The emergence and evolution of the strong "action" female character

Films have evolved over the past decades, portraying women as strong characters, therefore
allowing them to be seen as something other than victims and helpless. This also shows their
independence.

The character Ellen Ripley, played by Sigourney Weaver in Alien underwent a massive
development. At the start of the ‘Aliens’ series, Ripley had a fear of the alien creature.
Throughout the film, she is confronted by her fears. She saves lives and manages to kill an alien
by running it over. Not only does she kill off several aliens, but she confronts the queen alien and
even has a wrestling match. Throughout the series, we see her manual and labour skills making
her useful and becoming the leader of the Marines.

Her development started off as a victim and helpless. However, she encountered various
challenges which made her strong physically and mentally. The fact that she ended up as the
leader of the Marines is a big achievement as this is expected to be a male role, therefore her
character went against the gender stereotypes, showing women are capable of such high demand
roles.

Sarah Connor’s development (Linda Hamilton) in the Terminator 2:Judgement Day is seen to be a
miraculous change. In the first film, she is represented as a young woman who likes to have fun
and is also very caring, this is portrayed in her manner whilst working in the diner. She is seen to
be the victim in the film as she is targeted by the Terminator. Though she does not have any
children in the first film, she is expected to be the kind of person who would be a good mother,
with a calm nature. She is seen being held in the arms of her lover, seeking comfort.

By the second film, she loses her femininity. She is smoking, a disgusting habit which is typically
associated with males, especially in TV and film. She is also seen as more built as she has
definitely been working out while she is in a state hospital. She is seen as a terrible mother to her
son John Connor. And she seems much stronger mentally and physically to take on her enemies.
She is also handling weapons such as guns and knives. She would not have been seen with these
in the first film as she was very timid in the first installment. She proves she can take on the
villains by herself and does not need anyone, therefore showing her independence.