Joyce comes to mind. And Tara - she hardly ever uses her magic. Oh, and Darla.
Legolas Send a noteboard - 18/01/2012 10:58:57 PM
The so-called Buffy-verse features a number of ordinary mortal male characters such as Xander, Gunn, Giles, Wesley, Robin Wood, Lindsey, Holtz and even Oz (his werewolf curse never enhanced his combat prowess in any practical way), whereas Buffy & Faith had their superhuman strength (and by the way, fought vampires who were explicitly stated more than once on both shows to be weaker than they; whereas Angel and Spike fought their peers, or else demons, almost all of whom were stronger than vampires), Willow & Tara had magic, Cordelia got magic visions (from kissing a guy) and Anya remembered stuff from when she was a powerful demon (made into one by a patriarchal demon after she overreacted to her man cheating on her, and who spent centuries running around torturing people according to the whims of hyperbolic emotional women). No woman on the show was powerful without magic or being evil.
The Buffyverse's premise of having all those vampires and demons obviously makes it a requirement to have a lot of physical fighting - and then yes, human women may need something to balance out the odds. Darla and Drusilla, being vampires, do not.
But even with all the violence as metaphor for other things, there's enough non-violent scenes where women are allowed to shine. Joyce, Tara, Cordelia on Angel (her importance goes far beyond her superpower), Fred, to some extent even Darla. They are much more than "useful", they're crucial, without any magic or with the magic making little or no difference. Not in combat, no, but then you list numerous male characters above (Xander, Giles, Wesley, Lindsey, Oz) whose contributions to physical combats were also rather limited and often were little more than moral support for those doing the real fighting.
A thought about women in action roles
17/01/2012 10:42:28 PM
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The actress in Haywire is a former MMA fighter.
17/01/2012 11:13:03 PM
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How many men did she beat in those fights?
18/01/2012 01:47:04 AM
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Haywire may not be the best example
17/01/2012 11:33:31 PM
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So: Action roles should have bigger women.
18/01/2012 03:29:38 AM
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Actually, Buffy is worse because it implies women need magic to be useful.
18/01/2012 05:34:09 AM
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Joyce comes to mind. And Tara - she hardly ever uses her magic. Oh, and Darla.
18/01/2012 10:58:57 PM
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I really doubt the outfit did much to make Xena look big.
18/01/2012 06:53:59 PM
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Lucy Lawless is pretty much Amazonian.
19/01/2012 09:28:11 AM
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It's true that she's not as tiny as others.
19/01/2012 05:46:59 PM
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"Not as tiny as the others" is about the best you can say for her.
19/01/2012 08:54:03 PM
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Re: A thought about women in action roles
18/01/2012 04:13:27 AM
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Indeed. See for example, any Robin Hood made in the last 20 years. Maid Marian HAS to fight. *NM*
18/01/2012 05:35:19 AM
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Re: A thought about women in action roles
18/01/2012 07:50:28 PM
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She is some kind of super hero in super hero movie, is't she? *NM*
19/01/2012 07:30:50 AM
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I don't think she's technically supposed to have super powers.
19/01/2012 08:58:40 PM
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I thought Sarah Connor in T2: Judgment Day was a realistic portrayal of the action heroine.
20/01/2012 05:57:08 AM
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So did anyone actually see Haywire this weekend?
23/01/2012 02:34:43 PM
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It just depends on how much you're willing to accept.
23/01/2012 04:23:36 PM
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You're nitpicking and drawing an arbitrary line. All action is ridiculously unbelievable. *NM*
24/01/2012 04:53:40 AM
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Maybe. I just feel there's a distinction between "one in a million" and "impossible."
24/01/2012 03:53:35 PM
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