Blogathon: The Ten Most Iconic Female Movie Characters


What makes a character iconic? That question rests at the center of this new series created by Wendell Ottley from Dell on Movies. It could relate to their importance to movies or just their role within a classic film. When you're talking about female characters, does the choice need to be someone who destroyed the boundaries of what audiences expected? There are some obvious choices that are hard to reject, but sticking with those feels too easy. The limited number makes it impossible to list them all, so it really comes down to personal preference. My pick comes from a movie that I love that deserves even more attention. Before I get to the pick, here's a summary from Wendell of how the relay race works:

A list of 10 iconic female movie characters has been made. That list will be assigned to another blogger who can then change it by removing one character (describing why they think she should not be on the list) and replacing it with another one (also with motivation) and hand over the baton to another blogger. Once assigned, that blogger will have to put his/her post up within a week. If this is not the case the blogger who assigned it has to reassign it to another blogger. After you have posted your update leave the link in the comments below and I will make sure it gets added to the overview post.

These fine bloggers have participated thus far:

Wendell at Dell on Movies
Nostra at My Filmviews
Jaina at Time Well Spent
Ruth at FlixChatter
Eric at The Warning Sign

Eric passed me quite a group of iconic female characters:

Ellen Ripley in Aliens

Ellen Ripley

Princess Leia in Star Wars

Princess Leia

Dorothy Gale in The Wizard of Oz

Dorothy Gale

Marge Gunderson in Fargo

Marge Gunderson

Sarah Connor in Terminator 2: Judgment Day

Sarah Connor

Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany's

Holly Golightly

Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind

Scarlett O'Hara

Lisbeth Salander

Lisbeth Salander

The Bride in Kill Bill

The Bride

Who Have I Removed?

Mrs. Robinson in The Graduate

Mrs. Robinson
This wasn't an easy choice to make. I considered removing Holly Golightly because I'm not a big fan of Breakfast at Tiffany's. However, that role seems to fit with this list. I also wonder about Lisbeth Salander, but I've only seen the American version. This sent me to Mrs. Robinson, who is well-known but differs from the others in my mind. She plays a key role in the movie, yet she'd never spring to mind as an iconic figure beyond her pop-culture significance. This place isn't enough from my perspective.

Who I'm Adding:


Jackie Brown
Before I even looked at the current list, my first idea was adding Jackie Brown. Pam Grier brought such a clear mix of excitement and world-weariness to the title role in my favorite Quentin Tarantino film. She expands on the character that Elmore Leonard created and fits perfectly in this world of double crosses. Tarantino's writing created the part, but it was Grier that took it to another level. She's the smartest person in the room yet is constantly underestimated by everyone she meets.

I'm passing the baton to Martin Teller at Martin Teller's Movie Reviews. Take it away, Martin!

Comments

  1. Jackie Brown... hell yeah! Now that is a great woman character and certainly one of QT's greatest characters.

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    1. I think it's QT's best film, and I'm fan of most of his movies. I hope she sticks around on the list.

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  2. Yay, Pam Grier is back! I had her as Foxy on the initial list, but won't argue Jackie, at all. Thanks for keeping it going.

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    1. Sorry that it took me so long. I thought of Jackie Brown right away and then found it funny that Pam Grier had been on there already as Foxy.

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  3. I really, REALLY need to see Jackie Brown.

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    1. Yes you do! It's more of a slow burn than some of QT's other films, but it really pays off by the end. It has more heart too.

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  4. Thanks for passing this on to me! I strongly agree with both of your choices, very nice! My entry here: http://martinteller.wordpress.com/2014/08/28/blogathon-the-ten-most-iconic-female-movie-characters/

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    1. Nice work with your post, Martin. That was quick! You did a nice job explaining what you were thinking to get to the pick.

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  5. Wow, what a tough thing to do! I can think of plenty of characters to add (many of them cited by Martin in his excellent continuation), but very few to remove! I think Lisbeth would easily be my first choice to take off, no matter how much I do like her as a character, and I do, but I'd have like 10-15 to choose between to replace her with! Nice job to those who have taken this on.

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    1. It's not easy; that's for sure. I kept Lisbeth because I haven't seen the original Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, but that seems like a good candidate to remove on reputation.

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  6. Ohh, great call on Jackie Brown. Really glad to see Pam Grier back on the list, too. I felt so bad removing Foxy Brown.

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    1. It's a tough call to take one out. There were a few that weren't as exciting for me, but I could see why people call them iconic. There were also a lot of great options.

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