I’ve seen a lot of discussions lately about the decline of quality in films and fiction.
Many people blame diversity - gender, racial, and sexual identity. You see it all over the internet.
There’s a whole culture war going on, such as how feminism has apparently ruined shows like The Acolyte and the Rings of Power – shows based on two of the most popular franchises in the world.
The shows supposedly force the idea and representation of strong females. But because people apparently hate strong women in fiction, they hated them, calling them too woke - or something.
Again, it’s a culture war.
Don’t get me wrong, I think both the Acolyte and the Rings of Power are still atrociously terrible, and the Acolyte deserves to be cancelled.
But I disagree that the reason they are terrible is because of feminism or diversity, and I don’t hate strong women in fiction.
No, it’s just bad writing. The issues come from the plot, script, pacing, and the writing, which I won’t deign to spoil.
The majority of viewers do not care about gender or identity. They care about the characters, their struggles, and the difficult choices they have to make. And difficult choices are what makes a good story.
It’s not about how strong Mary is, and it’s not about how she is going to defeat Mr. Evil. That’s boring. It’s about the sacrifices Mary must make. Her choices. She can either save her dying sister or save thousands more by defeating Mr. Evil once and for all. There is no in-between.
You have to create drama. Tension. Not a fake tension. And drama is a storytelling piece that both the Acolyte and the Rings of Power missed in exchange for “cool” and “badass” scenes.
Without drama, viewers have no reason to care or root for the characters – female or not.
And there are many examples of strong female characters out there that prove audiences don’t care about gender, like Rita Vertaski from Edge of Tomorrow, Carol from The Walking Dead, or Lorraine Broughton from Atomic Blonde.
Arcane is another good example. I’ll use it because I consider it a modern masterpiece.
The two main characters, Jinx and Vi, are sisters. The cast is also filled with other female characters, who are just as human as the rest. They cry and fear. They fight when it matters, and they are brutal when they do so.
And did the audience care about their genders? Did the audience care about powerful women in positions of authority? Judging by how the show is highly rated across multiple review platforms – no. Because their genders are irrelevant.
Good, strong characters are allowed to be emotional and flawed. They are allowed to be human. Women or men.
But seriously, if you’re looking for something to binge, I recommend Arcane.