MovieChat Forums > Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi (2017) Discussion > Why is it that most Rey/Jyn lovers never...

Why is it that most Rey/Jyn lovers never acknowledge strong female characters like Sarah Connor, Ellen Ripley, etc?


In fact--I've been called a "misogynist" before for stating that Princess Leia was a legit strong female character and that Jyn isn't. My reasoning was that Jyn (and to a great extent, Rey) is presented as a super-powered "can do it all" female character with very few flaws and presented in a pushy "I'm female and strong!" fashion.

I was also called a misogynist and accused of only liking Leia because "she's a princess and you think all women must be princesses!" or some crap.

My reasons for liking Ripley, Connor and Leia are the same: they are all there strong women with intelligence, a good head on their shoulders, vulnerability and practicality. Their characters feel HUMAN. They don't feel agenda-driven. They are conveyed as REAL people: they CRY and show their vulnerable side but also show their strong and resilient sides. They are shown as mothers (nowadays it seems like all these "supa stwong femalez" are never depicted as mothers and many feminists nowadays view the depiction of a pregnant female lead as somehow "demeaning") who are strong, self-reliant, struggling to take care of themselves and their children and be the heroes they are. I'm not saying that all female characters have to be depicted as mothers in order to be strong--I'm just stating that Hollywood never shied away from it back then as they do now.

Look at Sarah Connor in Terminator 2: she's a badass female character--perhaps one of the most badass of all time. She can be downright SCARY in her badassery at times...yet, she's a PERSON. She hurts, too. She hugged her son and cried. She was both strong and able to show her vulnerable side as ALL people do.

With these Rey/Jyn characters (and some others nowadays) I just feel as if they're portrayed as infallible superbeings. They can do it all--Rey is already stronger than Luke in many ways with no prior training. Jyn knows all these kung fu moves and a nonstop snarky attitude--which is FINE--but she rarely expresses any other traits than a "supa stwong" female character.

I feel the same way about Luke: he's shown to be kind but capable of fighting while having his own strengths and weaknesses.

You'd think people wanting strong female characters nowadays would be rooting for these three female characters who are always curiously overlooked in these arguments.

reply

These feminazis can't of seen many films!

Famous Female Action Heroes before The Force Awakens:

Æon Flux from Æon Flux
Alice from the Resident Evil series
Barb Wire from Barb Wire
Batgirl from Batman and Robin
Beatrix Kiddo from Kill Bill
Black Widow from Marvel Cinematic Universe
Buffy Summers from Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Cameron from Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
Cathy Gale from The Avengers
Catwoman from Catwoman
Diana Prince from Wonder Woman
Elektra from Daredevil
Ellen from The Quick and the Dead
Ellen Ripley from the Alien series
Emma Peel from The Avengers
Evelyn Salt from Salt
Faith from Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Flying Snow from Hero
Fox from Wanted
Jaime Sommers from The Bionic Woman
Jane Smith from Mr. & Mrs. Smith
Kara Zor-El from Supergirl
Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games
Lara Croft from Lara Croft: Tomb Raider
Lucy from Lucy
Mei from House of Flying Daggers
Miho from Sin City
Morgan from Cutthroat Island
Neytiri from Avatar
Nikita from La Femme Nikita
Princess Leia from Star Wars
Sarah Connor from the Terminator series
Selene from the Underworld series
Red Sonja from Red Sonja
Rita from Edge of Tomorrow
Tank Girl from Tank Girl
Trinity from The Matrix series
Violet Song Jat Shariff from Ultraviolet
Xena from Xena: Warrior Princess
Yu Shu Lien from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

reply

[deleted]

Yeah true I'll remove that one and the list could be alot longer, that's just stuff I’ve watched, I excluded female action roles I knew of but hadn’t seen. :)

reply

Because these idiots have never seen or heard of Sarah Connor and Ellen Ripley.

reply

[deleted]