I have noticed that in many some action adventure films women could be presented poorly. My personal view is that they are being poorly represented, and i would like to know other peoples views on the matter. For instance in Indiana Jones movies the woman is always being saved and isnt capable of keeping herself out of trouble. Also in Propp's character archetypes the only one that is related to women is the princess role, this role is;
The princess may take 2 forms, first she may be the object which is deliberately sought after by the Hero, perhaps finding where the villain has taken her. Secondly, she may be the reward, such that after completing some other mission, he gains her affections or hand in marriage.
The princess may be seen very little in the story, perhaps appearing only at the end, or may be asn integral character, for example where she accompanies the hero on his mission, where he may win her heart by the courage and determination of his actions. The princess may be wooed by many in particular by the false hero. When we see the princess being won by the false hero we may rail and rant in frustration as we see her fallin g unwittingly into hiw clutches.
I think that this is a typical role for women in many action adventures although some such as tomb raider and tank girl show women as the hero in the film and have a male 'princess' this is suggesting there is a change is how women are being presented in the action adventure genre. I would really like to know about other roles that women have in action adventure films and what people think about these roles, whether women are represented well in them.
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Cassie,
Women in Hollywood films are represented far better in action adventure films rather than in Indian films. Even if they are not the hero, they are often a side-kick and play a valuable role. I definitely do not think that they play the princess role if one has to generalise. Ofcourse there are films like James Bond films which portray women like this, but even here there are some films where the woman is important. In fact even in one Mission Impossible film with Tom Cruise, the woman was very important.
In India though women mostly play princess roles. Although this is slowly changing. We have real life stories like the Bandit Queen for example. However, mostly it is the man here - at least in the action oriented films.
Hope this helps a little.
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