4) Guardians Of The Galaxy Kicks Ass With A Feminist Heroine
As one of the most popular franchises of all time, Star Wars has had a huge cultural impact on every generation who’s watched it since the release of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. While boys all across the world pretended to fight with lightsabers to emulate their Jedi idols, girls have been less fortunate with the limited choice of Star Wars heroines that they can look up to. The extended Star Wars Universe is full of powerful female characters like Mara Jade or Ahsoka, so it’s a shame that the films themselves are sorely lacking inspirational women.
The most prominent female character of the saga is Princess Leia and although she appears strong on the surface, fighting as a rebel leader against the Imperial Forces, one of Leia’s most memorable scenes features her tied half naked to a vile mafia slug, working as his slave. Admittedly, Leia eventually fights back and kills Jabba the Hut, but the trauma of her objectification is not even touched upon and the notoriety of the scene leading up to her escape has far more disturbing implications…
Initially, Padme Amidala also appears to be a feminist role model at the beginning of the prequel trilogy, personally leading a dangerous raid and serving as a powerful queen on the Senate. Unfortunately, though, pregnancy appears to neuter Padme’s heroic streak, transforming her into a pining weakling who spends most of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith crying after Anakin. Worryingly, early signs suggest that the upcoming sequels may follow a similar path as the new cast is still primarily male, although these things are impossible to tell at such an early stage.
On the other hand, Marvel may still be refusing to make a solo super heroine movie, but with Gamora, the studio has found its most powerful female lead yet. Rather than use Zoe Saldana’s character as a romantic foil for Peter Quill, the assassin repeatedly rebuffs his advances and although a relationship may eventually occur between the two, it’s refreshing to see a female action lead develop relationships with both friends and enemies which are largely platonic in nature.
Gamora’s betrayal of both Thanos and Ronan the Accuser sets the events of the movie in motion, and while each member of the team helps to drive the narrative forward, Gamora is the one who ultimately convinces the group that the infinity stones must be kept out of Ronan’s hands. Without Gamora, there would be no Guardians of the Galaxy.
Unusually for a superhero movie, female viewing figures for Guardians of the Galaxy currently comprise almost half of the overall US audience, and this may be due to Nicole Perlman’s influence on the film. As the first female writer for a Marvel Studio movie, Perlman has taken some strides towards addressing the imbalance between male and female characters in superhero movies, although Guardians of the Galaxy is still far from being the feminist parade that some critics have suggested.
Still, it wouldn’t hurt the upcoming Star Wars sequels to take a lesson or two from Gamora’s portrayal in Guardians of the Galaxy.
