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Old 24-Apr-13, 00:36
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jiminy jiminy is offline
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Question Is this a fading genre? (looking at movies, games, pro-wrestling)

Just a few random thoughts/frustrations. I've looked at Movies, Pro-Wrestling and Video Games, and all three seem to (in my opinion) have fazed out the quality and/or quantity of portraying strong female characters.

It's frustrating because they still exist, but they're not being showcased as well, or as much, anymore... In my eyes anyway.

Movies

Think back to the late 80s and early-to-mid 90s and it was a real boom period for this genre: you had people like Cynthia Rothrock, Karen Shepherd and Kathy Long amongst others getting a push on the big screen. Real martial artists and quality fight scenes with little to no CGI and heavy editing like today's "Matrix" style fight scenes with over-the-top "stylized" scenes that doesn't resemble anything like realistic fighting.

Then, there is the psychological message.

Back in the day, you had tall, imposing women with strong stage presence like Bridget Nielsson in Red Sonja, Famke Janssen in "Model by Day" Marjean Holden, Cory Everson, Shannon Tweed, Lucy Lawless as Xena. Women presented as being strong who didn't need superpowers or genetic enhancement like most of todays stars do in order to kick a guy's ass.

Very few of today's female action characters seem to measure up to this standard in my opinion. Whether it's because she's genetically enhanced (Milla Jovovich in Resident Evil), posesses superpowers or is non-human (Kate Beckinsale in Underworld). TV series like Buffy, Dark Angel, Dollhouse, etc, follow a similar theme. Yes, the quantity of women kicking ass is still there, but the writers/creators usually can't do it without an un-natural reason behind it. Also, you have a lot of movies today, where the "fighting female" is clearly supposed to be interpreted as comedy.

Pro-wrestling

Like movies, 10-15 years ago, the women in the ring were more like their male counterparts. Larger than life characters with impressive physiques. I'm talking Chyna, Luna Vachon, Terri Power(Tori), Jacqueline, Jazz, Nicole Bass. Even the more "sexy" women like Sable, Trish Stratus, Lita, etc, could work. I don't really watch WWE much anymore, but Beth Phoenix and Mickie James were probably the last half decent wrestlers I can remember. Now the women hired just seem to be boney generic model types. It'd be like watching MMA and having the ring girls fight; what a waste.

On top of that, pro-wrestling seems to have fazed out intergender matches.

Video Games

What a crappy void the video game industry has left on this genre. This is compounded by thinking what great potential could be exploited. During the "16-bit" era (circa 88-94) you had so many great games with sexy, kick ass female characters like Chun Li in Street Fighter, Sonya Blade and others in Mortal Kombat, Blaze Fielding in Streets of Rage. Golden Axe, Pit-fighter, the list goes on. Now with advancements in graphics and technology, games makers seem to have virtually forgotten the action heroine. So you've got Tomb Raider and a couple of others. How awesome would it be to have a GTA game with a female character, or a good MMA/Boxing game. UFC and Fight Night franchises are pretty good, but feature no women.
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Old 24-Apr-13, 00:38
freestylefan freestylefan is offline
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Default Re: Is this a fading genre? (looking at movies, games, pro-wrestling)

Ah, for the good old days of yore!
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Old 24-Apr-13, 01:01
girlylegs girlylegs is offline
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Default Re: Is this a fading genre? (looking at movies, games, pro-wrestling)

Jessica Alba was pretty hot in those Dark angel pants
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Old 24-Apr-13, 01:11
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jiminy jiminy is offline
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Default Re: Is this a fading genre? (looking at movies, games, pro-wrestling)

Quote:
Originally Posted by freestylefan [Only Registered Users Can See LinksClick Here To Register]
Ah, for the good old days of yore!
It could just be a case of rose-tinted glasses, that's why I'm keen to find out how others feel.

Maybe you're all content with your "session" wrestling and all these head-scissoring/face-sitting websites that are out there today.
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Old 24-Apr-13, 04:13
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stymie stymie is offline
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Default Re: Is this a fading genre? (looking at movies, games, pro-wrestling)

I'd have to agree with you jiminy, even 10 years ago there was plenty of stuff on tv to record and watch, like Tia Carrere in Relic Hunter, shows like V.I.P., She-Spies, Queen of Blades, some kind of X-Men ripoff show, Acapulco Heat, Sheena, etc. They just don't make em like they used to But they internet has proven a worthy substitute, I even canceled my cable TV a few years ago, don't miss it at all
The CGI masters seem to have taken over a lot of the action genre and that is not something that I have a fetish for at all.

Pro-wrestling? I lost interest in that about 10 years ago. It just seemed to get more watered down, no more personalities like Madusa, Sheri. If I could put my finger on anything, it may be that Pro Wrestling became more storyline driven than personality driven. Guys like Heenan, Arn Anderson, etc. could work up a frenzy in a jiffy with their acts. I think the 'script' got too rigid, not enough freestyling, JMHO...

Video games? never been into them
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Old 24-Apr-13, 04:35
colton colton is offline
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Default Re: Is this a fading genre? (looking at movies, games, pro-wrestling)

Completely agree with you, especially on the pro wrestling aspect. I miss the days of Trish, Sable, Lita, Victoria and Molly Holly. I continue to watch wrestling, hoping that maybe one day the women will make a comeback and have more than the short 2 minute matches they now have. I feel WWE has had some talented women recently but thrown away a chance to revive the division. I am hoping however, that once she gets a call up to the main roster, that NXT's Paige can add some life to the division.
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Old 24-Apr-13, 06:55
Mixtor42 Mixtor42 is offline
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Default Re: Is this a fading genre? (looking at movies, games, pro-wrestling)

When I read the title, I was surprised as I don't see this as a dying genre at all, but rather the there's an abundance of the genre compared to when I grew up. After reading the reasoning I haven't changed my mind.

I was born in the 70s at the dawn of the action heroine boom. Led by Wonder Woman, The Bionic Woman, and Charlie's Angels these incarnations had a few moments of physical girl power, but the real focus of all of them was the Women's Liberation movement. Seeing Wonder Woman kick ass in her "satin tights" was great, but it was far too little to satisfy me and always accompanied by the focus on how the role of women was changing in society. By the 80s, with the video market available to B movie directors and some time having passed, there was less need of social statements by the strong women or the need to cater to the mass audience. Our crowd could be somewhat targeted, although still only generically targeted. But at least not all of the slim girl fighting scenes had to be played strictly for laughs. So the 80s were better than the 70s, IMHO.

The 90s brought to me the awareness of video companies such as Joan Wise and, more importantly, the internet. Suddenly, the distribution costs dropped to approximately zero and each of our particular tastes could and were directly catered to. Compared to the hunting through video stores and $70 VHS tapes and taping Wonder Woman episodes off of re-runs, we now had DVDs of entire runs of TV shows and usenet groups that had things that were never available without a torch, map, and a shovel.

Then it got better and better! By the Oughts, we had a plethora of mainstream shows with strong women everywhere! We had websites that catered to every desire you care to name and new material being produced all the time! High speed internet commonly available in the home made these videos financially possible to produce and distribute and see.

As far as I can see, our niche is just getting better and easier all the time. Sometimes we have a disappointment, such as the cancellation of the 2011 Wonder Woman, but what I see is that I was born into a world in which a kick ass girl would have to be heavily explained and justified and now live in a world where a show would have to specifically point out if the main heroine can't fight. It is expected that the leading lady can handle herself in a fight, if not overwhelm her opposition.

So...no. I don't see this as a fading genre. I see that some avenues that cater to our genre change their emphasis at times. But for every mixed match on WWE that doesn't happen, there's a fight on Kick Ass Kandy to compensate. We have banded together and paid our dollars and the price of producing and distributing our content has dropped enough to make it work. Those costs will only go down over time, making our niche even more accessible.

Bottom line, when a girl can go onto Conan and kick his and everyone else's ass just to show that she has those action chops - action chops that she is now supposed to have! - then we've already won.
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Old 24-Apr-13, 07:09
Tim k Tim k is offline
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Default Re: Is this a fading genre? (looking at movies, games, pro-wrestling)

Just to add, isn't Scarlet Johannsons "Black Widow" character just a natural trained ass kicker without any super powers?
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Old 24-Apr-13, 07:35
greene41 greene41 is offline
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Default Re: Is this a fading genre? (looking at movies, games, pro-wrestling)

Ha! I remember hiring a console and boxing game from the local video library in the late 90's, just so I could have the female fighters pound into the big heavyweight men. The simple pleasures.
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Old 24-Apr-13, 07:50
Tim k Tim k is offline
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Default Re: Is this a fading genre? (looking at movies, games, pro-wrestling)

Quote:
Originally Posted by greene41 [Only Registered Users Can See LinksClick Here To Register]
Ha! I remember hiring a console and boxing game from the local video library in the late 90's, just so I could have the female fighters pound into the big heavyweight men. The simple pleasures.
Yup or the fighting and wrestling games were you could create a character that resembled the female celeb you most wanted to get beat up by!
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