Female empowerment has always been a theme for Hollywood movies. Afterall, half the audience in the seats are women, and it pays to show them something which they'll want to see. While I have no problem with such a theme, I noticed that the most common form this theme takes is that of a teenage girl running unfettered through the streets of some European town. In the process, said teenager discovers herself and her parents find that she's grown up.
Don't believe me?
Try Princess Diaries (ok, that's set in San Francisco), Princess Diaries 2, First Daughter, The Lizze McGuire Movie, Chasing Liberty. Don't forget the Olsen twins who have made several movies about running around the streets of a big city: When in Rome & New Yrok Minute are just two. And that's only from the past few years. Of course, the originator for this theme is Roman Holiday, which, of course, is in a league all its own. I wish Hollywood producers didn't try to bite on Audrey Hepburn so obviously.
Before I go on, let me address those of you who are wondering why the hell I care so much about these movie. Well, I don't really. It's just that my flights on the way to Singapore included both Princess Diaries 2 and First Daughter. Plus, Chasing Liberty has been on auto-replay on the movie channels lately. So it's hard not to notice the theme here.
But my question is why so many of these movies lately? Is this runaway teenager the only plot that Hollywood can think of which shows female empowerment? If that's the case, then Hollywood producers need to go to Borders more often and check out some of the novels there. They should leave well enough alone and let Audrey Hepburn show us what it means to be a princess with an adventurous heart.
1 comment:
The TV equivalent of the "common theme" is the rather hot, practical, together woman who is married to the slightly pudgy doofus husband. King of Queens, Still Standing, According to Jim, to name a few. And I don't watch any of these shows either :)
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