The biggest and most talked-about film this year is definitely Star Wars: The Force Awakens. While every Star Wars nerd like myself will tell you they teared up at the opening credits, were on the edge of their seat when the Rebel Alliance X-wings attacked and squealed in excitement when the lightsaber came out - there was one scene in this film that filled viewers with a not-so-familiar excitement - when the protagonist Rey picks up the lightsaber and faces Kylo Ren as one who can also use the Force.
For every little girl who’s ever dreamed of being more than just a princess, this scene will stand tall as one of the most iconic moments in the franchise reboot. In the year 2016, it shouldn’t be a big deal that the main character is a woman, nor that the film also had General Leia, Captain Phasma and a number of other females portrayed as equals to the men of the movie.
But it is, and the best part was - it didn’t come with a whole lot of fanfare on how they are women and attractive but still able to take out Kylo Ren or a new version of the Death Star. In a world of Lara Crofts and Black Widows, of Selene from Underworld and Alice from Resident Evil, we have seen plenty of women in action roles, but very few who can play these roles without having to wear tight outfits and be sexy, or without being the lone kickass woman saving the day. Even Trinity around the end of the Matrix franchise was more Neo’s love interest than freedom fighter.
It is for this reason that certain stories in recent years have been a breath of fresh air, bringing us a new sort of hero to look up to. My personal favourite is Furiosa from Mad Max, hands-down one of the best action heroes to pop up of late, reminiscent of the good old days of Sarah Connor and Ellen Ripley taking down terminators and aliens without pouting their red lips or running around in black latex. Now we also have Katniss, we have Jessica Jones, we have Tatiana Maslany of Orphan Black (although none of these even come close to Furiosa).
This doesn’t mean there isn’t a long way to go. One of the most depressing movie moments last year was when Jurassic World’s Claire ran in front of a T-Rex in those ridiculous heels (come on!) and then lay at it’s foot in one of the most seductive poses one could think of, waiting for her man to rescue her (do us a favour and eat her next time, T-rex) - a far cry from Jurassic Park’s Dr Ellie Sattler and even little Lex, who did a better job at saving the day than Claire.
We live in a world where the Star Wars Monopoly set doesn’t even bother to include Rey in the game. A world where Disney comes up with an incredible character like Merida from Brave, only to plaster a skinnier and prettier version of her on Disney merchandise instead. But it is now a world of Furiosa and Rey and General Leia, and that is a victory, and we should be hopeful about seeing more films that don’t centre around the same-old cocky, self-assured, fast-talking white action hero, and gives us diverse stories with unexpected heroes (until they are unexpected no more!).