by Keith Worth

Created on: August 11, 2008   Last Updated: December 31, 2010

Move over men, the woman shall inherit the Earth. Nature has taught us to fear not the regal lion, but the deadly grace of the lioness.  Better late than never, movies have begun to reflect what the food chain has long known: you don’t mess with Mama. When exploring the wilderness one never is afraid of stumbling upon a bear cub and its father, the emphasis of the threat is always with the female.

 Speaking of Wild Things, in the movie of the same name: Neve Campbell, as Suzie Tolier, teaches us that karma definitely has a feminine side. From the start of the movie Suzie appears to be the chronic helpless victim, having been wronged and abused by Kevin Bacon (as Ray Dugette) and Matt Dillon (playing Sam Lombardo). Through genius level manipulation and ruthless determination, Suzie serves the men their just desserts, ultimately killing both and even profiting handsomely from the deception. The success of the double X chromosome conquering the XY led to several sequels in which the women continued to overcome past wrongs and be rewarded for pursuing vengeance.

 The male domination of the screen is shrinking rapidly, whereas most of the prominent heroes and villains used to be actors; we now have actresses rising above their roles as damsels to assume the mantle of heroine and villainess. Cult classics such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer feature a single female dishing out servings of annihilation even when outnumbered by the male cast. The ultimate tale of female revenge, the two Kill Bill movies, have considerably more females in  major roles than men. What’s more, it is the female co-stars of Daryl Hannah and Lucy Liu that offer Uma Thurman’s character much more of a challenge than the main antagonist, the late David Carradine. Proofs of the true status quo beginning to seep into the movie scene, the males of the movie are easily dismissed by Uma while the true challenge is woman on woman action.

 Two decades ago the movie theatre was a shrine to the Popeyes leaping to the rescue of their weeping Olive Oils. For every Dorothy, there had to be an Oz and team of male escorts. Even Charlie’s Angels had male support and took orders from a man. The scene is shifting now, as more females get painted into stronger roles and men begin to be overshadowed. Off screen and on, women have fought hard to gain the spotlight and they are succeeding. Where once every woman was told they needed their personal Hercules to save the day, we are now finding an emergence of Xena's rising to kick butt.

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