This link goes straight to one particular post, under the username darthtuttle. The text says:
"I'm going to have to play the mythology card. Mythology is also strongly male. Joseph campbell talks about the hero as a male and mentions the meeting with the goddess. There are a few female protagonists. Now look at modern film. We have Mulan. No romance. The hunger games was good. I did not like it as much as anything with a male lead. Many people debate THG I don't know how gender difference in THG's fan base. Harry Potter has predominantly female fans, even though there is a male protagonist. It is possible to not isolate SW's male fan base. The feminine character is supposed to bring some type of balance. In the original plans, luke's sister (not Leia) was supposed to do that in the ST. I would like to see a male and female, both equally protagonists who use gender to bring balance to the Force and the newly created Jedi Order."
- Joseph Campbell wrote a book about the narrative structure and formula of mythology. The book is called The Hero with a Thousand Faces. The structure and formula is called the monomyth or hero's journey. Anyone who wants to create a story of any medium should read it.
- In his, book Campbell talks about the hero as a male. Most of the protagonists in mythology are male. In the same light, most modern film protagonists are male.
- There is a stage of the hero's journey called the meeting with the goddess. This comes up as the male protagonist having a close relationship with a female. This does not have to be a love interest. For Skywalker, it is his sister. For the Doctor, it is his current companion. He's traveled with other guys, but he always has at least one female companion. Even in a kid's story, a boy will often have a girl as a best friend.
- The goddess acts as a balance to the male protagonist. I like to call the goddess the feminine balance.
- The strong number of strong central male characters is fascinating. Clearly studios want to market to both genders. The population is about half male and half female. Yet different types of films appeal to different genders. Fantasy and science fiction often appeals mostly to males.
- If you look up feminist views on The Hunger Games, you will get conflicting interpretations of the series. The point here is to not provide an interpretation. I don't know the gender ratio of THG's fan base. It is written by a woman. What is fascinating is that Harry Potter, written by a female, has a male protagonist and has a mostly female following. In fact, while in college, I joined the Harry Potter club to meet girls. The publishers of Harry Potter published the books using the author's initial because they were afraid that guys would not buy a book written by a woman.
- Just as a heads up, the website empireonline.com actually measures audience enthusiasm for an upcoming film. It's not scientific but it's the best we've got. The website has an individual page for all of the upcoming films. Each page for an upcoming film has a poll asking about excitement towards an upcoming film. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire has less enthusiasm than The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug and The Wolverine.
Here is the point. Disney cannot upset the male fan base in Star Wars when they release Episode VII. Is it possible to have a female protagonist and be appealing to the male fan base? Possibly. Harry Potter proves that a franchise can appeal mainly to the gender opposite of its protagonist.
Someone wondered what I meant by "use gender" to bring balance to the force. It's all in the post following mine. He wonders why a female character cannot be a female character. The problem is that gender plays a role in narrative because of how gender reflect our desire for God.
The Bible says that God created man and woman in his image. Both genders represent different traits of God. Look at men, we are protectors and providers. We are the mentors.
Look at woman. Women are caring and nurturing. They give life and comfort us. God is actually both feminine and masculine. We just call Him a "he" because we have to use something other than "it".
When you have one gender, God is not fully represented. Both genders together fully represent God. This is how marriage works. You don't have to be a Christian to know that marriage is something special that should last forever. A child needs both a mom and a dad. This desire comes up in the movie The Parent Trap, which by the way was based on a German book called Das Doppelte Lotchen by Erich Kästner. It also shows up a good bit in the show Parenthood. As much as everyone on that show makes stupid, immoral decision in that show, the show does acknowledge the need for both parents.
As a single guy, I like the book In Search of a Help Meet by Michael Pearl. It acknowledges and validates a guy's desire for a wife. The author talks about how he did not feel complete without a wife. This is my feelings at times. A female is that image of God that I need in my life and it's not there.
This is why hard part about lonesome heroes. Batman gave up Catwoman in the comic book Hush. The Doctor doesn't keep his companions for very long. Rose Tyler leaving Doctor Who was one of the saddest moment in the history of television.
The point is this, gender in film is a big deal. This is because God created male and female with certain roles. The idea of traits and roles assigned to each gender shows up in narrative. George Lucas was planning the Star Wars sequels as early as the seventies. The original plan in the sequel trilogy was for Luke to find and train his sister. The sequel trilogy was canned and Lucas had Leia be Luke's sister. In an early draft to the Star Wars screen play, the protagonist was a female. Could we get a female protagonist in the sequel trilogy? Possibly, there should be an equal male protagonist. Together, they bring balance to the force, using the traits of their gender.
Since we are talking about women in film, here is a little surprise. It's a two part youtube video that those of you who grew up in the nineties might enjoy. Warning, it is sad, so you will need tissues. Here it is.
In Christ,
James Tuttle
Someone wondered what I meant by "use gender" to bring balance to the force. It's all in the post following mine. He wonders why a female character cannot be a female character. The problem is that gender plays a role in narrative because of how gender reflect our desire for God.
The Bible says that God created man and woman in his image. Both genders represent different traits of God. Look at men, we are protectors and providers. We are the mentors.
Look at woman. Women are caring and nurturing. They give life and comfort us. God is actually both feminine and masculine. We just call Him a "he" because we have to use something other than "it".
When you have one gender, God is not fully represented. Both genders together fully represent God. This is how marriage works. You don't have to be a Christian to know that marriage is something special that should last forever. A child needs both a mom and a dad. This desire comes up in the movie The Parent Trap, which by the way was based on a German book called Das Doppelte Lotchen by Erich Kästner. It also shows up a good bit in the show Parenthood. As much as everyone on that show makes stupid, immoral decision in that show, the show does acknowledge the need for both parents.
As a single guy, I like the book In Search of a Help Meet by Michael Pearl. It acknowledges and validates a guy's desire for a wife. The author talks about how he did not feel complete without a wife. This is my feelings at times. A female is that image of God that I need in my life and it's not there.
This is why hard part about lonesome heroes. Batman gave up Catwoman in the comic book Hush. The Doctor doesn't keep his companions for very long. Rose Tyler leaving Doctor Who was one of the saddest moment in the history of television.
The point is this, gender in film is a big deal. This is because God created male and female with certain roles. The idea of traits and roles assigned to each gender shows up in narrative. George Lucas was planning the Star Wars sequels as early as the seventies. The original plan in the sequel trilogy was for Luke to find and train his sister. The sequel trilogy was canned and Lucas had Leia be Luke's sister. In an early draft to the Star Wars screen play, the protagonist was a female. Could we get a female protagonist in the sequel trilogy? Possibly, there should be an equal male protagonist. Together, they bring balance to the force, using the traits of their gender.
Since we are talking about women in film, here is a little surprise. It's a two part youtube video that those of you who grew up in the nineties might enjoy. Warning, it is sad, so you will need tissues. Here it is.
In Christ,
James Tuttle
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