It seems that recently we are up to our ears in entertaining women. This summer Bridesmaids made huge waves at the box office. Back in November I commented on an article about the surplus of lady spy shows. This week I've found not one, but two interesting articles on women in entertainment, both from the Atlantic.
The first is on the "Rise of the female action film" inspired by the release of two female-headed action films on the same day: Underworld:Awakening and Haywire.
When you are done with that, check out the other post detailing a list of female characters you are likely to see in prime time for quite a while.
It's a little bit misleading to say that women starring on Television and in Movies is a recent phenomenon, because it ignores the contributions of women like Lucille Ball, Mary Tyler Moore, and, more recently, Tina Fey. But it is also undeniable that women are starting to get starring roles more often and that they are playing more nuanced roles.
I, for one, say bring on the ladies. The buddy comedy is a tired, pathetic imitation of itself (see The Hangover 2) and the male action flick is even more so (see The Expendables). I'm even more heartened by the recent news that Kristen Wiig is refusing to star in a Bridesmaids sequel. It seems that some women, unlike their male counterparts, know when to leave a good thing alone.
I'm not sure I'd use Underworld:Awakening as a good example of the rise of the female action film. This is (hopefully) the last film in a sputtering franchise. Female action "stars" have been doing campy horror-action films for quite some time. This one just somehow got Kate Beckinsale back for one more go round of a terrible franchise.
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