100 Kick-Ass Female Characters: #89
89. Bliss Cavender, as seen in the novel Derby Girl by Shauna Cross and the film Whip It, portrayed by Ellen Page
I have a slight fascination with the South. Having spent several years living in Louisiana, it was seriously like witnessing a different culture altogether. Certain things which are more of a Southern phenomenon (like beauty pageants) aren't nearly as big in Pennsylvania, and having your daughter be a beauty queen around here is an interesting anecdote but more likely setting yourself up for some jokes. It wasn't until a friend of mine explained what a gigantic deal pageants are in some Southern enclaves that I realized what a subversive choice Bliss makes in her story. (Full disclosure: I've never read the book, only seen the movie, so that's what I'll be talking about.)
In Whip It, Bliss Cavender is the eldest of two girls who is relatively mousy. Her mother marches her through beauty pageant after beauty pageant for her "future," and her mother was also a beauty queen. She sees her pushing of Bliss into such competitions as the chance to have a better future while Bliss views it as torture. While the other girls are fawning over their custom dresses, Bliss is having her best friend dye her hair blue right before going onstage. Bliss and her mother are on two different planets when it comes to the vision they have for Bliss's future, and a chance encounter Bliss has with some roller derby players at a shop in the mall changes Bliss's life. Bliss is in awe of these women, who seem so ballsy and take charge, and Bliss wants to be more like that. Lying to her mother about SAT prep courses, Bliss joins the Hurl Scouts, the hottest new jammer in the their league, and in the process becomes more assertive at home, at work, and in her relationships. Where once she avoided conflict with her mother, happy to go along, Bliss begins to stand up for herself with varying results. Even when she tries to placate her mother by competing in the biggest pageant of the year, her father sees how unhappy Bliss is when she isn't playing roller derby and gives her permission to play in the finals. The Hurl Scouts don't win, but Bliss (aka Babe Ruthless) becomes a stronger person by the end of the film.
What I love about Bliss is she is one of the few teenage girls who feel real. She's sarcastic and doesn't like her mother while simultaneously wanting to please her; she doesn't have perfect friendships with her friends and she makes really stupid decisions that everyone is telling her are stupid. The hero worship she has for the older women on her team is quickly put in check by Kristen Wiig's character, who tells her that roller derby should not be her entire life. Teenagers tend to have tunnel vision without an understanding of gray space, and Bliss is a great example of that. And yet, for all of her flaws, Bliss becomes a girl who is self-assured, confident, and more mature than when she started. Bliss isn't a superhero or over-the-top; she's just a girl trying to find her way and knocking girls on rollerskates out of the way to make that happen.
And that's delightfully kick-ass.
I have a slight fascination with the South. Having spent several years living in Louisiana, it was seriously like witnessing a different culture altogether. Certain things which are more of a Southern phenomenon (like beauty pageants) aren't nearly as big in Pennsylvania, and having your daughter be a beauty queen around here is an interesting anecdote but more likely setting yourself up for some jokes. It wasn't until a friend of mine explained what a gigantic deal pageants are in some Southern enclaves that I realized what a subversive choice Bliss makes in her story. (Full disclosure: I've never read the book, only seen the movie, so that's what I'll be talking about.)
In Whip It, Bliss Cavender is the eldest of two girls who is relatively mousy. Her mother marches her through beauty pageant after beauty pageant for her "future," and her mother was also a beauty queen. She sees her pushing of Bliss into such competitions as the chance to have a better future while Bliss views it as torture. While the other girls are fawning over their custom dresses, Bliss is having her best friend dye her hair blue right before going onstage. Bliss and her mother are on two different planets when it comes to the vision they have for Bliss's future, and a chance encounter Bliss has with some roller derby players at a shop in the mall changes Bliss's life. Bliss is in awe of these women, who seem so ballsy and take charge, and Bliss wants to be more like that. Lying to her mother about SAT prep courses, Bliss joins the Hurl Scouts, the hottest new jammer in the their league, and in the process becomes more assertive at home, at work, and in her relationships. Where once she avoided conflict with her mother, happy to go along, Bliss begins to stand up for herself with varying results. Even when she tries to placate her mother by competing in the biggest pageant of the year, her father sees how unhappy Bliss is when she isn't playing roller derby and gives her permission to play in the finals. The Hurl Scouts don't win, but Bliss (aka Babe Ruthless) becomes a stronger person by the end of the film.
What I love about Bliss is she is one of the few teenage girls who feel real. She's sarcastic and doesn't like her mother while simultaneously wanting to please her; she doesn't have perfect friendships with her friends and she makes really stupid decisions that everyone is telling her are stupid. The hero worship she has for the older women on her team is quickly put in check by Kristen Wiig's character, who tells her that roller derby should not be her entire life. Teenagers tend to have tunnel vision without an understanding of gray space, and Bliss is a great example of that. And yet, for all of her flaws, Bliss becomes a girl who is self-assured, confident, and more mature than when she started. Bliss isn't a superhero or over-the-top; she's just a girl trying to find her way and knocking girls on rollerskates out of the way to make that happen.
And that's delightfully kick-ass.