The importance of complex female characters in film

Cinema is a powerful way of understanding the world around us. It can act as a mirror of the self, showing audiences their reflection in a world that seems so much bigger and bolder than our own. Having complex female characters is so important in film because they become a method of empowerment and validation for those in the audience who see themselves in such characters.

Characters that challenge the stereotypes of women are vital to cinema; they push and surpass the boundaries that being a woman has meant for so long. This helps to challenge the way in which society thinks as many people today consume some form of media daily. We absorb scenarios from many different films when doomscrolling and with the internet at our fingertips, we can dive into new television and film at the click of a button.

So, when Jo March's Little Women monologue crosses our screen, the complexity of being a woman, wanting a career and a love life, is again a moment to challenge social rules that dictate how a woman should lead their life. Media consumption is influential in the way we think and process the world around us, so by placing characters that challenge stereotypes in media, it helps to change mindsets around the world in a progressive and important fashion.

This is also important when looking at how complex female characters offer an authentic representation of women. It is important and validating that the media we consume does not show female characters as bland and one dimensional but as having a range of complicated traits that can seem contradictory or as though they do not fit a 'perfect' image of being a woman. The film Invasion of the Body Snatchers shows the main female character, Becky, as being nothing more than an obstacle for the main character to overcome due to his love for her. Becky becomes a sexualised object who acts as nothing more than a love interest.

However, in contemporary times, Disney's Brave shows Merida reject marriage and fight for her 'own hand', an important message to show young girls. So it is important to validate the complexities that come with being human and being a woman.

Complex female characters are human, they are real and they provide a comfort to women who may feel as though the world does not see their complexities, their interests, their feelings, their intelligence but only their looks. Finding comfort in characters on a screen is something that many people can relate to, we often see ourselves reflected back at us in this method of escapism. It is the Hermione Grangers, Katniss Everdeens, and the myriad women in film who inspired me when I was a young girl who are so important in helping shape the young's sense of self.

So, as future generations of young girls look up at that big screen, they, now more than ever, will see that it is okay to have all these complex thoughts and feelings. It is okay to be human. This is the most important thing about complex female characters in film, for younger generations to be comfortable with their own femininity from such a young age could be transformative for them. Especially as the future looks to stabilise the inequalities that have carved a divide in society since the beginning of humanity.