The New York Times has asked a very interesting question: Is There a Real Woman in This Multiplex? The topic came up when it dawned on someone that the movies coming out this summer all have man leads.
IRON MAN, Batman, Big Angry Green Man — to judge from the new popcorn season it seems as if Hollywood has realized that the best way to deal with its female troubles is to not have any, women, that is.
Not that it hasn’t tried to make nice with the leading ladies, in films like “The Invasion†(with Nicole Kidman) and “The Brave One†(Jodie Foster). Yet, after those Warner Brothers titles fizzled, the online chatter was that the studio’s president for production, Jeff Robinov, had vowed it would no longer make movies with female leads. A studio representative denied he made the comments. And, frankly, it is hard to believe that anyone in a position of Hollywood power would be so stupid as to actually say what many in that town think: Women can’t direct. Women can’t open movies. Women are a niche.
After reading this article, I started thinking about the movies and the only one I remember seeing anything about, that has a female lead, is the new Ashton Kutcher movie, What Happens in Vegas, with Cameron Diaz. The idea that moviegoers are more interested in some fast paced action adventure where there is a scantily clad female simpering in the background while the male lead blows up everything in sight seems like it dumb downs our society. I’m not trashing any of the new movies, I’ve heard really good things about Ironman, but where are the women? What happened to the strong feminine leads? Where are the movies that have more than just explosions and shiny graphics?
Then I started thinking about all the novels I’ve read so far this year. All of them have strong feminine leads and the male counterparts are more supporting cast or romantic leads than the ones leading the plot. Some of todays newest, and hottest, bestsellers – Nalini Singh, Jeaniene Frost, Keri Arthur, Patricia Briggs, Karen Chance – have all given their heroines a sense of independence, of strength, that there isn’t a need for a man. They can handle their problems and don’t go whimpering to some man to fix the issue. Don’t get me wrong, the men in their novels are just as strong, but they are not the focal point. They are there to help the females, not take over the situation.
One of my challenges this year is to try 50 new authors and, through it, I’ve been introduced to some amazing heroines. The novels they appear in are brilliantly written and don’t rely on extrasensory effects to sell a story. So I pose a question to everyone…which feminine leads haven’t been given the recognition they deserve? Who has been hidden that people should take note of?
Here are my top two heroines that I can think of right now:
- Cat – Night Huntress series by Jeaniene Frost – In Halfway to the Grave, we’re shown a capable young woman who stalks and kills the very creatures that harmed her mother years before. Without any training, she takes on multiple vampires with only her wits and it isn’t until she meets Bones that she is given an opportunity to become even better.
- Cassandra – Cassie Palmer series by Karen Chance – In Touch the Dark, we’re introduced to Cassie at a moment in her life when everything changes. Her guardian has finally found her, she finds out she is more valuable than she originally thought, and she’s given more power without any knowledge of it. Cassie takes everything in stride and tries to find out more about what she has inherited rather than worry.
