As if any were needed. . . . While women in other countries are getting stoned to death, tortured to death, or wiped out before birth, we whine that there aren't enough female characters in Pixar movies.

(Image © Pixar)

Comments

[Jason Taylor]

That is slightly unfair anyway. Some writters can't do female characters easily. At least I can't. Which is a disadvantage for my "song of hope" blog as much of it is in neutral Istanbul during the war and having no female characters is kind of like Casablanca without Ingrid Bergman. I do cultural detail better, and historical trivia still better.

In any case the lack of female characters may simply be an artist recognizing his limitations and putting his best foot forward. At least that is a charitable way of looking at it.

[Dan Gill]

You know what else is ridiculous about this? It's wrong! Jessie was a major character in "Toy Story 2". Dory was a major character in "Finding Nemo." She is the one who actually finds Nemo! Elastigirl was perhaps the major hero of "The Incredibles." Violet's power was not just invisibility, it was her force field. The point was that ALL of the family was needed to defeat evil. Sally Carrera in "Cars" was the one who turned Lightning around and showed him the beauty of Radiator Springs. Far more than a supporting character. By the way, could it possibly be that the major characters in "Cars", the racers were male because the major drivers in NASCAR are male? Eve rescues Wall-E! She's not just a love interest. She's integral to the story. Without Eve, there is no story.

This kind of thinking is self-fulfilling prophecy. Foolishness indeed.

[Steve (SBK)]

I tend to agree Dan.
Criticism is easiest for the Languorous.
(*cough*)

[Jason Taylor]

In any case, how in the world does one right if one must have a quota system on one's characters? And how does one do a war story just to start with? Wouldn't that often require at least some risk of being accused of descrimination against the Designated Enemy? How does one do a Mystery when there is always a risk of "discriminating" against the class from which the murderer belongs. Are we to have a Butler's Protest Group(actually butlers seldom do it, but you get the point).

[Jason Taylor]

Zulu and Midway of course regarded the enemy as Worthy Foes, and so might be defended from the charge of discrimination. However I have read Lawrence of Arabia called "anti-turk" in an Amazon customer review(er, yeah, destroying the Ottoman Empire is a rather anti-Turkish thing to do). Casablanca certainly discriminates against Italians(sorry Gina), and of course, Germans. Not to mention Vichyites. I'm shocked, shocked to find anti-Vichyite prejudice in Casablanca!

[Kim Moreland]

As usual, some people have very small and unimaginative minds, and the lady (zealous feminist) who complained is one of them.

I thought the female characters strong, hip, and spot on--I only wish I had ray-guns and force field powers to keep the boogeymen away. Also, I loved the fact that Dorey didn't take herself to seriously and liked to have FUN, FUN, FUN.

[Steve (SBK)]

On the other hand, can we at least be happy when a female character is the main character?

No:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/monkeysee/2009/06/dear_pixar_from_all_the_girls.html

[LeeQuod]

Kim wrote: "I only wish I had ray-guns and force field powers to keep the boogeymen away."

Pshaw - you've never "zapped" someone, or "thrown up a wall" in front of them, via your skill with words? Why, every time I make a smart-aleck remark at The Point, on anyone's post, I'm thinking "What rock could I hide behind, quivering, like WALL-E?" 'Cuz I might just catch someone on a bad day, rare though that must be for Pointers! ;-) So I think you have more power than you know, Kim.

And speaking of WALL-E, I was thunderstruck to realize that I'd missed its anti-abortion message. (This came via considering SBK's remark and pondering the extreme feminist position that wants women to be anything but wives and mothers. If I wanted to create a really long comment here, I'd reflect on the link SBK gave, and ponder that "Sarah" means "princess", but was also the name of Abraham's barren-for-a-long-time wife. And then I'd link that to the plot of "Up". But I'll need to leave that as an exercise for the reader.) But the idea of protecting a tender, fragile young life from those who would throw it into the trash is both clearly expressed, and powerfully used in the film.

Me, I haven't thought about women the same way since I looked up the derivation of the name "El Shaddai" and then saw video of a grizzly protecting her cubs.