Linking to a past Trope Repair Shop thread that dealt with this page: Redirect Farming
, started by SeanMurrayI on Jan 30th 2011 at 2:21:38 PM
I removed the references to the Vasquez being competent and the more feminine character being less so because it didn't really seem to fit. For one thing as the trope notes the more feminine character is frequently a secret agent or something and thus more skilled than the Vasquez, even as a fighter. for another being 'competent' suggests being more than simply being able to fight. To go with the trope namer Ripley is more competent than Vasquez in a survival situation - she might not be as good a combatant but she's smarter, more experienced (with this particular threat) and has more leadership ability.
Deleted this entry. Reason as added -
- In Prometheus, the tough military commander played by Charlize Theron dies while the scientist character lives.
- She was a business executive, not a military commander. She wasn't an Action Girl either. The only physical thing we see her do is pushups.
rosebud64
I can't believe it. If the girl doesn't die, then its Men Are the Expendable Gender. If she does die, then she's this trope. Can screenwriters ever win?
Tropes which apply to rosebud64: Expy: In the movie Im making, the Backyard kids are portrayed acting like famous rock musicians. Hide / Show Replies
Well, this isn't about just any female character dying. This is for when a cast of characters features a sort of Tomboy and Girly Girl scenario, and the one who always always bites it is the Tomboy, be it that she's just a little rougher or a flat-out Butch Lesbian. A screenwriter can win, if they let The Chick die instead, and not just Disposable Woman or Stuffed into the Fridge, but a female character making a Heroic Sacrifice.
Screenwriters can "win" by doing one of the following:
-have multiple badass women of lower-than average femininity, and kill one of them -make the badass woman the Final Girl, and no other women on the set (to avoid Real Women Never Wear Dresses)
This trope exists largely because female combatants are treated more as tokens than important characters.
Is it because authors don't like her, or because she's the female equivalent of a gung-ho action guy, who's all brawn and no brain?
Dread Sorcerer of Auchtermuchty
We had a discussion about this going. I was going to say it needs a rename at least. Now it looks like some people want it cut. Are we continuing here or in the forums?
Keeper of The Celestial Flame Hide / Show Replies
This trope can be cut when it ceases to be true. It's not about gender roles or 'ax-grinding feminist critique.' the fact that this trope can be used to accurately predict plots means it has a place, regardless of any implications some might feel exist.
I mean c'mon, five seconds after [i]she[i] shows up in Avatar we knew her fate.
Of course reviewing the entries to make sure they belong here would not be amiss
Would you like to know more?
Previous TRS
TRS Queue | Works That Require Cleanup of Complaining | Troper Wall