The Legend of Korra: Another Strong Female Heroine Hits Her Mark
This past Saturday, Nickelodeon premiered The Legend of Korra, a new animated series from the creators of the acclaimed Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Read moreThis past Saturday, Nickelodeon premiered The Legend of Korra, a new animated series from the creators of the acclaimed Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Read moreWhat sets The Hunger Games apart from the rest of the field, though, is its lead character, Katniss Everdeen, and the skill with which Collins executes a novel trilogy centered around a young female lead. Where so many others have failed, or not even bothered to try, Collins not only creates a Strong Female Heroine, but also makes the story her Heroine’s Journey from impoverished nobody to national symbol. There are far too few stories of this kind in the genre – or anywhere else for that matter – even amid the prolific storytelling boom of recent years. For authors, screenwriters, and others struggling to figure out how to write better female characters and better female-centered stories, The Hunger Games has to be at the very top of the list to read, analyze, and learn from.
Read moreIn The Hunger Games novel trilogy, Suzanne Collins created another fantastic example of an heroic story centered around one principal character, without losing touch with the role that teamwork and collaborative success play in human nature. In a very real sense, the trilogy is not the story of the rise and triumph of Katniss Everdeen, but rather the success of Team Katniss.
Read moreLast year the blog introduced the series Seeking Strong Female Heroines. This year we’re adding a complementary series: the Heroine’s Journey.
Read moreThe reception of Darth Plagueis serves to illustrate one of the ways the EU can be used effectively to reach a broad range of fans, including those who aren’t necessarily EU-focused but would be interested in movie-focused stories. The still underdeveloped backstories of the saga’s two female leads, Padmé Amidala and Leia Organa, provide the perfect opportunity to bring depth to the EU lore while also tapping into the interests of female fans.
Read moreThe more I write, the more I’ve come to the determination that writers really do write what they know, and if you really want to know who you are, it’s as simple as looking back at what you’ve written. Ultimately that requires being critical of your flaws and weaknesses. And it’s true, self-awareness can be a bitch sometimes. When I started creating my heroine, Vespa Wynde, I realized that she, like me, would be defined by her family. Most importantly her parents – Daemyn Wynde and Utara Fireheart.
Read moreAs I prepared my review of Ink-Stained Amazons and Cinematic Warriors: Superwomen in Modern Mythology by Jennifer K. Stuller, I found myself jotting down some comments about fandom, feminism, and storytelling that I wanted to share in the introductory blog post. Some turned into more – then a lot, and I reconsidered how to present all the ideas the book had inspired for me. So I’m keeping today’s post short; I don’t want a voluminous blog with my own commentary to overshadow how important Stuller’s book is.
Read moreToday we’re just under two weeks until National Novel Writing Month in November.
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