Movie Characters Becoming More Inspiring For Girls

I once saw a bumper sticker that read, “Feminism is the novel idea that a woman is a person.” Hollywood seems to have decided to recognize this as well by recently releasing several female-oriented movies.

As we begin to recover from this summer’s onslaught of films, I’ve been able to reflect on the surprising number of “chick flicks” produced. “Pocahontas” may not have ruled like “The Lion King,” but at least it gave the girl something to sing about: independence and hope.

Teen-age girls have been the stars of this summer’s “Casper,” “A Little Princess,” “Clueless,” “The Baby-Sitters Club” and the upcoming “Golddiggers.” I’m excited and relieved that girls finally have a few of their own “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” films to look forward to.

Granted, this summer’s girl movies didn’t revolutionize the film industry, but at least the trend of ignoring girls completely is slowly turning around. Last year’s “Little Women,” featuring a nearly all-female cast, brought in a healthy profit, and the cute “My Father the Hero” didn’t do too badly either.

“Clueless,” starring the popular Alicia Silverstone, has earned approximately $40 million to date. This shows the possibilities in making money with a female star.

Disney, especially, has been gradually transforming its heroines from the dainty Snow White into the fiercely independent Belle in “Beauty and the Beast.” Now, with “Pocahontas,” the heroine is taking the upper hand and leading John Smith around the countryside to change his ideas about nature.

Finally, girls are being offered heroines they can admire, modern women that represent an independence that Hollywood has tended to ignore in the past. With stars such as Anna Chlumsky (“My Girl,” “Golddiggers”) getting the spotlight, and films like “A Little Princess,” with its young female cast, girls are given the chance to watch films that they can relate to their own lives.

If Hollywood can continue to produce such powerful movies with young female stars that appeal to the masses, a host of girls may be inspired, like me, to make their own imprint on the industry.

xxxx