The Chosen One
We went to see Stardust on Saturday night, which, by the bye, rocked my little world. Made me completely happy. Will watch again. Will own on DVD. Go see it, and just enjoy the experience.
Before the movie, of course, were the previews of coming attractions. There were five of them, one was about a boy who is a musical prodigy, and two were about boys saving the world. The last two were about kick-ass women (Resident Evil, and the sequel to Elizabeth).
Maybe it's because the movie we had previously caught in a theatre was Harry Potter, but I came away thinking that there are few movies being made about girls saving the world, girls being the Chosen One. Women can kick ass and take names, but they're not Chosen, and they're also not girls. The only story in movie production that I know of with a girl as a central character who is all about world saving is The Golden Compass.
And then, I had to think about the books on my shelves to come up with actual written stories featuring girls literally saving their worlds, and besides The Golden Compass, all I come up with is Arabat, creepy amazing story that it is.
So ... why? Why are there so few stories about girls being the Chosen One? Why can't girls save the world?
The answer is, of course, they can. They just haven't been written about very often. How can girls learn that they can save the world if no one ever tells them? All the "girl" books I grew up with had nothing to do with big events ... they were all small, passive, internal, or local events. That's one of the differences, one of the main stereotypes. Female MCs (main characters) tend to be about relationships, and Male MCs tend to be about getting business done. Female MCs who are women have made great strides in breaking into the Fantasy Hero field ... girls haven't.
Well, for crying out loud, most of the women I know do both, and we're all raising our girl-spawn to do both. Why have we such scant literature about it?? Why aren't we writing about it?
All those thoughts coupled with another theme that has gone through all my characters and stories, that of the Everyman taking on the Darkness as himself. Not as superhero, not a god, just as a fragile human being. Because isn't that what we do, everyday? I love the stories where the just-human wins.
Just story thoughts running through my brain. I've had no inspiration to write anything at all these last few months, and now I have this small flicker that wants to blaze into fullness. So we'll see what happens. I'm not planning on doing NaNo this year, but perhaps I will write something else ...
What girl-hero saving the world stories do you remember? Please to consider this an informal poll. ;)
Before the movie, of course, were the previews of coming attractions. There were five of them, one was about a boy who is a musical prodigy, and two were about boys saving the world. The last two were about kick-ass women (Resident Evil, and the sequel to Elizabeth).
Maybe it's because the movie we had previously caught in a theatre was Harry Potter, but I came away thinking that there are few movies being made about girls saving the world, girls being the Chosen One. Women can kick ass and take names, but they're not Chosen, and they're also not girls. The only story in movie production that I know of with a girl as a central character who is all about world saving is The Golden Compass.
And then, I had to think about the books on my shelves to come up with actual written stories featuring girls literally saving their worlds, and besides The Golden Compass, all I come up with is Arabat, creepy amazing story that it is.
So ... why? Why are there so few stories about girls being the Chosen One? Why can't girls save the world?
The answer is, of course, they can. They just haven't been written about very often. How can girls learn that they can save the world if no one ever tells them? All the "girl" books I grew up with had nothing to do with big events ... they were all small, passive, internal, or local events. That's one of the differences, one of the main stereotypes. Female MCs (main characters) tend to be about relationships, and Male MCs tend to be about getting business done. Female MCs who are women have made great strides in breaking into the Fantasy Hero field ... girls haven't.
Well, for crying out loud, most of the women I know do both, and we're all raising our girl-spawn to do both. Why have we such scant literature about it?? Why aren't we writing about it?
All those thoughts coupled with another theme that has gone through all my characters and stories, that of the Everyman taking on the Darkness as himself. Not as superhero, not a god, just as a fragile human being. Because isn't that what we do, everyday? I love the stories where the just-human wins.
Just story thoughts running through my brain. I've had no inspiration to write anything at all these last few months, and now I have this small flicker that wants to blaze into fullness. So we'll see what happens. I'm not planning on doing NaNo this year, but perhaps I will write something else ...
What girl-hero saving the world stories do you remember? Please to consider this an informal poll. ;)