Representation: Men and Women

Male Heroes:

There are a variety of male heroes which represent the different stereotypes within society. Arnold Schwarzenegger represents the strong, powerful and dominant hero in the Terminator series. He is a conventional hero as he uses his strength to overpower enemies. Sylvester Stallone is another hero like this as he has the physical presence, as seen in Rocky. But we also see his leadership skills (as a hero) when he leads the expendables. Ethan Hunt ( Tom Cruise , M.I.) and James Bond (Daniel Craig, James Bond) both portray a typical spy. Ethan Hunt uses the gadgets and does impossible stunts which shows how good a spy he is. James Bond is a suave and sophisticated spy, he lives the luxurious life of a spy and every new Bond has their own persona. Daniel Craig is playing the spy who can let his emotions run a bit loose. It is different to the cold hearted spy, and adds more of a motif when he is on his missions. Luke Skywalker represents the young teenage male who lives a 'magical' life. From a deserted planet, Tatooine, he flies through the universe fighting off the Sith. He is still young so the younger audience can aspire to be like him. From movie 4 to 6 we see his character grow from a child (carefree) to a mature and level headed adult. Harry Potter is an odd wizard, because we normally expect to see an old man with a beard, but with him just being a normal teenage boy it connects better with the younger audience and makes it more family friendly. Although he may not have the physique he makes up for it in skill. When you first see him he looks a bit geeky, but he becomes more of a cool leader later on. He is also very compassionate inside his friends circle, which is different from the cold male hero. All the male heroes are dominant and positive stereotypes, the variety of heroes is immense, and that what makes the hero a bit unpredictable (unless it is a series).

Female Heroines:

The female heroines I found out about don't have a lot of variety but instead have a lot of character. The Bride (Kill Bill), Lara Croft, Elektra, Aeon Flux and Violet (Ultraviolet) are all heroines and the main character of their film . Although they are the lead roles, there are some male back-up or friends within the movie who are not dominant and have no authority. So, we see a world where women are dominant. Each of the charcters have their own personality, but I think that there is no variety in the roles they get. All of these heroines are all lone-wolves (in a sense) and I think there is not an equal male counterpart which can highlight the heroines' authority as well. I feel, since it is targetted at a female audience, a romance is normally there (also in male orientated films), but there is more of an insight to the relationship. All of these heroines have a strong presence, and they all bring emotion to the character, but I think there could be more done to stretch he female heroine stereotype e.g. a female boxer or spy, although there is not a strong market, a development of unstereotypical female heroines will stretch the character variety.
V for Vendetta is an odd movie because although it seems as if V is the main hero, it turns out to be the female lead. This makes it unique, but also makes it interesting because we see her develop into the heroine, and we see him willing to lose the spotlight. It is a new way of bringing in heroes, and I think it should be explored.

Male Villains:

Every male villain has a trademark about them which defines their character, like Darth Vader has the black armour and the fact that we mainly just hear him breathe in and out. The Joker has the crazy smile, The Green Goblin has the armour and the flying board, Blofeld stroked the cat, Le Chiffre has the scar and Voldermort doesn't have a nose and he has the massive anaconda, nagini. Also most male villains want power and are slightly driven crazy. All the have killed people in order to gain status, fear and to also lure the hero. The Joker is one of the few villains who creates situations the hero must react to, and he has power over the hero because he knows what is happening but no-one else does. Darth Vader wears black as it connotes evil, there are many low angle shots of him to make him look menacing but since he is only the 'apprentice' it makes the true villain, the emporer, look extremely cruel and dark. Le Chiffre is a secretive villain and everything he does is behind closed doors, he face is paled out to make him look slightly ghost like, although he loses to Bond, he relies on his henchmen to do his dirty work. This is different to the other villains where they plan and do the plan as they want the glory. I feel all male villains' are portrayed negatively but also dominant. Although we may not see a postive side of them, we see how they can control lots of henchmen to carry out order, or to join them in their fight against good.

Female Villains:

Female villains are virtually unheard of in films, it was a struggle to find them when I was researching. Most of these villains (apart from Proffesor Umbridge) try and seduct people, in order to help them. For example Catwoman (although the Halle Berry version was when she is a heroine) is a villain who usually wears leather and seducts people e.g. Bank guards and Batman. Seerlena (Men in Black 2) uses attracts males in the Men in black headquarters in order to help her get weapons for her plan. Miranda Frost, is a double agent who turns on James Bond, although she was a hero at the start, when we find out she is a villain we don't like her as she is colder than Bond and betrayed his trust. Proffesor Umbridge abuses her power in order to help Lord Voldermort, she is like a teacher from hell whom most of the students fear. Bellatrix is like a female and evil version of Captain Jack Sparrow, and when she was first introduced she was a slight comic element but now she is portrayed as scarier and more evil. Poison Ivy is sly character and she is a villain who has her own mind but still works for the 'lead' villain. I feel female villains are represented as seductresses or people who normally help the main male villain. Catwoman is an exception, and I feel her character needs to be alone as it adds to the mystery.


Overall I feel the male half is represented as the more dominant half, although some may be cliches, they manage to introduce a difference about the character to make it unique. I feel the female half can be dominant and authoritative, but there aren't any equal counterparts who help their character blossom. I feel the female hero and villain area can be stretched and new characters can be made.