[September 5, 2023] I’m a fan of movie critic Scotsman Will Jordan, aka The Critical Drinker. I like how he slams modern films because they are written by immature, narcissistic, selfish, woke man-children. Last year, I wrote about one of his videos explaining why modern movies suck (link here), and it was very popular. Today, I’m highlighting something I found interesting: filmmakers are pushing the “strong female character” and how the public is rejecting them.
Sarah Connor (The Terminator), Clarice Starling (Silence of the Lambs), Ellen Ripley (Alien), Marion Ravenwood (Indiana Jones), Princess Leia (Star Wars), Eowin (Lord of the Rings), Emily Blunt (Edge of Tomorrow), and Beth Harmon (The Queen’s Gambit) are just a few of the compassionate, brave, compelling, well-written female characters that have emerged in the last 50 years of film and television characters that left their mark on whole generations of audiences. Critical Drinker has a different take on the “strong female character.” He sees them as a shallow, trite, cheaply made, gratingly unpleasant facsimile of these excellent ladies of the Big Silver Screen.
The Critical Drinker says that all these new female characters have to be labeled as strong, and this is one of the first words to describe these characters that comes from writers, actors, directors, and marketing departments. He sees this recent movement to put women into strong roles in every project, even if it is unnecessary or counterproductive. He tells us what Emily Blunt once said:
“It’s the worst thing ever when you open a script and read the words ‘strong female lead.” That makes me roll my eyes. I’m already out. I’m bored. Those roles are written as incredibly stoic; you spend the whole time acting tough and saying tough things.” – Emily Blunt
The strong female character is a cliché that is hollow, simplistic, and meaningless as all those soulless corporations that will happily use social movements as an excuse to sell you useless crap. But why is this happening? What differentiates a good female character from a “strong female character?”
The problem is one of competency. A good character is presented with a difficulty they have to overcome, whether it’s an opponent to be defeated, a goal to be reached, or even a personal failure or weakness that has to be tackled. This requires the character to grow or change to become better than they were before. They’ll often be given a mentor figure to guide them on their path, and they will struggle and fail along the way. And the more you see a character who suffers setbacks and personal failures, the more you tend to empathize with them. Here’s an important point he makes: Storytellers have known this for thousands of years, which is why they tend to follow the same basic structure.
“Strong female characters” don’t work that way. A “strong female character” will almost always be supremely good at whatever she does, succeeding immediately or teaching herself with minimal effort. They’re generally not allowed to have older mentors to teach them things, especially not male ones, because that would send the message that women need men to help them succeed.
The result is a character that doesn’t face any real struggle or challenge or suffer a major setback from which they will have to bounce back. They’re almost never allowed to fail because the writers incorrectly associate failure with weakness rather than seeing it for what it is: a necessary part of personal growth. Failure doesn’t define the character; how they react to it matters. Without failure, there is no chance for growth and development.
What “strong female characters” tend to focus on instead is self-actualization, the idea that she already has everything she needs to succeed, and all that’s required is to let go of the limitations imposed on her by others. The message to the audience is simple: You are perfect the way you are, and the rest of the world must change. The problem is that when you remove struggle, failure, weakness, and vulnerability, you don’t leave the audience with a whole lot to emphasize. Instead, you wind up with an empty shell of a character with a superficial appearance of strength and empowerment but nothing substantial or meaningful driving it.
I could go on, but I think you get the point. Scotsman Will Jordan gives plenty of examples in his video that you can see for yourself here (see link). He also talks about how reality doesn’t gel too well with modern Hollywood ideology that men and women are exactly the same at everything.
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I’m a new fan of Critical Drinker. ✔
He sure is picking up a great fan base too from Gen. Satterfield’s blog readers. And I’m new here too. Sir, thx for great content.
Welcome aboard, Shaker Girl !!
I stopped going to movies many years ago. It is just not worth it. I watch the reviews and generally don’t watch at all movies made after the year 2020.
That works. Movies in theaters cost too much, the service is horrible, the floors are sticky, the chairs have gum on them, the people are on their phones, giggling girls, and idiots. Don’t go to movies. Wait a few months or a year and it will be on tv and you can watch it for free. Just be sure you give these Modern movies a thumb’s down rating.
Erledech, you got it right. Why go to a movie theater and have to put up with all this terrible service and then spend too much money for a bunch of mush wokeness? Nobody in their right minds would do it. And if you have small children then I recommend NEVER taking them to see a new movie.
Yeah, let’s see how reality does a check on these “women” who want to be like men and think there are no consequences.
People are told that they can be strong, if only they believe in today’s woke culture. But in reality, it makes you very very weak.
Hmmmm, maybe. At least they are not “saving themselves for marriage” and they are storng strong strong. He He He He Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeee…..
Like the movie She Hulk
See Gen. Satterfield’s article from today.
“Why Women are Dumb: Pearl Davis”
https://www.theleadermaker.com/why-women-are-dumb-pearl-davis/
Nothing makes the day brighter than Critical Drinker slamming the modern movie makers who go for fancy VR effects and no plot with dull characters that are so far from realism that it makes you want to vomit. I haven’t gone to a movie theater in a decade and will certainly not be going back any time soon. Modern movies are just stupid.
Plus modern American movies tend to be anti-man, anti-American, and anti-reality. 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
I’m an American Patriot and that should be enough as most folks are these days, so we don’t like this WOKE shi#.
Nailed it ladies. I’m with you. Im a patriot and that has benefits to me and my family. Being anti-American makes you stupid. Being stupid makes life hard and sad.
🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
USA USA USA USA USA
Keep supporting America and the world will continue to be a better place. If you don’t like America, move anywhere else and within a couple of months, or sooner, you will be begging to come back. You should commit to a one way trip. Or you are gutless anti-American claptrap is just so ignorant, that it’s hard to believe anything you say.
You guys sure got it right. And, we all love The Critical Drinker.
Another excellent article and since the last time you gave us the Critical Drinker, I’ve become a fan of his.
I agree with you catorenasci.
People of either sex are not perfect and that is what makes us interesting and free. This is why God does not remove Evil from the world. He wants us to chose. Be sure you make the right choice.
Isaiah 5:20
Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil;
Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness;
Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!
This paragraph fully encapsulates what Gen. Satterfield has been writing about for years.
“What “strong female characters” tend to focus on instead is self-actualization, the idea that she already has everything she needs to succeed, and all that’s required is to let go of the limitations imposed on her by others. The message to the audience is simple: You are perfect the way you are, and the rest of the world must change. The problem is that when you remove struggle, failure, weakness, and vulnerability, you don’t leave the audience with a whole lot to emphasize. Instead, you wind up with an empty shell of a character with a superficial appearance of strength and empowerment but nothing substantial or meaningful driving it.”
Exactly! 😁😀😂😊😎
Keep these great articles coming our way, Gen. Satterfield.
And if you could get Sadako Red to write an article, I would like to read it. I’m a big big fan of his.
Ouch, Critical Drinker is my kind of man. He slams “modern” films hard. Love it.
Yeah, thinking the same thing here, Purse. Critical Drinker has become my favorite film reviewer, one that tells things like they are. If you were wondering why those new Hollywood films are just unsatisfying, then he tells you the truth why. The characters are shallow and unappealing. They want to be men, and movie goers don’t go to a movie to see a woman as a man.
Spot on comment, Willie. ✔ You want to be entertained without some nasty ideology being crammed down your throat. The modern movies are just that and the Critical Drinker is right. Thanks Gen. Satterfield for highlighting him again.
Yes, and if you are new to this website, please please please go to Amazon and get a copy of Gen. Satterfield’s books because they help keep his website free. Besides, his books are darn low cost. My favorite is “55 rules for a good life” and it will be your favorite too.
Well said Willie.