Stories that are great are built on strong female characters. There is no right or wrong answer, from action movie heroines with biceps to scream queens in horror movies. We’re spoiled whether she’s wearing Louboutins and clicking her way through an office in Succession or trainers and running for her life in zombie movies.
Yes, it’s time to say “girl boss” with a thin layer of irony and cheer for the women on our screens. Here are the best female characters ever, right out of mother lake.
1. Amy Dunne from “Gone Girl”
In Gone Girl, smart and manipulative Amy Dunne’s husband seems to have killed her, but there’s a lot more to the story, and as the mystery unfolds, it becomes clear that she’s not the “Amazing Amy” she seems to be.
Amy is a troublesome character, and it’s important not to take this story as an attack on women or to think that women fake being victims to scare people. For entertainment’s sake, it’s best to think of Gone Girl as a twisty, turning thriller about a woman who lies and looks out for herself.
As the author of the book from which the movie was made said, maybe an important part of feminism is showing that women are more complicated than the “good girl” roles of the past. Sometimes a story can show a “good girl” who becomes a “Gone Girl.”
2. Nomi Marks from “Sense8”
Netflix casualty “We don’t like leaving a story unfinished,” said a tweet from the time when Sense8 was cancelled: “We don’t like ending a story in the middle.” We learned a lot from Sense, and we won’t make the same mistakes again.” Fans of Warrior Nun are yelling somewhere.
The Wachowskis, who made The Matrix, made this series. It was a powerful and beautiful look at how people from all walks of life are linked. In the show, eight characters who were psychically linked learned how to walk in each other’s shoes. Nomi Marks was Jamie Clayton‘s big break. She was shy and smart, and she brought a sensitive side to the group.
Nomi was a character in a story that showed the joys of having a chosen family for LGBTQ+ people. She was also a wonderful, likeable person from the start. There are a lot of things about Sense8 to miss, like the amazing karaoke scene with “What’s Up?” by 4 Non-Blondes, and Nomi is one of the pieces of the puzzle that people will miss.
3. Diane from “Mulholland Drive”
Most people who watch Mulholland Drive for the first time will need to do some reading on their own to understand the complicated symbols and confusing, intertwined stories. In typical David Lynch style, the movie follows the logic of a dream (or maybe a nightmare) and breaks down the story Diane (Naomi Watts) made up in her head to make sense of and protect herself from a horrifying act of jealous rage.
Seeing both the real Diane and her idealised self (Betty) gives the audience a unique look into how she sees herself and how she wants to see herself. This gives the character more depth than is usually possible in linear stories. With more than one version of Diane to look at, the character’s depth can be appreciated and her meaning can be broken down into smaller pieces.
4. Lisa Simpson from “The Simpsons”
Lisa Simpson is both good and bad. She taught all little girls that they need to be smart and motivated, but she can also be blamed for how much I liked to show off when I was young. I thought this vegetarian feminist who played the saxophone and rose to the top of academia was a rock star. Lisa got harder to like in later seasons of The Simpsons, but in the early seasons, she was a passionate and thoughtful child who fought for her beliefs even though her family wasn’t very interested in them.
Throughout the animated series, she cries, loses control of her feelings, and fights against the strange behaviour of the adults around her. Even though Lisa is a genius, the audience and the people who make the show never forget that she is still a child.
Her curiosity and love of music led to some of the best parts of the show, like how much she liked the jazz musician “Bleeding Gums” Murphy or how she changed the boring Malibu Stacey doll into something more interesting.
It’s a sweet, simple story arc that will feel familiar to anyone who has ever had trouble fitting in with other kids their age. Lisa learned to accept herself and, more importantly, be proud of who she is. Talent and hard work are cool qualities, and being able to stand up for what you believe in is a very important trait, even for an 8-year-old girl. Thanks, Lisa, on behalf of all girls.
5. Rey from “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”
In Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which came out in 2015 and starred Daisy Ridley as Rey, she goes from scavenging on the planet Jakku to killing in the name of the Resistance.
Rey is more than meets the eye. She is a good pilot, knows a lot about mechanics, and even though she hasn’t been trained, she is strong with the force. Her instincts are always right, and she often surprises the characters who didn’t think much of her at first.
6. Elle Woods in “Legally Blonde”
I went to law school because the movie “Legally Blonde” made me want to be like Elle Woods. Yes, I quit school after a year, but let’s not worry about that. Aside from her drive to do well, what I love most about Elle is that she doesn’t apologise for being too girly.
Some people think that women have to choose between being smart and being sexually aware or feminine. Elle fights against the old idea that you can only be one or the other and against society’s desire to put women in boxes.
She is solely responsible for the second wave of “bimboism,” which combines hyper-femininity with intelligence to show that the two can live together and do well.
7. The Bride from “Kill Bill: Vol. 1”
Beatrix Kiddo (also known as Black Mamba), whose ex-lover tried to kill her in a cold-blooded way, gets stronger and wants revenge. Users of Letterboxd gave Kill Bill: Volume 1’s Bride, played by Uma Thurman, high marks because she was well-trained in fighting techniques that not even the best fighters had.
She is an unstoppable movie assassin who is in charge of one of the bloodiest scenes in movie history. She makes the idea of “girl power” sound like a joke. Quentin Tarantino is known for writing about strong women who don’t fit the usual mould, and The Bride might be his best example of a strong woman.
8. Imperator Furiosa from “Mad Max: Fury Road”
In Mad Max: Fury Road, which came out in 2015, Charlize Theron played Imperator Furiosa, a skilled driver who risked her life to save oppressed concubines from a cruel dictator. As a beautiful work of art with amazing, well-done stunts, the movie does its job and more. The framing story is good as a sign of hope for strong female characters, but the text is sparse.
Theron doesn’t show a lot of different sides of herself as Furiosa; she’s mostly just serious-a. The movie is more of a visual show than one with sharp dialogue, so people who want to see a well-written female character will be let down. But viewers who want to see a woman who can drive will be happy.
For more entertainment, see our guide to the best marvel movies and also check the best costumes in the MCU.
