# I Hate Strong Female Characters



## A. E. Lowan (Aug 19, 2013)

This article is fascinating.  Maybe a little inflammatory, but she makes some good points and I found it entertaining.

I hate Strong Female Characters


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## Steerpike (Aug 19, 2013)

I think she makes good points, viewing it from what she means by "strong." I tend to follow Chuck Wendig's view, and I take strong to mean complex, well developed, multi-faceted, or whatever. I think Buffy is a good example of that kind of female character. But there are tons of stories about the badass "strong" female who is one-dimensional.


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## Chessie (Aug 19, 2013)

Very interesting. I like her points a lot. Thanks for sharing!


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## ThinkerX (Aug 19, 2013)

Hmmm...

'one woman on a team of five boys'...guilty as charged here.  Doctor Menendez is the sole major female character in Labyrinth, part of a group of five.  But...she's also older than any three of the others put together.  She knows a few nasty spells useful in a fight, but her primary inclination is scholarship.

Theodora, now...One of two girls on a team of four, and the actual leader of the bunch...kinda-sorta.  She's smart and educated, but by no means is she an amazonian warrior.  She's also not a sorceress or even much of a rogue, though she is a bit of a snoop.


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## Feo Takahari (Aug 20, 2013)

I'm curious to see whether or not this thread ultimately gets locked.



> When I talk about this, people offer synonyms; better, less limiting ways of saying the same thing. What about “effective female characters”, for instance? But it is not enough to redefine the term. It won’t do to add maybe a touch more nuance but otherwise carry on more or less as normal. We need an entirely new approach to the problem, which means remembering that the problem is far more than just a tendency to show female characters as kind of drippy. We need get away from the idea that sexism in fiction can be tackled by reliance on depiction of a single personality type, that you just need to write one female character per story right and you’ve done enough.



This is something I've mentioned in a few other threads--women as cowards (who aren't portrayed as adorably childlike)! Women as tyrants (who don't wear black leather bustiers and use blood magic)! Women as geeks (who don't turn pretty in the span of a montage)! Give us all the women, everywhere!


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## Asterisk (Aug 20, 2013)

Thank you for sharing this. I'm writing one female character against an entire world of men (literally), and this was extremely helpful. I love her points, even though when I first read the title of the article, I was enraged.


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## The Dark One (Aug 20, 2013)

I echo Feo's thoughts and wonder how long before the thread is locked? Maybe we should start a book? I'll guess...42 posts.

I have never written a book with a female lead character, but I would claim that _all_ my characters are strong because they all have an impact on the plot. If they don't they get cut (with the obvious exception of cannon fodder...by which I mean all tertiary characters necessary for human impact on primary and secondary characters).

I remember when I was about 19, a close friend (now dead, alas) would refer to me as bisexual. He was not referring to my bedroom inclinations, he was referring to the fact that he perceived me as having both male and female characteristics (no, not physical characteristics).

If he was right, then that would be an amazing gift for a writer. I wouldn't dare claim that I write good women...but I would claim that all my characters affect the plot. And for me, that's all you can realistically aim for.


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## wino (Aug 20, 2013)

I would call it the pseudo strong female character.  The Anita Blake series is a perfect example of a terrible "strong" female character.  Ughh.


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## CupofJoe (Aug 20, 2013)

In films, women come off badly? Only there to be kissed and/or rescued?
 Big shock! Films are sexist...
 When a studio is laying down $150+ million for it's one big movie of the season it needs, it demands, success. 
No one at that point is going to take a risk. They may tweak formulas around the edges but they are going to keep the formula they think works. 
And I'm fairly certain that the formula is really one question “Would a fourteen year old boy like this?” [If you want nudity and gore it is “Would a eighteen year old boy like this?”]...
I would say that the apparent lack of success in this summer blockbusters should be proof that they haven't got the right formula any more.

 There are a great female characters out there in books, TV, and even Film but not usually in the big movies. It isn't right but I can't see it changing any time soon.
 I like and agree with Sophia McDougall's seven final statement. They are valid for all characters.


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## Mara Edgerton (Aug 20, 2013)

Great article. The two points that helped me the most were the discussion on agency as opposed to strength--does the character make things happen?--and the rant against the lone female character in a sea of men who must then represent 'femaleness' (in a way that Richard II never has to represent 'maleness.') Good stuff.


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## Devor (Aug 20, 2013)

She makes some great points, and I'm sure I've found myself complaining about strong female characters being overplayed at least a few times.

The only thing I'd say, though, is that she mentions a lot of superhero movies, where it's not unreasonable to see "strong" as a stepping stone to preparing an audience for "super." These are characters who are consistently getting closer to being seen as the MCs.  I fully believe the market is ripe for a female superhero character because of some of these characters in that genre.

But she's spot on about wanting to move towards a 1:1 ratio and talking about the need for a female character to epitomize certain traits because she's the only one there.  I would say that's something most storytellers could take an active role improving on without having to compromise anything you're doing with your story.


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## Gurkhal (Aug 20, 2013)

Very interesting article that I agree with in some places and disagree with in other.


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## Daichungak (Aug 20, 2013)

The article has some really good points but I think a lot of them are just as applicable to male characters.  Personally, I don’t care at all if the character is a male, female, human, elf or lobster as long as they have depth and personality.


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## Guy (Aug 23, 2013)

I think the best way to avoid these pitfalls is to think in terms of the individual character rather than demographics. When writing I don't ask myself "would a woman do/say this?" I ask myself "what would this individual do?"To hell with demographics. Be true to the character.


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## Steerpike (Aug 23, 2013)

Guy said:


> I think the best way to avoid these pitfalls is to think in terms of the individual character rather than demographics. When writing I don't ask myself "would a woman do/say this?" I ask myself "what would this individual do?"To hell with demographics. Be true to the character.



Best way to do it every time. Not sure why you see so many "what would a woman do in this situation" threads on writing forums, as though they're all automatons who react identically in every situation. The character is a person, with established characteristics that you've set for them, so just follow that.


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## T.Allen.Smith (Aug 23, 2013)

I think there are instances when that question "what would a woman do?" has merit, but they are few. There are obvious differences between men and women, on a broad & general level. I agree though that characters should be treated individually as "what would this person do?" That's far more accurate than distilling a decision on character down to gender alone.


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## wordwalker (Aug 23, 2013)

So true. I'd say that's exactly the point of the piece, that real writing should just be true to that character and not assume she has to react "as a woman"-- or as strong, or In Distress or any other shortcut.


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## saellys (Aug 24, 2013)

I had to read a cached version, as I can only assume because New Statesman's servers have been overwhelmed by the demand for this excellent article. This was a great summary of why this term is so, well, weak, and so easily twisted to mean whatever writers want it to mean. (River Song! Denna! Arwen! Blergh!) I especially loved the comparison to Holmes and Richard II. 

On that note, here's an article you might enjoy about Mako Mori inspiring a new benchmark for female characters in that dreaded "one girl in a team of five boys" situation. I have seen a small amount of Mako-bashing on the Internet and a huge amount of Mako-love and Mako-defense, which warms my heart because I thought she was just about the raddest thing in _Pacific Rim_, and there was some backlash afterward saying she wasn't "strong enough," which is just dumb.

As for approaching things in a "what would a woman do in this situation" mindset, that only works if the world you've built has prescribed gender roles that are fundamentally unequal, and even then the answer varies. Sansa Stark, Catelyn Stark, and Cersei Lannister fulfill their roles in outwardly "satisfactory" ways. Arya Stark, Brienne of Tarth, and Maege Mormont reject their roles and fulfill those traditionally assigned to men instead. The beautiful thing is that each of those women makes their decisions in completely unique ways, because they're people, not feminine templates shoehorned into a misogynistic world.


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## Philip Overby (Aug 25, 2013)

I read this article by Anna Gunn who plays Skyler White, main character Walter White's wife, on _Breaking Bad._ I thought this may be relevant to the discussion because Skyler is widely hated by a community of fans. Apparently, the hatred of the character has leaked over into hatred of the actress. I find this par for the course when it comes to the internet, but I've always found Skyler to be a reasonable character that doesn't back down from adversity. She doesn't take the downward spiral of Walter lying down.  It seems other people think she's a "shrieking, hypocritically harpy" (a quote from one such fan).

Worth a read. May contain some spoilers. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/24/opinion/i-have-a-character-issue.html?smid=tw-nytimes


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## Feo Takahari (Aug 25, 2013)

Phil the Drill said:


> I read this article by Anna Gunn who plays Skyler White, main character Walter White's wife, on _Breaking Bad._ I thought this may be relevant to the discussion because Skyler is widely hated by a community of fans. Apparently, the hatred of the character has leaked over into hatred of the actress. I find this par for the course when it comes to the internet, but I've always found Skyler to be a reasonable character that doesn't back down from adversity. She doesn't take the downward spiral of Walter lying down.  It seems other people think she's a "shrieking, hypocritically harpy" (a quote from one such fan).
> 
> Worth a read. May contain some spoilers.
> 
> http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/24/opinion/i-have-a-character-issue.html?smid=tw-nytimes



I'm a bit surprised to see the actress hold up Skyler as strong. I don't watch the show, but a lot of people on Fandom Secrets hate her, and their most frequent complaint is that she's overly _weak_, failing to stand up to Walt when it counts. (The second-most common is that she's a hypocrite for one reason or another.)


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## Philip Overby (Aug 25, 2013)

Skyler does have some moments of weakness, or even surrender, at times. But so do Jesse and Walter. Pretty much all the characters are weak at one point or another on the show. That's what makes the moments where they're strong all the much more satisfying. I could see the hypocritical comments a bit more. But again, almost everyone on the show are hypocrites in one way or another. One point people like to make about the show is that almost every character has flaws and are morally ambiguous in some ways. Much like real people. I don't see Sklyer as a character warranting all this hatred. I especially don't understand people hating the actress for playing the character. That's a little overboard.


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## Philip Overby (Aug 25, 2013)

saellys said:


> On that note, here's an article you might enjoy about Mako Mori inspiring a new benchmark for female characters in that dreaded "one girl in a team of five boys" situation. I have seen a small amount of Mako-bashing on the Internet and a huge amount of Mako-love and Mako-defense, which warms my heart because I thought she was just about the raddest thing in _Pacific Rim_, and there was some backlash afterward saying she wasn't "strong enough," which is just dumb.



I liked Mako as a character, but I didn't really read too much into her portrayal. Her character arc was pretty basic really. Which I appreciated because I guess I was expecting it to be more convoluted. One thing I did note:

Mild SPOILER:



Spoiler: Character arc



Mako doesn't have this romantic connection with the lead character (can't remember his name). I was actually quite surprised to see that they didn't kiss at the end. I guess I've been conditioned for that. It actually made me happy to not see them going that predictable route.


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## saellys (Aug 25, 2013)

Phil the Drill said:


> I liked Mako as a character, but I didn't really read too much into her portrayal. Her character arc was pretty basic really. Which I appreciated because I guess I was expecting it to be more convoluted. One thing I did note:
> 
> Mild SPOILER:
> 
> ...



Mako has a classic hero's journey--as basic as it gets. The fact that they gave that arc to a Japanese woman instead of, say, the white American male protagonist (whose character development all happens in the first ten minutes of the film, no less!), is pretty great, and depressingly groundbreaking for a summer blockbuster action movie. I totally agree about the spoilers part.


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## Jabrosky (Aug 25, 2013)

I thought Mako was the strongest character in _Pacific Rim_, or at least the best developed. Certainly more than the white guy who was ostensibly the protagonist. I don't know if I agree about the lack of romance though, as I did get the impression that at least Mako found the white guy attractive (and besides, there is the old white male/Asian female cliche).


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## saellys (Aug 25, 2013)

Jabrosky said:


> I thought Mako was the strongest character in _Pacific Rim_, or at least the best developed. Certainly more than the white guy who was ostensibly the protagonist.



The first time I saw the movie, I had trouble telling him and the Australian kid apart. The second time I saw the movie, I still had trouble telling him and the Australian kid apart. 



Jabrosky said:


> I don't know if I agree about the lack of romance though, as I did get the impression that at least Mako found the white guy attractive (and besides, there is the old white male/Asian female cliche).



I thought they subverted that old clichÃ© in some very interesting ways. No romance resolution, for starters, and Mako did not sacrifice herself to save him. I have also seen analysis that says that when Mako stares at Raleigh through the peephole in her door, she's looking at his scars (in envy), not his chiseled pecs (in lust). It's open for debate, I guess.


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## wordwalker (Aug 26, 2013)

I saw the Mako Mori piece too; for female characters, it's the ultimate quality vs quantity debate. (Hmm, could Mako become just the latest excuse for limiting stories to one woman? Unlikely, but Hollywood finds the path of least resistance in the oddest places.)

As for Skyler, it's showing up more and more on cable TV, because that's become Antihero Central: a woman is in the MC's life to be less than impressed with all the "hard, cool choices" he makes, and fans call her a monstrosity.

Okay, so the writers need a voice of reason. But it's always a woman (old issues from the years our mothers were showing us our limits?) and the MC's girlfriend-plus to keep the stakes high. So the battered risk-taker we're obviously tuning in to follow has someone right in his bed, saying the show's whole world-view is wrong, when we know in the larger sense it *is*. Yeah, that's a thankless spot… and she dares to be a woman too?

It's the writing path of least resistance, but some of the "road of good intentions" rules apply.


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## saellys (Aug 26, 2013)

wordwalker said:


> I saw the Mako Mori piece too; for female characters, it's the ultimate quality vs quantity debate. (Hmm, could Mako become just the latest excuse for limiting stories to one woman? Unlikely, but Hollywood finds the path of least resistance in the oddest places.)



True that. I wish we could have nice things. I wish Mako would have said a sentence or two to Sasha Kaidanovsky, or that the Wei triplets would have been women the way Travis Beacham originally wrote them, or Newt or Hermann or Tendo or Chuck or any of a dozen other minor characters with speaking lines would have been genderswapped. But even though Beacham and del Toro set out with the intent to subvert tropes, they still defaulted to certain things. 

The inverse of _Pacific Rim,_ as far as recent movies go, was _Snow White and the Huntsman_. I wouldn't say it quite approached a fifty-fifty split in character gender, but it made an effort, and it was a fantasy adventure film where all the ladies were competently written and had conversations with each other about things other than men. It passed Mori and Bechdel. Unfortunately, it was also not a good movie, and didn't turn a profit on domestic screens, so I'm afraid studios and writers are likely to say, "We built it, but no one came!"


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## Zero Angel (Aug 26, 2013)

Thanks for the articles! I found them interesting. To the "I Hate Strong Female Characters", I agreed to all of the things that the writer wanted to see, but I also enjoy physically strong female characters (especially if there is more to them than just a warrior). 

Speaking of Shrek, one thing I was appalled by in the beginning of the series was that the princess turned into an ogre. I'm not saying that Shrek should have turned into a human, I'm saying the fact that they had to be the same race for the conclusion of the film made me go ()


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## rhd (Aug 27, 2013)

Zero Angel said:


> Thanks for the articles! I found them interesting. To the "I Hate Strong Female Characters", I agreed to all of the things that the writer wanted to see, but I also enjoy physically strong female characters (especially if there is more to them than just a warrior).
> 
> Speaking of Shrek, one thing I was appalled by in the beginning of the series was that the princess turned into an ogre. I'm not saying that Shrek should have turned into a human, I'm saying the fact that they had to be the same race for the conclusion of the film made me go ()



I wrote a feminist review of Shrek and the significance of the ogre-ism (now I wish that were a word). I found it to be a very feminist film. PM me if you want to read it.


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## A. E. Lowan (Aug 27, 2013)

Zero Angel said:


> Thanks for the articles! I found them interesting. To the "I Hate Strong Female Characters", I agreed to all of the things that the writer wanted to see, but I also enjoy physically strong female characters (especially if there is more to them than just a warrior).
> 
> Speaking of Shrek, one thing I was appalled by in the beginning of the series was that the princess turned into an ogre. I'm not saying that Shrek should have turned into a human, I'm saying the fact that they had to be the same race for the conclusion of the film made me go ()



I don't think they were trying to say they had to be the same race.  I think they were trying to say that she did not have to be beautiful to be loved.


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## wordwalker (Aug 27, 2013)

Clever inversion of Beauty and the Beast, or copping out on interracial relationships? Political hot po-tay-to/ po-tah-to.

People see it different ways.


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## wordwalker (Aug 28, 2013)

iceman said:


> Good article...but I can't understand why do you hate strong women?... any personal cause.....:sluggish:



Um, you realize what she hates is the belief that females _have_ to be strong (and often not much else) to get a place in a story?


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## A. E. Lowan (Aug 28, 2013)

Personally, I don't _hate_ the strong female character (hate is a rather strong term), but I do think it's limiting and at this point bordering on stereotyped and clichÃ©.  I think that too many writers and readers spend so much time worrying about characters' genders and their portrayals of those genders that they forget to remember that they are supposed to be people first and foremost.


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## saellys (Aug 28, 2013)

iceman said:


> Good article...but I can't understand why do you hate strong women?... any personal cause.....:sluggish:



That was the title of the article. And the article was about how "strong female characters" are seen as somehow deficient if they display any variety of weakness, while male characters are conventionally expected to have all kinds of flaws. 

Somewhat on-topic, that's another reason I loved _Pacific Rim_. Basically all the male characters had varying degrees of weakness, be it physical or emotional or interpersonal (with the weakest in terms of power in his own story being Alanis-ironically named Hercules), which meant Mako did not stick out, nor was her weakness connected to her gender. It was an equal-opportunity thing.


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## Nihal (Aug 28, 2013)

I've read so many positive comments about Pacific Rim here at MS that I'm feeling impelled to watch it now.


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## Philip Overby (Aug 28, 2013)

I thought _Pacific Rim_ was really well done myself. I didn't so much think about the characters as much as I enjoyed watching robots punch the crap out of giant beetle-looking things. However, I did notice that Mako stood out amongst the cast. I kept feeling like this was Raleigh's movie, but the more I watched it, Mako shares the spot light. 

I don't go into popcorn movies expecting to analyze it, so I find it interesting so many people are getting all these multi-layered meanings from things. That's good though. That's what will make this movie stand head and shoulders above other big budget smash fests. It actually has some substance if you stop to look at it.

And cheap plug: I have a review on my blog.


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## Daenelia (Aug 28, 2013)

I skimmed it, and I think it isnt that it is about not liking a certain type of female characters, but rather the interpretation of a certain female character type. But the same can be said for any character type, regardless of gender. Bit of an open door to me.

Why wouldnt the (dull) strong woman be as valid as the dull strong man? Or the creepy smarmy seducer and the smouldering temptress? Bit easy to pick on one type, on the pretense of ... what, exactly? 

The worst thing you could do is second guess your female character and re-write her to give her flaws and weaknesses, if you do not do the same for your male characters.


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## Zero Angel (Aug 28, 2013)

A. E. Lowan said:


> I don't think they were trying to say they had to be the same race.  I think they were trying to say that she did not have to be beautiful to be loved.



Yes, I'm fine with that message and agree with it. But going into the movie the first time I thought it was about an ogre rescuing a beautiful princess, then found out that she was "cursed" with ogre-ness, then found her choosing to be an ogre not as an acceptance of herself, but so there wouldn't be any problem with Shrek and her getting together. Nowadays I don't have a problem with the franchise at all. I just remember being floored the first time I watched it. 

Here's a relevant article examining Shrek: www.btchflcks.com/2011/11/animated-childrens-films-onions-have.html, done by Mythic Scribes member rhd.


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## Steerpike (Aug 28, 2013)

With Shrek, it's not exactly differences "races" in the send of human races, though, is it? It's more like separate species before the transformation (ogre v. human).


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## Lord Ben (Aug 28, 2013)

I have no problems with a strong heroine but I feel like I'm somehow a sexist caveman if I have a beautiful spoiled princess who enjoys the color pink and needs to be rescued inside of a story.

But it only works one way.   You never see a movie open up with a "I'll show you how badass the MC is" scene where he chops up a group of nameless female bandits with his blade.


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## Feo Takahari (Aug 28, 2013)

Lord Ben said:


> But it only works one way.   You never see a movie open up with a "I'll show you how badass the MC is" scene where he chops up a group of nameless female bandits with his blade.



On the other hand, you _do_ see slasher films that begin with a lustful and materialistic girl getting chopped up by the slasher. This has interesting implications for what qualifies as a "bad" woman in film versus a "bad" man in film. (Then again, there doesn't really seem to be a "slasher" genre in novels, so that's somewhat apart from this site's focus.)

Back to the original topic: I've been thinking about this, and I think the perfect model for what a "strong" woman in film has become is Astrid in _How to Train Your Dragon_. On the one hand, she doesn't really have any flaws, beyond the flaws of her entire society--she's strong, brave, and a better fighter than any of the men. On the other hand, she doesn't really get to do much, and the film could easily be rewritten to remove her. She seems to exist primarily so that Hiccup can have a love interest.

I don't mention this as criticism--there's nothing inherently _wrong_ with Astrid--but rather to point out that she's not what anyone has been asking for. When people said "We want strong female characters," the women they were thinking of had much more in common with Hiccup than with Astrid--they wanted women who could take center stage in the story, struggling and growing on their own personal journeys. I'd like to see more female characters like that, and I don't think that means eliminating any other sort of characters--I want more art, not less.


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## Zero Angel (Aug 29, 2013)

Steerpike said:


> With Shrek, it's not exactly differences "races" in the send of human races, though, is it? It's more like separate species before the transformation (ogre v. human).



My years with D&D (both playing and reading) have trained me to look at different "species" as different races, especially with all the half-species. So that's probably at least part of why I reacted the way I did. Also, the idea that the "ogre" of the characters is more a reflection of who you are as a person and accepting the ogre means accepting yourself for who you are, makes it seem like the ogre-qualities can manifest in any human of that world. Aren't the girl's parents human after all?


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## A. E. Lowan (Aug 30, 2013)

Zero Angel said:


> My years with D&D (both playing and reading) have trained me to look at different "species" as different races, especially with all the half-species. So that's probably at least part of why I reacted the way I did. Also, the idea that the "ogre" of the characters is more a reflection of who you are as a person and accepting the ogre means accepting yourself for who you are, makes it seem like the ogre-qualities can manifest in any human of that world. Aren't the girl's parents human after all?





Spoiler: Spoiler about the princess's parents



Just her mother.  Her father is the Frog Prince.


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## saellys (Aug 31, 2013)

Nihal said:


> I've read so many positive comments about Pacific Rim here at MS that I'm feeling impelled to watch it now.



Dooooooooooooo iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!



Phil the Drill said:


> I thought _Pacific Rim_ was really well done myself. I didn't so much think about the characters as much as I enjoyed watching robots punch the crap out of giant beetle-looking things. However, I did notice that Mako stood out amongst the cast. I kept feeling like this was Raleigh's movie, but the more I watched it, Mako shares the spot light.
> 
> I don't go into popcorn movies expecting to analyze it, so I find it interesting so many people are getting all these multi-layered meanings from things. That's good though. That's what will make this movie stand head and shoulders above other big budget smash fests. It actually has some substance if you stop to look at it.
> 
> And cheap plug: I have a review on my blog.



I dig your review! Mako was definitely the one who got actual character development, as opposed to Raleigh, whose arc basically happened in the first ten minutes, before the "story" even begins.

After my first viewing I was like, "Rar, I'm full of testosterone now!!1!"  And then I went and read a few very thoughtful reviews and started chomping at the bit to see it again. It's rewarding to watch a second time. There are all sorts of interesting visual details and themes, and I am still astonished at the depth of each character and the economy of how their personalities were conveyed.


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## Philip Overby (Aug 31, 2013)

Thanks, glad you liked the review! It wasn't super in-depth, but just my overall thoughts about the movie.

I would love to see the movie again when it comes out on DVD and see if I can pick up more of these details that I may have missed when I was too busy being in awe of all the monster smashing action. I can't say I would ever do the same for Transformers.


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## Zero Angel (Sep 1, 2013)

I've been wanting to see Pacific Rim since I saw the first trailer for it last year  

Yins are not making it any easier!


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## Nihal (Sep 1, 2013)

I usually don't read reviews, the majority of them are written by people I don't know (and couldn't care less :x) and I always fear I might stumble upon a spoiler. I hate spoilers!

However, I ended reading your review, Phil... Yep, I want to see this movie and I'm really curious about Mako too. >.<
By the way, the random photo at the end of your review got me laughing.


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## Philip Overby (Sep 1, 2013)

Yeah, I hope I didn't spoil anything! I try not to really write reviews, per se, but just sort of like that moment after you finish a movie and your turn to your friend/husband/wife/whoever and say "So what did you think about that?" I love those little discussions after seeing a movie. 

The random photo was not so random. Took me a while to balance that doorstopper on my head. 

I'm interested to explore the movie further upon a second viewing. Maybe I'll have more to add about Mako after watching it again. I'm glad people are getting so much insight from an action movie. I hope this is a sign of things to come. But knowing Hollywood, it's probably not.


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## Antaus (Mar 31, 2015)

Feo Takahari said:


> This is something I've mentioned in a few other threads--women as cowards (who aren't portrayed as adorably childlike)! Women as tyrants (who don't wear black leather bustiers and use blood magic)! Women as geeks (who don't turn pretty in the span of a montage)! Give us all the women, everywhere!



It was an interesting, and VERY long article. however to be honest this is never something I've really had a problem with in my stories. I have female characters who run the gambit both as people and physically.

Maria - Short black hair, flat-chested, muscular yet slender (not buff like a man), and puts the B in brutal. Has absolutely no compunction about killing due to being trained as an assassin since she was a child. Maria is also very intelligent and often three steps ahead of other people in a situation. Can be very seductive and manipulative if required, though she prefers the 'bash it with a club' approach. Has a disdain for people in general and about the only people she cares about at all is her family. There is a lot more to the character than this, however I'm just covering basic highlights.

Casey - Shoulder length blond hair, 5'4", weighs about 250lbs, and also doesn't give a sh*t. Despite being obese Casey is not lacking in self-confidence. She has a very upbeat personality, high paying job, tries to help people who need it, and is of average intelligence. Casey knows basic self-defense and can handle street level thugs, but don't expect to see her doing any sort of special or fancy fighting moves.

Hope - In a lot of ways Hope is your typical absent-minded scientist, in a science fiction setting she's often got her nose in a book or is working on some sort of new invention for the military. Although not naive Hope can be a little scatter-brained and doesn't always pay attention to what's going on outside her head. Physically she's average height with dull red hair, not much of a figure and thick glasses. Even if you 'dolled' her up Hope would still only look average at best. Her defining trait is brains, not body. When Hope puts her mind to it she can dominate just about any subject, not just science. The girl does quantum mathematics in her head for crying out loud.

Mercedes - Set in the world of a modern day mutant saga Mercedes Kindric is one of the single most powerful mutants on the planet and the first 'cape' to ever be shown in the media. While she initially started out being little more than a spotlight grabbing rich b*tch, in the story Mercedes eventually goes on to lead a team of super heroes. She's smart, sexy, authoritative when she has to be, willing and able to pound a super-villain's head into the ground, and plays a big role in shaping world politics in regards to mutants.

These are just four female characters but as you can see my women come in a lot of flavors and can do anything a man can, and that doesn't just mean bashing heads.


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