Hi all!
Reading the discussion on The Walking Dead got me thinking about an old topic we used to discuss when dissecting SGU. That topic is the depiction of women in Science Fiction TV. Some thoughts that have come to mind:
Like SGU, The Walking Dead defines its women characters by their romantic relationships. SGU did this really bad – Chloe only really existed to be Scott’s paramour. Likewise TJ was defined by her affair with Young and what little definition Wray had stemmed from her being a lesbian. None of them seemed to really exist as independent women in their own right.
On Walking Dead we see the same thing. Lori has only really been defined as a character in terms of her being Rick’s wife and/or Shane’s paramour. Maggie again is basically there to give Glenn a girlfriend as is Andrea for Shane.
To me, this is degrading to the characters. This is not to say romantic relationships aren’t important in people’s lives – in fact that relationship with the husband/wife/significant other can be the most important one a person has. But when you define characters in a script by those relationships they wind up having no depth - no real character qualities.
Now let’s contrast these shows with another Science Fiction TV show with women characters – Star Trek Voyager.
On Voyager, none of the women are defined by their romantic relationships and all are strong, independent people in their own right. Even Seven of Nine (whose catsuit is clearly eye candy) is a strongly written character and a very well done example of an “outsider” character that allows the viewer to see other characters from new angles. B’elanna is also well written with her inner conflicts that drive her and a mildly sarcastic personality that works well for the actress (Roxanne Dawson). And Janeway was superb (thank God they did not go with Genevieve Bujold like they were originally going to). Kate Mulgrew’s performance hit all the right keys and the character was complex (for example the lingering guilt over her decisions in the premiere) while still being every inch the Captain. She is my favorite Star Trek captain.
In fact, one can do a little thought exercise that shows this. For each of the SGU , Walking Dead and Voyager women characters, describe them so that someone else would be able to recognize them without mentioning their job title, physical characteristics or their romantic relationships/proclivities. For the Voyager women they all can be so described. For the SGU/TWD women one comes up blank.
Just my thinking out loud.
Reading the discussion on The Walking Dead got me thinking about an old topic we used to discuss when dissecting SGU. That topic is the depiction of women in Science Fiction TV. Some thoughts that have come to mind:
Like SGU, The Walking Dead defines its women characters by their romantic relationships. SGU did this really bad – Chloe only really existed to be Scott’s paramour. Likewise TJ was defined by her affair with Young and what little definition Wray had stemmed from her being a lesbian. None of them seemed to really exist as independent women in their own right.
On Walking Dead we see the same thing. Lori has only really been defined as a character in terms of her being Rick’s wife and/or Shane’s paramour. Maggie again is basically there to give Glenn a girlfriend as is Andrea for Shane.
To me, this is degrading to the characters. This is not to say romantic relationships aren’t important in people’s lives – in fact that relationship with the husband/wife/significant other can be the most important one a person has. But when you define characters in a script by those relationships they wind up having no depth - no real character qualities.
Now let’s contrast these shows with another Science Fiction TV show with women characters – Star Trek Voyager.
On Voyager, none of the women are defined by their romantic relationships and all are strong, independent people in their own right. Even Seven of Nine (whose catsuit is clearly eye candy) is a strongly written character and a very well done example of an “outsider” character that allows the viewer to see other characters from new angles. B’elanna is also well written with her inner conflicts that drive her and a mildly sarcastic personality that works well for the actress (Roxanne Dawson). And Janeway was superb (thank God they did not go with Genevieve Bujold like they were originally going to). Kate Mulgrew’s performance hit all the right keys and the character was complex (for example the lingering guilt over her decisions in the premiere) while still being every inch the Captain. She is my favorite Star Trek captain.
In fact, one can do a little thought exercise that shows this. For each of the SGU , Walking Dead and Voyager women characters, describe them so that someone else would be able to recognize them without mentioning their job title, physical characteristics or their romantic relationships/proclivities. For the Voyager women they all can be so described. For the SGU/TWD women one comes up blank.
Just my thinking out loud.