The term ‘strong female character’ has essentially been reduced to a cliché. Perhaps people have diverse expectations of what ‘strong’ denotes.
For me, the operative word in that first phrase isn’t ‘strong,’ it isn’t even ‘female.’ It’s ‘character.’
When I see or hear that phrase, my mind doesn’t immediately race to the Ellen Ripleys, Rita Vertaskys and Imperator Furiosas of this world.
But traditionally, the phrase has become synonymous with ‘badass.’
But I think of it like this – the idea is to write a strong character; the gender can be arbitrary.
And to me, irrespective of the gender, that means imbuing your character with agency, authenticity and vulnerability.
Now, your character can have those elements and still be a gun-toting badass, it’s not an ‘either, or’ situation.
What I’m trying to get across is that if it was an ‘either, or’ scenario, I’d rather have the former than the latter.
A strong character who is a female > badass heroine. The ‘strong’ in ‘strong female character’ isn’t meant to be taken literally.
There are several female characters in film and television that I think are wonderfully written and performed. Listing them all would be a timeless endeavour.
But below are some of my recent favourites:
Saoirse’s Women (Little Women, Lady Bird, Brooklyn)
Saoirse Ronan has at least three prominent ‘strong female characters’ in her arsenal.
There's Christine in Lady Bird and Eilis in Brooklyn.
Together with Jo March, from Greta Gerwig’s utterly charming and captivating Little Women, Ronan presents many facets of an interesting female character.
Jo is from a time where ‘agency’ and ‘women’ couldn’t fit into the same sentence. Yet she claims her agency through sheer force of will.
And while Christine and Eilis are essentially chalk and cheese; one is headstrong and brash, the other is demure and subdued, they are both incredibly compelling and believable.
They’re played by Ronan. How could they not be?
Louise Banks (Arrival)
Louise is intelligent, fascinating and flawed.
Played with great nuance by Amy Adams, Louise is the beating heart at the centre of Denis Villeneuve’s cerebral and unforgettable sci-fi classic.
If having agency is indeed one of the tenets of being a ‘strong character,’ then Louise is as strong as any, because towards the end of Arrival, she makes a choice that requires tremendous fortitude.
Ava (Ex Machina)
Alex Garland’s thematically rich Sci-fi drama is essentially a story of agency.
It centres on Ava, a humanoid robot and her quest to first discover her agency, and then to claim it.
Diablo’s Women (Juno, Young Adult)
Juno MacGuff and Mavis Gary are on the opposite sides of the ‘likeability’ spectrum.
In some ways, they are both heightened representations of their writer, Diablo Cody.
Juno is the whip-smart and impossibly witty high schooler who is dealing with an unwanted pregnancy.
And Mavis. Well, Mavis is just a straight-up bitch. She’s horrible. She is deeply cynical and thoroughly unlikable.
But as different as they may be, they are both remarkably robust characters. Likeability has nothing to do with it.
As long as the character is compelling, their ‘likeability’ factor is a moo point.
On a closing note, ‘strong female characters’ aren’t limited to dramas.
They are everywhere, from comedies (Easy A, Bridesmaids, Fargo, Clueless), to animation (Moana, Mulan, Inside Out, Zootopia), to romance (Carol, Love Actually), to thrillers (Zero Dark Thirty, Silence of the Lambs, Sicario, Leon).
A ‘strong female character’ doesn't need to wield three guns. She merely needs to be three-dimensional.
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