Superpowerful women and the veneer of empowerment on TV...

[Taake]

... speaking of Joss Whedon the feminist got me thinking of this book I heard about on a podcast.


"Bewitched Again: Supernaturally Powerful Women on Televsion, 1996-2011" by Julie D. O'Reilly
which investigates how supernatural women are portrayed in media, with a starting point in the "archetype" of Bewitched's Samantha.

I haven't read the book myself, don't really have time right now, but it seems fairly interesting. Though it makes the claim that;

"hence what should have been a golden age can be described more accurately as a "gilded cage", as television's superpowered women from 1996 to 2006 presented a veneer of empowerment while facing constrain after constraint. These ultra-powerful female characters have the capacity to save the world, but they often are pressured and/or need permission to do so."

The book speaks of Buffy, but also Charmed, Sabrina the teenage witch, Xena, True Blood, The Vampire Diaries, Medium, Dollhouse, Aeon Flux and just about anyone else you can think about from this time period.

So outside the realm of Buffy... do you guys have any other favorite superpowered female characters and are there times when you find the portrayal of her powers problematic? Or when you don't find them problematic for that matter. To me the author seems a bit negative in her stance, but since I haven't read the book, yet at least, I can't say that is the case for more than the introduction.

So tell me, except for Buffy & co, what super-ladies do you love and why?

🙂

 

[Skanky Vamp]

I find the un-superpowered much better than the superpowered. I do agree with - from what I read- the whole gilded cage thing in regards to superpowered females.
 
This pretty much sums up my feelings

 

[EVIL UU]

I just googled author's picture - yeah, I'm not touching that book, eww! Anyway, super-ladies. Shepard from Mass Effect series - the games have issues but Shepard, man, she is untouchable. Heather Mason - more Buffy than Buffy, Jade from BG&E, April Ryan and Zoë, always liked Lillet from GrimGrimoire - smart chick.

 

[The Bronze]

I haven't read the book but that introduction left me scratching my head a little. Super powered people have to face constraints, pressure and forms of authority. Otherwise where's the story? The alternative would be that a woman discovers her super powers, loves it, saves the world no problem and lives happily ever after.

I'm not familiar enough with other superheroines outside of the Buffyverse to make much comment on what their positives and negatives are. I used to enjoy the odd episode of Xena but never thought much about it. Medium has been decent whenever I've caught an episode. I loved Dollhouse but more for the story than the characters so it's harder to pin down what I think of Echo.

 

[Taake]

I just googled author's picture - yeah, I'm not touching that book, eww! Anyway, super-ladies. Shepard from Mass Effect series - the games have issues but Shepard, man, she is untouchable. Heather Mason - more Buffy than Buffy, Jade from BG&E, April Ryan and Zoë, always liked Lillet from GrimGrimoire - smart chick.

Haha, I feel so clueless now not knowing any of those names.


 
I might want to read the book just because I used to love Bewitched, especially Endora in terms of characters but also Samantha, so I'm curious what it might say about her as an "archetype". Though I'm sure it's nothing good, lol.

 

[Skanky Vamp]

 
I might want to read the book just because I used to love Bewitched, especially Endora in terms of characters but also Samantha, so I'm curious what it might say about her as an "archetype". Though I'm sure it's nothing good, lol.

I think it reflects the previous statement in that the so-called feminist icon is represented in, and within, the status quo. Bewitched and its treatment and expectations of females is no different than Buffy; both shows reflect societal norms versus trying to provide an alternative or improve them.

 

[VisionBoy]

-I liked Charmed's first four seasons, but hated most of the second half of the series (although admittedly season 7B picked things up considerably).
-Loved Medium, in fact I've been considering re-watching that for a while.
-I loved Sabrina tTW and still like it, but these days if I ever go back to it, it tends to be in spite of Sabrina herself. I find her quite annoying now. Love Hilda and Zelda though.
-Watched the odd episode of Xena and liked it, but never really felt like watching from start to finish. Maybe one day.
-I liked the first three seasons of Ghost Whisperer.
-My favourite episodes of Once Upon a Time usually involve Emma Swan and Regina working together. Sometimes with magic, sometimes just brain work.

I echo the Bronze though. Surely they have to face some constraints and pressures for them to be at all realistic and relatable as earthlings, never mind as women. Even so, I may be mistaken, but I don't recall the likes of Sabrina Spellman, Melinda Gordon, Xena etc. waiting for permission or instruction very often. Charmed had The Elders, but they were similar to the Watchers Council in that the sisters rarely followed their orders and they often came off as bad guys. Allison Dubois had DA Miguel I guess, but that was just the nature of her job; most of us have a boss at work.

Might take a quick look at the book just out of curiosity, but I have a few on the go at the moment, so I'll see.

 

[Ethan Reigns]

What? They missed Sydney Fox from Relic Hunter? Tia Carrere plays a tough-as-nails archaeologist with the usual constraints of university funding, but with martial arts training that she has to use every time. Great show, I saw every episode. You have no trouble believing that Tia could play the part in real life.

Naturally there are constraints on female protagonists, but are they any different from constraints a male would face? That is the test of whether the show is feminist-oriented or just a show about normal people facing normal constraints the same as anyone else would.

 

[GwenRaiden]

Superpowers bore me these days. Female leads written by men I've enjoyed, and I think that have worked well in recent years, are Peggy Olsen (Mad Men) and Stella Gibson (The Fall).

One of my favourite films I've seen in a long while was Young Adult. Screenplay by Diablo Cody who created the character Mavis Gary, who I identified with massively as a female. Even though it was supposed to be a brutal bashing of the "once popular high school girl", the character was so complex and relatable - I disliked her, felt depressed for her and at the same time wanted something good to happen for her. Hated Jennifer's Body though, also by Diablo Cody, if not only for the fact everyone thought it was hilarious to compare me to the character, it also ruined a decent song.

 

[Taake]

What? They missed Sydney Fox from Relic Hunter? Tia Carrere plays a tough-as-nails archaeologist with the usual constraints of university funding, but with martial arts training that she has to use every time. Great show, I saw every episode. You have no trouble believing that Tia could play the part in real life.

Naturally there are constraints on female protagonists, but are they any different from constraints a male would face? That is the test of whether the show is feminist-oriented or just a show about normal people facing normal constraints the same as anyone else would.

I suspect it's more about the nature of the constraints than the presence of constraints that's the issue at hand.

Oh man, Relic Hunter, my mom used to watch the show all the time. It was pretty good to my recall. She's not superpowered though, is she?

 

[Skanky Vamp]

@Taake "Well yes, I think that goes without saying." Not really.. because people still say Buffy changed the format and it reverses societies norms. But it doesnt and never did. It reverses horror tropes but is still very much centered around and supports society norms.

 

[Ethan Reigns]

No. Relic Hunter was not about a woman with superpowers, it was about a woman with fairly standard martial arts training. Similarly, I don't think Xena benefitted from any superpowers. Medium might be a special case - I do know a little girl who is a natural medium in real life and what she has said that she could not have known about by any other means is convincing enough.

However, part of the discussion is about female empowerment and supernatural powers that do not exist in reality do little to enhance the idea of empowerment in this world. Women are not going to become cultural icons of female power by having superpowers, they become icons of female power by using their influence, power and if necessary, martial arts skills to oppose evil without using anything that is not available to an ordinary person. For example, I would rather see one girl overcome fear of public speaking to address city council than see anything to do with Supergirl.

 

[Skanky Vamp]

I would rather see one girl overcome fear of public speaking to address city council than see anything to do with Supergirl.

I understand your point, but I think the point of the book is that we can create these fantasy worlds where these girls have superpowers but we cannot create the same fantasy world where the societal norms are different.

 

[Taake]

No. Relic Hunter was not about a woman with superpowers, it was about a woman with fairly standard martial arts training. Similarly, I don't think Xena benefitted from any superpowers. Medium might be a special case - I do know a little girl who is a natural medium in real life and what she has said that she could not have known about by any other means is convincing enough.

However, part of the discussion is about female empowerment and supernatural powers that do not exist in reality do little to enhance the idea of empowerment in this world. Women are not going to become cultural icons of female power by having superpowers, they become icons of female power by using their influence, power and if necessary, martial arts skills to oppose evil without using anything that is not available to an ordinary person. For example, I would rather see one girl overcome fear of public speaking to address city council than see anything to do with Supergirl.

All true, and I agree.

However... I started this topic talking about a book about women with superpowers on TV and specifically asked for other superpowered females others enjoyed as well. So while reality plays into the general discussion of female empowerment, it does not play into this particular discussion.