shah_of_blah (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
shah_of_blah) wrote2011-01-14 01:07 am
shah_of_blah) wrote2011-01-14 01:07 am
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Awesome Women: Part I
So here's the thing. I'm not really into criticizing women (with a few exceptions). There's far too much of that in the world, and I don't like to add to it. Last week, I was reading this thing about some female characters in sci-fi, and it reminded me of the flowchart thingy that got linked all over the place a couple months ago. Long story short, while I certainly see the value in speaking critically about the way women are written (and hell, I do it all the time) I feel it's detrimental to dismiss those women. So I got the idea to do this post. And I was going to post it on More Joy Day, which is today (Thursday) but I forgot and have only just remembered. It will most likely not be Thursday anymore by the time I finish all the coding, so just know that I did start the post with a few minutes left in the day!
Anyway, I have been waiting for the opportune moment to post the "30 Days of Awesome Women" meme. All in one day. Or maybe three. That moment may have been a couple of hours ago, but points for effort.
Behind the cut, you will find the first ten categories and LOTS of pictures. Fandoms include: Battlestar Galactica, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, X-Files, Veronica Mars, Doctor Who, Dexter, Firefly, Community, Angel, 30 Rock, Parks and Recreation, Chuck, Wonderfalls, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Farscape, ...and I think that's all of them. There will be more fandoms in the later parts.
Also I cheated and listed multiple characters for just about every category, so there are far more than ten women behind the cut.
1. Favorite lead female character
(I am not entirely certain where to draw the line between lead and supporting, so these distinctions are somewhat arbitrary)
Kara Thrace, obvs. Where have you been?
Buffy Summers. She did save the world an awful lot.
Dana Scully. She's so iconic that Buffy used her name as a verb. Not just anybody gets verbed.
Martha Jones. She saved the world too--with words.
2. Favorite supporting female character (see above re: arbitrary distinctions)
River Song. She graffitied the oldest cliff face in the universe because the Doctor wasn't answering his phone.
Debra Morgan. She's fucking awesome. Holy shit that finale.
Zoe Washburne. She can kill you with her pinky.
Willow Rosenberg. It's always the quiet ones.
3. A female character you hated but grew to love.
I dunno, I'm not that into hating women. Can't think of any. I guess Dawn--didn't like her much in season 5. But then she grew up and made a "to serve man" joke and I realized she was pretty cool.
4. A female character you relate to.
Willow Rosenberg. Shy, geeky girls unite!
Although, true story: this scene always bothers me because someone of Willow's intellect should not be doing a book report on The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.
Martha Jones. She's the only one of the Companions I can actually imagine being friends with.
Britta Perry. My Spanish is a helluva lot better than hers though.
5. Favorite female character on a male-driven show.
All the women of Doctor Who, but especially Martha, River, and Amy. Since I've already mentioned the first two, this one goes out to Amy Pond:
All the women of Dexter, especially Debra, Rita, and Maria (oops, that's all of the leading ladies). Anyway, here's a pic of the fascinating Maria LaGuerta:
Winifred Burkle. I have my issues with Angel (mainly that it is so very male) but Fred was always a joy to watch.
6. Favorite female-driven show
Most of the shows I watch that are about women are largely written by men, ergo I am reluctant to label them as female-driven...BUT thank god for Tina Fey and Amy Poehler because I love 30 Rock and Parks and Recreation respectively.
7. A female character that needs more screen time
Ellie Bartowski. She gets left out a lot, but I think she's great.
8. Favorite female character in a comedy show
Yo, I really like Shirley Bennett. Don't underestimate her.
Also April Ludgate from Parks & Rec. Bonus vid.
JAYE TYLER I LOVE YOU. If you look up "spiteful" in the dictionary, hers is the face you will see.
9. Favorite female character in a drama show (non sci-fi)
OH HI DEBRA MORGAN. I'm tired of Google Images, so from here on out, I won't post pictures for those already featured. Unless I feel like it. So anyway, Deb. She breaks my heart and makes me fall in love with her in just about every episode.
What other drama shows do I watch? This is hard. Oh Veronica Mars! That's drama, right? And also the answer.
10. Favorite female character in a scifi/supernatural show
OH HELLO KARA THRACE THE REASON FOR THIS JOURNAL'S EXISTENCE.
Buffy Summers! Really, do I need to go on? I already told you I love Zoe Washburne and River Song.
Oh, I haven't talked about Cameron yet! Not technically a woman in the strictest sense, but she counts in my book.
And then there's Aeryn Sun. I'm not quite ready to talk about her yet because I'm still on the third season, but she is (somewhat ironically) the heart and soul of the show. She's also the reason I started watching in the first place. JUST LOOK AT THIS BAMF:
Okay, that's all for now. I'll be back with 11-20 tomorrow. Probably. And by "tomorrow" I really mean "later today" because it's not Thursday anymore.
In the meantime, feel free to chime in with other awesome women!
Anyway, I have been waiting for the opportune moment to post the "30 Days of Awesome Women" meme. All in one day. Or maybe three. That moment may have been a couple of hours ago, but points for effort.
Behind the cut, you will find the first ten categories and LOTS of pictures. Fandoms include: Battlestar Galactica, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, X-Files, Veronica Mars, Doctor Who, Dexter, Firefly, Community, Angel, 30 Rock, Parks and Recreation, Chuck, Wonderfalls, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Farscape, ...and I think that's all of them. There will be more fandoms in the later parts.
Also I cheated and listed multiple characters for just about every category, so there are far more than ten women behind the cut.
1. Favorite lead female character
(I am not entirely certain where to draw the line between lead and supporting, so these distinctions are somewhat arbitrary)
Kara Thrace, obvs. Where have you been?
Buffy Summers. She did save the world an awful lot.
Dana Scully. She's so iconic that Buffy used her name as a verb. Not just anybody gets verbed.
Martha Jones. She saved the world too--with words.
2. Favorite supporting female character (see above re: arbitrary distinctions)
River Song. She graffitied the oldest cliff face in the universe because the Doctor wasn't answering his phone.
Debra Morgan. She's fucking awesome. Holy shit that finale.
Zoe Washburne. She can kill you with her pinky.
Willow Rosenberg. It's always the quiet ones.
3. A female character you hated but grew to love.
I dunno, I'm not that into hating women. Can't think of any. I guess Dawn--didn't like her much in season 5. But then she grew up and made a "to serve man" joke and I realized she was pretty cool.
4. A female character you relate to.
Willow Rosenberg. Shy, geeky girls unite!
Although, true story: this scene always bothers me because someone of Willow's intellect should not be doing a book report on The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.
Martha Jones. She's the only one of the Companions I can actually imagine being friends with.
Britta Perry. My Spanish is a helluva lot better than hers though.
5. Favorite female character on a male-driven show.
All the women of Doctor Who, but especially Martha, River, and Amy. Since I've already mentioned the first two, this one goes out to Amy Pond:
All the women of Dexter, especially Debra, Rita, and Maria (oops, that's all of the leading ladies). Anyway, here's a pic of the fascinating Maria LaGuerta:
Winifred Burkle. I have my issues with Angel (mainly that it is so very male) but Fred was always a joy to watch.
6. Favorite female-driven show
Most of the shows I watch that are about women are largely written by men, ergo I am reluctant to label them as female-driven...BUT thank god for Tina Fey and Amy Poehler because I love 30 Rock and Parks and Recreation respectively.
7. A female character that needs more screen time
Ellie Bartowski. She gets left out a lot, but I think she's great.
8. Favorite female character in a comedy show
Yo, I really like Shirley Bennett. Don't underestimate her.
Also April Ludgate from Parks & Rec. Bonus vid.
JAYE TYLER I LOVE YOU. If you look up "spiteful" in the dictionary, hers is the face you will see.
9. Favorite female character in a drama show (non sci-fi)
OH HI DEBRA MORGAN. I'm tired of Google Images, so from here on out, I won't post pictures for those already featured. Unless I feel like it. So anyway, Deb. She breaks my heart and makes me fall in love with her in just about every episode.
What other drama shows do I watch? This is hard. Oh Veronica Mars! That's drama, right? And also the answer.
10. Favorite female character in a scifi/supernatural show
OH HELLO KARA THRACE THE REASON FOR THIS JOURNAL'S EXISTENCE.
Buffy Summers! Really, do I need to go on? I already told you I love Zoe Washburne and River Song.
Oh, I haven't talked about Cameron yet! Not technically a woman in the strictest sense, but she counts in my book.
And then there's Aeryn Sun. I'm not quite ready to talk about her yet because I'm still on the third season, but she is (somewhat ironically) the heart and soul of the show. She's also the reason I started watching in the first place. JUST LOOK AT THIS BAMF:
Okay, that's all for now. I'll be back with 11-20 tomorrow. Probably. And by "tomorrow" I really mean "later today" because it's not Thursday anymore.
In the meantime, feel free to chime in with other awesome women!