Movies That Did The 'Strong Female' Trope Right

Fargo

"She's not a supersleuth like on 'CSI' or 'Criminal Minds.' 'Fargo' is the original 'competence p*rn.'"

"Her relationship with Norm is one of my favorite parts of the movie. Her genuine joy when she finds out he got his duck on the stamp is incredible."

- afriendincanada

"A while back on Twitter, someone asked to name movies that feature a female protagonist who is competent at her job, in an established relationship with a man (the relationship does not start during the events of the film), and her partner does not criticize her work or encourage her to give up."

"The only movie people could name that fully satisfied these requirements was 'Fargo.'"

- Mr_Saturn1

The Silence of the Lambs

"There is so much Clarice had to deal with re men not taking her seriously all through the storyline. Then she figures it out with her bestie."

- ColorfulEgg

"Her bestie Hannibal Lecter."

- pawg730

"It's funny how in his own sick way he was supportive of her and believed in her. He's a monster but not a sexist. Then he somehow talks to that disgusting guy in the jail cell next to him that assaulted her into eating his own tongue."

"I also love the part at the end where they tell her that he escaped and ask if she wants to go into hiding and she says, 'I don't think he will come after me. He would consider it rude.'"

- ClutchReverie

"A major theme of the movie is identity, both self-identity and the identities that society tries to put on people. A sub-theme of that is 'contradictory identities within one person.'"

"For Clarice Starling, she was both a smart badass (recall how she was introduced) and also a little girl (again, the introduction). Hannibal Lecter is both an absolute brute (to the point of being less of a barbarian and more of a wild, rabid animal) but also a highly intelligent, educated, and even courteous modern-day renaissance man."

"I f**king love it. This is one of my favorite movies."

- jeffseadot

Terminator 2

"I love that Arnold has said that she’s the star of the movie, not him."

"Linda reached out to him to help her workout, apparently, so she could be a totally different Sarah Connor in the sequel."

"For that reason, watching those movies back to back is always a great experience! Her voice changes at the end of the first movie as she begins the most insane mission ever, but you can tell she’s just getting started."

"In 'Terminator 2,' she is such a bada**, but also mentally broken. It’s hard to make all of that believable in a single character, but Linda did it!"

- YossiTheWizard

"My favorite part of Linda’s performance is when she sees the Terminator step out of the elevator. Up until this point, she’s been established as a completely different person from who she was in the first film."

"She’s absolutely fearless, ruthless, and can adapt to any situation. Then, she literally sees her worst nightmare slowly walk off the elevator and turn to look at her."

"She falls helplessly to the floor, totally consumed by fear, and then immediately sprints back into the arms of the people who had been abusing her for years."

- thewoodlayer

Alien

"I love this meme about 'Alien.'"

"The writer: 'Sooooo, I have been writing reviews for about ten years. My wife's review of 'Alien' puts everything I have ever written to shame.'"

"The wife: 'Alien is a movie where nobody listens to the smart woman, and then they all die except for the smart woman and her cat. Four stars.'"

- Jmen4Ever

"Sigourney Weaver nailed it at every turn. Today's 'strong females' just don't induce suspension of disbelief for me. Weaver had me utterly convinced that every single thing she did was one hundred percent possible and logical."

- NickDanger3di

Jurassic Park

"Laura Dern in 'Jurassic Park.' Seeing a strong woman in science at such a young age had a profound impact on me, and I truly think it’s one of the reasons I am a scientist today."

- mmert482

"And Lex saved the day with her computer skills."

- RobinReddBreast

X-Files

"'X-Files.' I can't believe I haven't seen that yet. She was highly intelligent with a strong confidence that couldn't be beaten down by the sexists in the early seasons nor the crushing but invisible power of the Syndicate."

- andrewnormoux

"She’s always one of my first thoughts when someone asks this question. She’s smart and doesn’t let anyone make her feel less than them, and she knows who she is."

"She’s kind and patient with others but takes no bulls**t. She doesn’t let being in a boys’ club push her into trying to be 'one of the boys,' nor will she accept any misogyny."

"She’s dedicated to her job and to her partner. Between her and Mulder she’s actually the trigger-happy one!"

"She also of course influenced a lot of young girls to go into STEM fields (see 'The Scully Effect')."

- teddy_vedder

Lilo and Stitch

"Nani is the best female character Disney has ever written. She’s 19, also dealing with the grief of losing her parents, and she’s giving up her dreams and working so she can take care of her little sister. Proper strong."

- hearsesong

"One of the most heartbreaking details I read about the movie is how a corner of Nani’s room has a bunch of trophies, medals, and ribbons, all presumably for surfing. She was likely on her way to becoming a professional athlete when she gave all of that up to step up and take care of Lilo."

- RiceAlicorn

"Bruh, she was just 19, holding down an entire house, raising her little 'off-beat' sister, and then had CPS breathing down her back..."

- Zijoelocks

"That moment you realize there is a very real threat in that movie, and it is NOT the aliens."

- Nepetea33

The Addams Family

"Morticia: 'I'm just like any modern woman trying to have it all. Loving husband, a family. It's just, I wish I had more time to seek out the dark forces and join their hellish crusade.'"

- akaioi

"Morticia Addams (from the 1960s series) has been the love of my life since I was six."

- frank-sarno

The Long Kiss Goodnight

"The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996) with Geena Davis was great and doesn't seem to get much love."

- CazzaMcSpazza

"'You’re going to die screaming. Am I telling the truth?'"

"She was, in fact, telling the truth."

- KevSmileTime

Better Call Saul

"Not a movie but Kim Wexler in 'Better Call Saul.'"

- Smega-Spread

"I wish I could upvote this more. The Emmys did Rhea Seehorn wrong, her performance in the entire series was incredible."

- come-heroines

The Mummy

"Rachel Weisz playing Evie in 'The Mummy.'"

"'Take that, Bembridge Scholars!'"

- AmoebaGal

"Evelyn: 'Look, I... I may not be an explorer or an adventurer, or a treasure-seeker or a gunfighter, Mr. O'Connell, but I am proud of what I am.'"

"Rick: 'And what is that?'"

"Evelyn: 'I... am a librarian.'"

- Carefullyyellow

"This movie and this character was the first time I felt like I could relate to a female character in an action movie. I felt seen. She needs help but she’s not helpless."

"And she is the one who really kills the mummy in the end too. The only one who was educated and studied enough to read the correct passage from the book. Love that movie."

- ecstaticegg

Mulan

"One of my favorite things about Mulan is that she's not the hyper-masculine female lead who's just as good as the men at everything. She was a young woman in the army; no, she was not going to be as physically strong as the men."

"She saved China because she used her strengths to her advantage. I think that that's much more valuable to young girls than some emotionally dead, oversexualized character who has no visible flaws."

- lo_profundo

Legally Blonde

"I love this one because it's a great deconstruction of how more feminine interests and hobbies are perceived."

"A girl can be ultra feminine, be super into stuff like fashion and tiny dogs and carry herself in a certain way, and still be clearly intelligent and capable."

"Oh, and also because she has an actual character arc in the movie too. That's super important. It's not enough to write a character who is just good at stuff. That's easy. Making them a growing and evolving human in a believable way is the hard part."

- sylinmino

"Yesss. It's telling how many of the female characters listed in this thread are tomboyish fighters. People tend to think a strong female character is a woman who shed her femininity to kick some a**."

"This is why I love Elle. She actually reaches her full potential while actively embracing her hyper-femininity, and others are proven wrong for underestimating her due to that femininity."

"Even some of my favorites like 'Mean Girls' unfortunately fall into the trap of associating hyper-femininity with negative traits... I'm hoping the 'Barbie' movie follows in 'Legally Blonde''s footsteps on this front."

- twoshotsofoosquai

Arrival

"Oh man, this movie is so good. I still catch myself thinking about it often. Totally mind-blowing."

- missilefire

Stargate SGI

"Not a movie but... Samantha Carter from 'Stargate SG1.'"

"She's an a**-kicking brainiac super scientist lady who was also kinda goofy at times and still very much in touch with her feminine side."

"What I like the most about her is that not only is she utterly indispensable to the team, but she doesn't overshadow any of the other team members, she never lords over others unless they're being a d**k to her first and in general, is a good person."

"She kicks a**, can take a joke and crack one too."

"What I really liked with her is that they made sure she wasn't the overall brainiac, she was the scientist, the tech guru, and she knew how things worked. But Daniel Jackson was the history/language/culture guy and they often had them working together with Daniel reading the instructions to tech written in alien languages while Sam did the reprogramming."

"She had one 'modern strong female character' moment in episode one, but apparently Amanda Tapping hated that line and they never made her say cringy s**t like that again. She wanted the character to not stand apart from the team because of her gender or have others act like 1980s movie sexist bullies towards her."

"She wanted her character to be a fully realized part of the team and for other characters to act like professional adults around her (except when they were under the influence of mind control but that didn't make them sexist)."

"Cannot recommend her enough."

- FlapJackMicky

While a lot of work still needs to be done to ensure that women receive he representation they deserve across the entertainment industry, it's wonderful to see such a long list of films, ranging from the '80s all the way up to being released this summer.