Super heroines from Ripley to Wonder Woman

Female film heroes such as Katniss Everdeen and Wonder Woman are not a recent phenomenon. Even though they have been statistically rare, there has been, at least since the late 1970s, a number of influential female protagonists who have had a significant symbolic impact. However, it it is quite clear that the representation of female hero figures within popular culture are shaped by their particular cultural and historical context. Dominant norms concerning gender, sexuality, functional diversity, and ethnicity have influenced how female protagonists in traditionally masculine or in other ways gender transgressive roles have been portrayed. This course deals with popular genre films, mainly action films, with female heroes from 1979 and forward. The films are placed in historical and cultural context and discussed in relation to theories about gender, sexuality, ethnicity, functional diversity, and genres.