Harry Potter – TGOF (2005), DH (2011):
In The Goblet of Fire, we see Hermione as a weaker character that is more dependent on the main male characters however in the earlier films she tends to be quite strong and independent, this is shown again in the later films as she becomes a dominant role. In TGOF She is shown to be very emotional and not be as much of a dominant role and she relies on Harry and other male characters for support. Whereas in the Deathly Hallows she becomes a dominant role yet again. She is seen as less of a supporting role and more one of the heroes; she becomes one of the main protagonists rather than the helper. Hermione is also one of the stronger roles in the series as she is a strong character who doesn’t always depend [later on] on support from others; she is less emotional and less dependent on others. In TGOF Hermione’s role is sexualised more because of her age and the romance she has with Krum, whereas in DH she is only slightly sexualised because of her role as a woman, but she is seen as an equal to the other characters, as are msot of the women who end up in the battle of Hogwarts. 
Here are some ways characters break gender stereotypes
- Hermione=smart, not afraid to show it, and brave
- Luna=not afraid to be herself
- Ginny= caring, strong, brave, funny, athletic, smart…
- Mrs. Weasley=loving and caring
The Hunger Games (2012)
Katniss Everdeen voluntarily takes her younger sister’s place in the Hunger Games. The 24 participants are forced to eliminate their competitors while the citizens of Panem are required to watch. Katniss is a strong female role as she is independent, this will have been strange for audiences to deal with as they usually associate strong independence with males and this is why Katniss is shown as having a male sidekick a majority of the time who is strong and caring; males will be able to connect to the male characters rather than Katniss. However Katniss seems to fill a male role as she is the alpha of the family; she has been left to look after the family and fend for herself from a young age and even though this is not shown well in the film it is shown slightly in the film but mostly in the book. This may allow them to then see Katniss as the protagonist as she fills the stereotypical male role that the male of the family is dominant and strong.
Snow White and the Huntsman (2012)
In a twist to the fairy tale, the Huntsman ordered to take Snow White into the woods to be killed winds up becoming her protector and mentor in a quest to vanquish the Evil Queen Ravenna. Snow White, imprisoned daughter of the late king, escapes just as the Magic Mirror declares her the source of the Evil Queen’s immortality. The Queen sends her men, led by a local huntsman, to bring her back. But upon her capture, the huntsman finds he’s being played and turns against the Queen’s men, saving Snow White in the process. Meanwhile, Snow’s childhood friend, William, learns that she is alive and sets off to save her. And as Kristen Stweart doesn’t show much emotion she appears well in the transformation from young caring fragile princess to the equivelent of a knight
Ravenna, who is the evil queen, is also a strong character who has come through a great struggle in her life, after living a life of poverty she was ‘cursed’ by her mother to be beautiful and able to en-capture Kings and take over their kingdom. She is cunning which is helpful, but she is also taken over by power and rage, leading her to become madly obsessive with snow white and want her dead.
Percy Jackson & the Lightning Thief (2010)
Annabeth is one of the main roles in Percy Jackson; she is one of the helpers although she is mainly independent. She is one of the protagonists and is a very strong character who doesn’t want the male protagonists to help her. She is a strong character who is not emotionally unstable as women are usually shown in movies like this as they are usually the damsels in distress. She is very intelligent, very tough and a very skilled sword fighter.
Thor (2011)
Sif is a second generation warrior goddess of Asgard. She was a childhood friend of Thor and Loki.. Sif is able to lift 30 tons and is immune to all diseases. Sif’s flesh and bone are 3 times denser than any human. She is trained in all types of combat including swords and other weaponry. Her greatest power is creating portals between dimensions to travel back and forth. She is a good representation of women in action/adventure films because she is a strong character showing that women can be equal to men in action/adventure film. However, Jane Foster while being a strong character as she is smart, she is also a weak character as she is dependent on Thor at times and other people who surround her but she can also push people away when she is in need. This is what makes her weak as if she was less pretentious she would accept help. Jane is also a sexualised character as she is the love interest of Thor so she is stereotypically there for Thor to have.
Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
Peggy Carter is an agent in the American Army during the 1940’s. She becomes Captain America’s love interest after helping him train before he goes through the transformation from skinny Steve Rogers to buff Captain America; Superhuman soldier. Peggy Carter knows that she has authority over the men but being a woman also knows they are not likely to handle being told what to do by her, and as she has gone through training and knows how to handle herself she can show her authority by showing she can ‘kick ass’. She can do everything Captain America can do, but backwards and in high heels. She is an English soldier through and through, quite stubborn. She is a slightly frustrated woman who struggles with being a woman in that time. But more importantly she’s a modern woman and she sees something in Captain America that she relates to. He treats her very differently to how she’s been treated by lots of men, in this kind of dominated world she lives in. So she’s very much a fighter.
The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)
In TASM Gwen Stacy is shown to be a very smart mature woman who although living with her parents and being a smart student can think for herself and make independent choices. She becomes friends with Peter Parker at Oscorp and the lab of Dr Curt Connors as Gwen works there and shows the intern group which peter joins [under a false name steeling someone’s identity]. Gwen is a strong female role in this film as she is smart and strongly independent in her thoughts. She helps save spider man. In one scene she is shown as a vulnerable girl who is scared by the Lizard who is Dr Connors however she soon changes roles from the ‘princess’ needing saved to the protagonist helping to save the day.
Iron Man (2008) (2010) (2013)
Pepper Potts is Tony Stark’s love interest and the manager of Tony’s company, Stark. She is intelligent and manages to keep control of the company and Tony’s silly antics most of the time. Along with being the love interest she is made CEO of Stark industries, which you would think would challenge her however it makes her a stronger character and a harder worker. She cares greatly about Tony and she worries about him the way a mother would worry about her child. Pepper Potts is a widely respected character
Salt (2010)
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011)
Alice in Wonderland (2010)
The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
Kill Bill: Vol. 1:
The main character in Kill Bill is ‘The Bride’, she is a strong female lead as the film series is mostly about her. She is an assassin who is seen as a sexual object through the way she dresses and acts, but there is a short change in her acts where she turns off the master assassin behaviour and settles down in Texas. This is showing that there must be a part where the women in action/adventure films is seen as a sexual object and is weakened in the role to be a less dominant person/character. She fled to Texas, met a young man, who, on the day of their wedding rehearsal was gunned down by an angry and jealous Bill Four years later, ‘The Bride’ wakes from a coma, and discovers her baby is gone. She, then, decides to seek revenge upon the five people who destroyed her life and killed her baby.
Mr & Mrs Smith (2005)
Van Helsing (2004)
There are “women’s films” and there are “men’s films,” conventional wisdom holds. Women’s films are not simply “romance” films. They concern films where the story is told from the woman’s point of view (The Piano, Muriel’s Wedding), the woman is the clear protagonist or heroine (almost any Jodie Foster movie), or the story centres around women and women’s issues (The Colour Purple, Beaches). “Men’s films” tend to focus more on action, sex (rather than romance) and competition (Andrews, 1993, Fischoff, 1994). – http://www.calstatela.edu/faculty/sfischo/media3.html
Women leading roles in action movies are rare. This is because the writers and directors do not want the audience to get confused by the roles. For example, if there was a female protagonist rescuing a male who was the damsel in distress/victim then the audience would have trouble relating as it is mainly the male who is the hero rescuing the female damsel, this is shown in most movies.
Meg Johns Media 