were interesting, flawed, overcame struggles while tripping up.... you know, fun, interesting, compelling .... rather than shoving an agenda down your throat.

[@mansamusa8410]

You know I understand that the word sexist has lost its meaning because it's overused but when people make videos like this and they say that they're tired of (strong female )characters that's probably going to get some people to think that they mean oh so you don't believe females should be strong so instead of saying strong female characters why don't they say perfect female characters

[@mardenborough.]

But you give a pass on female villains, and they're treated even worse. That's inconsistent.

[@firstname_rene]

it's not strong female characters... it's lazy writing. why are they strong, what drives them, basic crap that makes any 'strong character' good

[@JoaoMariaNunes]

its not STRONG female characters but rather STRONG MASCULINE female Characters...hahahaha

[@seekingabsolution1907]

6:10 no, I dont think this criticism applies to TRoP Galadriel, her whole story arc in that is her doing stupid things based on foolish assumptions based on her grief fueled obsession with finding and defeating Sauron. Her skill and power in battle is undoubtedly to the fact that she is one of very few surviving elves from the original host of the Noldor who arrived in Beleriand Pursuing Morgoth after he killed Telperion and Laurelin and stole the Silmarils. She's thousands of years old, was part of the nobility in a five hundred year war in which over 90% of the original host of Immortal, ageless Noldor who she had arrived with died and probably studied with the Valar, and the greatest experts in combat who ever lived. Her physical and even academic and/or magical near perfection is sort of a given. The bit where she seemingly tried to swim from Aman to middle earth was either recklessness verging on the suicidal or just bad writing though. Even melkor did not try that for fear of drowning, or perhaps more accurately for fear of Ulmo drowning him on purpose since Ulmo really fucking hates Melkor. kzbin.info/www/bejne/eZq6YpKpbbhqZ6M

[@nosfonader8792]

This might sound controversial or even sexist, but hear me out Keep women out of combat roles in fiction. Problem solved. People hate the Xena type and would hate Xena herself if she came out today. The only way to writer a woman right anymore is the mother role, or being an actual mother. All the women you mentioned that "are good" are also mothers. Take that away, like in Dark Fate, and watch the audience hate her. Make a Molly Weasley, not a Xena. Make a Velma Dinkley and Ramsey (Fast and Furious) and not a tank. The country Denver Colorado

[@misssissivoss]

This sounds sexist, because that is sexist. Please educated yourself about it.

[@Gino22001]

​@@misssissivoss By his words a female character should be dumb naive and cargiver and have natural body and beauty and weak ...😂

[@gilgamesh310]

I think Xena is a great character. She does have feminine traits, including being a mother. She’s just really powerful as well. I like how she could destroy whole armies at times.

[@Gino22001]

@@gilgamesh310 Xena is one the first Female character who really balanced the female and Male traits and showed she can be much more

[@Vishnuk-fe9iv]

​@@Gino22001just like how dumb women writers write Male characters as mysognysts and bad humans.

[@soumyajyotimukherjee4752]

Okay. This tirade is getting fucking old. While I agree with you on certain things regarding Hollywood but the old movies were not all that good either! Sorry, you're off my subscription list. P.S: I hope you achieve whatever it is you wish with this channel.

[@zach4656]

She never once said all old movies were good, or that this only happens in newer movies. You, literally, just made up your own fantasy narrative that never happened.

[@bill2364]

Yeah, so definitely never said the things you just did.

[@MrDp115]

Typical here what you want to hear and not whats real. Cope

[@corvimaystorm5723]

Imagine getting mad and unsubscribing because of a video that doesn't align with your self-delusions of "empowerment" 😂💀

[@Nickelodeon81]

I must have watched a different video than you, 'cos I didn't get that impression.

[@marcusw.bryant4857]

What's wrong with strong female characters in movies? They're just as good as strong male characters in movies.

[@zach4656]

Maybe you should watch the video before commenting.

[@marcusw.bryant4857]

@@zach4656 didn't need to

[@MrDp115]

@@marcusw.bryant4857 Ignorance is a bliss

[@corvimaystorm5723]

Simp 😂

[@misssissivoss]

I think OP is right and I saw the video. It's not the gender issue, that's the problem. It's the lazy writing. And as long as there are bad written male character, let there be Mary Sue (kicking their *sses ;) I myself dislike all female Characters in LotR. They all feel flat to me. But I'm glad that they are there.

[@juliusspartacus5437]

It seems like 80% or more of any newer action style film has a strong female protagonist. Especially sci fi or fantasy. Men want to watch masculine heroes prevail over evil and save the girl. In thousands of years of storytelling, that theme has never died. Why? Because that's what most men wish they could be. Strong female characters are just a bad one liner that has been told over and over again. Most men don't want to see this trash anymore. Purple haired beta dudes like it, but the rest of us that actually contribute to society do not.