12 Arts

The Rise of the Female

Action Hero

Laura Mooney
Arts Editor
Ace heroes have been the
prominent protagonists in films
since before many of us were born.
From Steve McQueen to Bruce Willis,
the action hero has been saving lives
and kicking butt since the early part
of the century. But when one thinks of
an action hero, what is the image that
first pops info your head? Typically it is
a strong, overly muscled, independent,
burly man who swoops in to save the
world. Whether it is from terrorists, or
even aliens, the action hero always
wins his battles and always gets the
swooning girl before the credits role.
Although this particular description of
an action hero is very archaic and
was the general archetype for action
heroes during the 7Os, 80s, and 90s,
as the years went by the action hero
slowly developed into a character
with more substance, eventually the
action hero even took on a whole
ditferent gender. Action heroes have
always typically been male, with
many mediums featuring main female
characters, but never having them
as the lead in the story. However, in
order to target the untapped market
of young girls looking for a female
action hero role model, novels and
films began to expand and develop
action heroes that were female.
These female action heroes were fully
capable of protecting themselves,
were independent, not focused on
love, and most importantly, were self
assured and provided a character to
which girls could look up to. One can
take a look at the top three female
action heroes that have recently been
featured in young adult novels, and
what exactly makes them not only
great action heroes, but also great role
models for girls around the world.

1) Katniss Everdeen - Probably the
most recognized female action

hero is The Hunger Games Katniss
Everdeen. Since the beginning, Katniss
has presented herself as a strong,
independent, and confident young

girl who has overcome adversity and
rose up in dire situations. With her
amazing archery skills and proficiency
for hunting, Katniss not only shows
that she has the fighting skills that
make her an excellent action hero, but
also provides young girls who love to
hunt someone to look up to. Katniss

also chooses to rise up in the face

of adversity after her father is killed

in an accident. Although she comes
from the poorest area of the country
and the odds for her family’s survival
without a patriarchal figurehead

are very slim, Katniss shows her
resourcefulness and her own personal
feeling of responsibility by taking it
upon herself to keep her family alive.
Judging by the usual woman's role

in past action movies, Katniss would
have been expected to give up hope
and not do much to help until perhaps
her mother remarried. Katniss shows
just how much of an action hero she
really is by saving not only her family's
lives, but by also aiding many of her
other neighbours. As well, while most
other females in novels and films are
generally focused on a romantic
interest of some sort, Katniss chooses
to focus on the tasks at hand and not
worry about relationships. For the most
part, Katniss is oblivious to the male
attention she receives, with more than
one boy in the novels fawning over
her. But even when she does finally
accept that boys do have feelings for
her, Katniss knows that she must not
give in to such things, and focuses on
the wellness of her family. This shows
that like the classic action hero, Katniss
is an independent person who would
enjoy a romantic relationship, but does
not make it her first priority. By using
Katniss as a role model, young girls
everywhere could see that you do not
need to be with someone in order

to be happy. It is because of these
reasons that Katniss Everdeen is one
of the top, upcoming female action
heroes and role models.

2) Beatrice Prior - Perhaps one of

the best female action hero novels
released in the past five years,
Veronica Roth's Divergent introduced
the world to a young action hero who
was fiercely independent like never
before seen in young adult novels.

The story follows Beatrice Prior as she
navigates through a dystopian world
where young children are forced to
choose between multiple factions

all specializing in a certain way of
thinking, such as favouring bravery

or intelligence. Essentially, this is the
practice of children choosing what
they want to be when they grow
up,;but they do not always choose the
same faction that their families have

chosen, thus having to leave their
families forever. Beatrice shows her

action hero roots as she goes against
her conservative family’s wishes and
chooses the most dangerous faction
of them all. Beatrice's independence
and willingness to do what she knows
is right for her is a true definition of an
action hero, and shows that sometimes
you must do what is good for you
despite what others may think. Once
into her chosen faction, Beatrice
overcomes insane obstacles such as
the initiation challenges, dealing with
bullies, being a minority, and even a
sadistic instructor determined to start a
revolution. Throughout every challenge
presented to her, Beatrice handles
them with poise and determination not
common fo many other female literary
characters. She shows readers that
sometimes you must face your fears
and persevere through a situation in
which you are not quite sure what

do. In the end, Beatrice provides a
solid role model for young women
everywhere and shows that she is
one upcoming action hero to keep a
lookout for.

3) Tally Youngblood - Although the
novel by Scott Westfield called Uglies
was released back in 2005, Tally
Youngblood still remains one of the top
female action heroes in young adult
fiction to this day. Uglies is the story of
a world where once a young person
has turned 16, they are subjected to
complete cosmetic surgery in order to
make them “pretty.” Tally watches as
many of her friends go through the
transformation but is always unsure
about it, until one day an opportunity
to run away from the city and not
have to undergo the surgery is
presented to her. The story follows Tally
as she adjusts to her life outside of the
city and the repercussions that come
with disobeying the government. The
story also touches on the major issue of
accepting who you are inside and out.

Tally provides the perfect role model
for young teens that are questioning
their own appearances and feeling as
though conformity to a certain way of
looking is becoming more prominent

in their own society. By running away,
Tally shows that she is a true action
hero because she refuses to be
another statistic, and instead chooses
to leave the pack and be her own
person, even if it means being different
and getting in trouble with the law. Just
as any action hero, Tally also proves
to be a fearless leader and eventually
leads a rebellion against those who
have repressed and controlled society
for so long. Similar with the other
female heroes mentioned, Tally also
chooses not to place her focus on
romantic relationships. Although she
does fall in love, she knows that the
rebellion and standing up for what is
right must come first. So even though
Uglies may not be as well read as
The Hunger Games or Divergent, the
character of Tally still stands up to the
best female action heroes around,

all while providing one of the best
messages ever delivered in a young
adult novel.

Although there are countless other
excellent female action heroes and
role models out there for young

teens, these three have been in the
spotlight and have become more
recognizable than anyone else

before. The encouraging thing is that
this trend of female action heroes
looks as though it will not be slowing
down anytime soon. With The Hunger
Games releasing its final two movies in
the next couple years, and Divergent
having just released its final book with
a movie soon to follow, female action
heroes look as though they are here to
stay and will continue fo provide some
diversity to the action genre, as well as
providing someone whom people can
emulate.