The Uniqueness of Female Action Heroes

Female action heroes also make use of a weapon that their male counterparts do not seem to use as often. Besides having become physically strong, they still make use of a weapon that was before used as the only one that regular female heroes possessed in movies: they use their mind and their heart to win battles or to achieve their goals. In Calvert's et al. article we read that female action heroes “use [their] mind to achieve victory and show compassion to others including their enemies [... since a] female hero only fights as a last resort, when all other methods have failed.” This is an extremely powerful weapon that women use, as we could see Lara Croft (“Tomb Raider”) using when instead of trying to violently take the clock that her father had left her from Manfred Powell, the villain, she went and talked to him to see what kind of deal they could work out. But of course, she knew that this was the easiest way to gain access to that clock and keep it herself. Moreover, when he said that he would need the half of the triangle that Lara had taken before he could, she said she would bring it but she made a replica of the original because she knew he would betray her.

But he believed her and that is where the beauty of that weapon lies: she used her mind to see in which way he would do what she wanted him to do and she found the way without resorting to violence. Moreover, in “Charlie's Angels” the girls figured out a way to gain access to the fingerprints and retina scan from the two only men who had access to the restricted area where they needed to go, in that way being able to go into that restricted area themselves. The Angels usually use their sex appeal to obtain what they need, but that is because they know that that is a very effective way to do so. Therefore, what they do in the movie is first use their mind or intelligence to formulate a plan and then they use their sex appeal as a resource. So, basically, even though these female heroes have the ability of using force or physical strength to confront their enemies, they do not necessarily use that as the one and only resource or even as a first choice, but they only use it as a last resource or when absolutely necessary. As a matter of fact, according to an investigation that the Henry J. Kaiser Foundation has carried out, only 19% of female characters in films used physical force while the male did in 53% of the times.

There is yet another element that makes female action heroes unique in comparison to their male counterparts. These women are not afraid to show their feelings, although they do not do it in the traditionally female way. We do not usually see a male action hero crying or showing his vulnerable sides. They may, however, show tears of anger, but not tears of sadness. Bou and Pérez explain in their book El tiempo del Héroe [The Time of the Hero] that if the male hero does indeed cry it will only be an isolated event that will launch the action or the beginning of a quest. These tears are the new launchers like in the past it used to be love at first sight, that is to say, that before in movies the launching factor was love at first sight what would trigger the hero to go on a quest for his loved one (Bou and Pérez, 2000: 32). In movies nowadays these tears in some of the male heroes work the same way in which love at first sight used to work in the past, they have the same power. Furthermore, male action heroes do not show open feelings about the women they love or have a sentimental interest in. Perhaps the reason why they do not cry or show their feelings towards others is because they do not want to show vulnerability, they are big machos who do not cry or crack under pressure. Of course we do not see any of the Angels or Lara cry under pressure either, but we do see Lara crying when visiting her father's grave or Sidney Bristow, from the tv series “Alias,” both screaming in pain and crying. But the fact that women do this more than men it does not make them weaker, but instead it makes them fuller, richer character and more compassionate, since they do not fear showing their emotions.

Bou and Pérez give us yet another meaningful explanation or theory about the uncrying male hero: the full release of emotions through tears is not an option for the male action hero, since it is an experience that the male dominant movie business does not allow beyond the insight of every man, something that should not escape to the exterior. Therefore, since pain is not allowed to exit the man's body through tears, it should do so some other way, and the procedure that was chosen to portray this was one which would make the whole body cry: through blood and wounds (Bou and Pérez, 2000: 64). Hence, we find here a connection to the fact that the male action hero's body seems to get more hurt in action movies than the female's one.

Furthermore, right now male action heroes are beginning to display a new characteristic which has been for ever attributed to women: they are starting to actually talk. Bou and Pérez tell us about a man who in an interview expressed that in Quentin Tarantino's movie Pulp Fiction the male heroes talked much more than they were expected to, given their violent nature. Therefore, one explanation could be that the extreme violent world that we find in male action heroes' movies needed a break, and doing more talking than customary seems to be one of the answers (Bou and Pérez, 2000: 215). This way, we could say that male heroes are beginning to turn towards characteristics often displayed by female action heroes which have proven to be successful. What is more, another reason why male action heroes had to change was because of the previously mentioned fact that they were becoming obsolete. As a matter of fact, the conclusion that Calvert et al. reached in their study was that

the most effective formula for presenting heroic female portrayals is one in which female characters embody traditionally valued feminine characteristics, such as physical attractiveness, nurturance, compassion, and using the mind over the sword. Using your mind and being compassionate are integral cultural expectations for female heroes, and perhaps should be emphasized more in our male heroes as well.

What the authors of the research are suggesting is that since female action heroes have become so successful, perhaps male action heroes should imitate some of the characteristics that the former present.