Here at Heroine Content, we have noticed that a good number of butt-kicking women in films seem to inhabit the future, outer space, or other worlds entirely. So I’ve been keeping my eye on the Carnival of Feminist Science Fiction and Fantasy Fans since it began in July. They’ve already put together eight Carnivals, linked below in case you need to catch up.
But first, some highlights that are particularly relevant to our theme of women in action. This post will cover the first four Carnivals, and I’ll do the next four in a couple of days.
If you haven’t seen Joss Whedon’s speech on strong women yet, Carnival #1 had a link to the video and a link to a transcript. What Don’t We See? at Collie’s Bestiary discusses women in video games and comics, but a lot of the commentary applies just as well to action movies. Especially the part about high heels.
Carnival #2 featured Why are you so angry?, a worthwhile discussion of about the intersection of feminism and pop culture. Ifritah commented on Aeon Flux and found the film adaptation wanting. Sad.
Carnival #3 linked to an interesting take on Lady in the Water by bitterfig. After seeing The Village, I had expected more from the female lead in Lady, so I’m glad to see I wasn’t the only one who was disappointed.
From Carnival #4, Kirlyn’s Voice asked a good question: what makes a strong female character? On other mag’s blog, they say So much for the feminist take on Doctor Who. I gave up on the new Doctor after several episodes, once it was clear that Rose wouldn’t be allowed to do much (after saving the day in the pilot). Interesting that the post on other blog goes back to a theme in a post from Carnival #1 about X-Men 3: Today’s Epiphany at The True Confessions of an Hourly Bookseller. Read them both to find the connection.
The Carnival so far:
- Carnival #1 at Ragnell’s Written World
- Carnival #2 at Pretty, Fizzy Paradise
- Carnival #3 at New Game Plus
- Carnival #4 at the Official Shrub.com Blog
- Carnival #5 at One Hundred Little Dolls
- Carnival #6 at the Hathor Legacy
- Carnival #7 at Racy Thoughts
- Carnival #8 at Dance of the Puppets
This post was originally published on Heroine Content, a feminist and anti-racist movie blog that ran from July 2006 to May 2012.