[In Eng.] Clemency is required toward female characters… (« Clemency »)

Intelligent, bold, honest, brave, strong, independent….That’s what inspires women all over the world and not the representation of stereotypes which has been used over and over…Women have minds and have souls, and deserve more than female roles in romantic movies or just play the beautiful and sexy girl in action movies. There are some powerful female roles that can inspire women and men and break the stereotypes.

Kay Graham (played by Meryl Streep in “Pentagon Papers”)
In 1971, Kay Graham, the director of the New York Times, is faced with a huge dilemma: publish or not the secret documents which reveal that the American government lied to people in the Vietnam war…A difficult choice to make for this woman who doesn’t know what to do between saving her paper or revealing the truth to people. A huge role for Meryl Streep in playing a woman who truly existed.

Coco Chanel (played by Audrey Tautou “Coco before Chanel”)
Known by everybody for her creation and her French designer house “Chanel”, Coco Chanel is first of all a woman who fought for her liberty and her independence in the 20’s. She created alone an empire which is still going strong today. The movie “Coco before Chanel”, recounts the life of Coco (played by Audrey Tautou) and her transformation in one of the most iconic French women.

Miranda Priestly (played by Meryl Streep in “The Devil wears Prada”)
Seen at work like a monster at her work, Miranda Prietsly makes tremble with fear all the people who work. The boss of the fashion magazine named “Runway” is played by Meryl Streep in the movie “The Devil wears Prada”. Besides her temperamental behaviour, she is a powerful and independent woman who is fulfild to realise all of her desires.

Katniss Everdeen (played by Jennifer Lawrence in “The Hunger Games”)
Dark hair, an arrow, a bow and the sound of the Mockingjay, you immediately shouts the name of Katniss Everdeen! This brave girl volonteers, in order to protect her little sister, to participate in the Hunger Games, a formidable game where only one person can survive. Katniss shows up her skills in archery and persists to stop this murderer game. A role model for teenage girls.

Warden Williams (played by Alfre Woodward in “Clemency”)
Mrs Williams works in prison where there is death row. Trapped between her duty and the pressure of people who claim for letting alive the prisoners, she has to decide what is the best choice. A strong and intense character played by Alfre Woodward in the movie “Clemency”, where the actress gives all the emotions that this woman can have.

Minny Jackson, Aibileen Clark (Played by Octavia Spencer and Viola Davis in “The Help”)
In the early 60’s, racism towards black people is raging. Two nannies, Minny Jackson and Aibileen Clark, write with the help of Skeeter Phelan, a book reporting all the daily lives of black people. These two women show bravery in using their voices to denounce racism and stand up for equal rights between social classes regardless of the colour of their skins.

Jo March (played by Saoirse Ronan in “Little women”).
Jo March wants to become a writer in a world where women can only expect to be a mother and a wife. Determined and bold, this woman represents the beginning of feminism during the 18th century. Jo March is one of the main character of the novel “Little Women” written by Louisa May Alcott, and is part the March family composed of four girls that you follow through their adventures. Actually, a movie called “Little women” is coming out in theatres in December 2020, which is an adaptation of the novel. Famous actresses and actors very known are part of the cast like Emma Watson, Meryl Streep, Saoirse Ronan, Laura Dern, Timothé Chalamet and Florence Pugh.

Other movies like “Suffragette” or “Hidden figures”, give female roles where they are the main fighters for the emancipation of women. They are all brave, intelligent and are ready to risk their lives to make a difrerence. Even in the movie “The Help” where Skeeter Phelan, a young journalist returns to her childhood town, her mother tries to convince her to finds a fiancee. But Skeeter is not interested and stays focused on her job. In the movie “20th century of women”, there are 3 female protagonists (Annette Bening, Elle Fanning, Greta Gerwig) who are fighting too for their rights and men have to be open minded about women’s lives, their problems, their body and their need for respect.

Agathe Abélard