Super Bitches and Action Babes: The Female Hero in Popular Cinema, 1970-2006

by Rikke Schubart

With actress Pam Grier's breakthrough in Coffy and Foxy Brown , women entered action, science fiction, war, westerns and martial arts films--genres that had previously been considered the domain of male protagonists. This ground-breaking cinema, however, was--and still is--viewed with ambivalence. While women were cast in new and exciting roles, they did not always arrive with their femininity intact, often functioning both as a sexualized spectacle and as a new female hero rather than female character. This volume contains an in-depth critical analysis and study of the female hero in popular film from 1970 to 2006. It examines five female the dominatrix, the Amazon, the daughter, the mother and the rape-avenger. The entrance of the female hero into films written by, produced by and made for men is viewed through the lens of feminism and post-feminism arguments. Analyzed works include films with actors Michelle Yeoh and Meiko Kaji, the Alien films, the Lara Croft franchise, Charlie's Angels, and television productions such as Warrior Princess and Alias.

Genres: Nonfiction, Film

368 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Lewis Book Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book really took me by surprise. As a person interested in women’s studies, I was concerned after reading the title that this book would paint the wrong picture of feminism. However, in the introduction to the book, the author clarifies that she is not arguing whether or not these “super bitches and action babes” are feminists or not (she recognizes the debate over it), she’s just discussing the “pleasure as well as unease that the female hero in a man’s world generates.” After reading the introduction, my fears subsided and I found the rest of the book to be really interesting. I suggest that you become familiar with the majority of the movies before reading; even though the author does a good job of explaining the movies and scenes, it still helps to have already seen what she’s discussing. The author has obviously spent a lot of time with these movies and I think that her take on female heroes in action movies is both interesting and educational. I would recommend this to anyone interested in film studies or women’s studies.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Full review: https://girlswithguns.org/super-bitch...

In comparison to some academics, she seems utterly sane. She quotes one such scholar, the apparently borderline lunatic Richard Dyer, as saying “For the male viewer, action movies have a lot in common with being fellated.” Okay. Whatever, dude. Schubart, mercifully, largely avoids such excesses. Largely, but unfortunately not completely, such as her claim that “Being a man is not an essence, but something which must constantly be tested and proved by, for example, raping women.” It is moments like that which do make it hard to buy into her analysis, since they appear to stem from a world-view incompatible with my own.

[John Schorg · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book that talks about the impact of strong female movie characters played by the likes of Pam Grier, Sigourney Weaver, Michelle Yeoh, and Uma Thurman is something worth reading. Along the way, the author makes the case for better consideration of the work of Cynthia Rothrock, Milla Jovovich, and the entire Ilsa series. But to get through all that, you have to endure pages upon pages of the kind of theorizing that may very well remind you of being trapped in either a film studies class or a party by people in love with the sound of their own voices. There are plenty of head-spinners to be found, but here are two: The comparison of the way action movie fans sit in theaters to anal and oral sex and the term "bellicose phallocentricity." Whew...

[Helen · Rating 1 out of 5]

this idiot of a writer should not even be allowed to live, much less be a professor at a university and a writer. shallow stupid person not even understanding the topic she was writing about , but ok I should have understood by the very title of the book what type of a person hides behind it because the title speaks volumes on its own. so it is my mistake I choose to read this garbage and get annoyed by it. a lesbian glorifying fictional characters and real life women she has a crush on, and spitting upon all those she does not like....that is the essence of this garbage of writing and I hope I ll tell to this garbage of a human what I think of her once I come across her

[Michael Mirasol]

I loved this book. Though it has its limitations with regards to culture and time period, it is nevertheless extensively researched and genuinely insightful.