![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
I just wanna give a shout-out to CutThroat Island, that I watched tonight. I'd seen it years ago, and remembered liking it (tho not really remembering plot, or anything like that), and then I saw it again tonight. I've been a fan of Geena Davis for a long time, Long Kiss Goodnight has always been a favourite, and while Madam President paled a little next to The West Wing, it was still awesome, whatwith Geena, and the female president thing!
Anyway, having listened to the extras on my new DVD, apparently CutThroat was the biggest pirate movie there ever had been back in '95 when it came out. And not only is the main hero!pirate a woman, the woman in question happens to be one of the most awesome female characters I've ever come across in film.
This movie has *every* opportunity to fall into the classic annoying male/female pattern that so many other movies with female leads succumb to, but it never does. Even with female action leads she's never really allowed to be cooler than her male love interest. When they're alone together she always has to display some weakness that the outer world isn't allowed to see, but that still proves that the love interest is the *man* in the relationship.
Not so with Morgan Adams. She sets out to avenge her father's death, and find the Treasure while she's at it, and in the process acquires a slave/love interest. And she's constantly one step ahead of him, never gives in to his demands, never appears fazed by whatever little tricks he's got up his sleeve.
Not once in the entire movie is he needed to console her, or save her, or reassure her, or whatever, because she's perfectly able to take care of herself. It's not that whimpy 'she can take care of herself because she has to, but it's so much better to have a man to do it for her', no, Morgan likes being on her own, trusting no-one but herself, but she also likes William, and is willing to have him in her life, provided he knows his place (something that annoying Mr First Lady had great troubles with). And William does know his place, even has the decency to need her to rescue him a few times, which is awesome.
And she wins all the staring contests. Now that's my kinda action heroine!
Anyway, having listened to the extras on my new DVD, apparently CutThroat was the biggest pirate movie there ever had been back in '95 when it came out. And not only is the main hero!pirate a woman, the woman in question happens to be one of the most awesome female characters I've ever come across in film.
This movie has *every* opportunity to fall into the classic annoying male/female pattern that so many other movies with female leads succumb to, but it never does. Even with female action leads she's never really allowed to be cooler than her male love interest. When they're alone together she always has to display some weakness that the outer world isn't allowed to see, but that still proves that the love interest is the *man* in the relationship.
Not so with Morgan Adams. She sets out to avenge her father's death, and find the Treasure while she's at it, and in the process acquires a slave/love interest. And she's constantly one step ahead of him, never gives in to his demands, never appears fazed by whatever little tricks he's got up his sleeve.
Not once in the entire movie is he needed to console her, or save her, or reassure her, or whatever, because she's perfectly able to take care of herself. It's not that whimpy 'she can take care of herself because she has to, but it's so much better to have a man to do it for her', no, Morgan likes being on her own, trusting no-one but herself, but she also likes William, and is willing to have him in her life, provided he knows his place (something that annoying Mr First Lady had great troubles with). And William does know his place, even has the decency to need her to rescue him a few times, which is awesome.
And she wins all the staring contests. Now that's my kinda action heroine!
energetic