By Zachary Brey 

Now I know what you’re thinking when you read that title, “What the …” hear me out though. If we compare the modern female character to one from the 70’s 80’s there is a vast difference. Personally I feel that nowadays we make characters invulnerable, and too predictable. The cliché I usually see in a movie is, “I’m a woman, that is the center point of my character.” This needs to stop. Take for instance Ellen Ripley from Alien. We see she is just a normal crew member from the Nostromo. Now yes, her crewmates have died to an alien and she is the lone survivor. (You had 42 years to watch the movie before I spoiled it.) We see she is a vulnerable character, and her life is actually at stake. Why does this create such a great character?  Because it shows the character is relatable to the fact they can actually die.

Now the perfect example of a horrible female character would have to be Captain Marvel from Captain Marvel. In the movies she is virtually unstoppable. She beats the living crap out of everyone and everything. Now yes, she is a superhero. But even Superman has his kryptonite. What is her weakness you may ask? Brainwashing and mind control. Do they portray this in the movie? Not really. Sure they have a scene here and there with going into some mind thing, but breaks free from it. How is it she is supposed to have a weakness but it is completely ignored for cinematic purposes? I would have been more fine with the power of friendship cliché to help set her free.

Honestly if you want a takeaway from this, modern story writing is trash, and everyone sticks to the same thing. If you want good story writing, you’ve got to have great characters with weaknesses. For example make an invulnerable character, but show the fact he has to live with everyone he loves growing old and dying. They may not have a physical weakness, but a mental burden.