Seeking Strong Female Character™

This is a database of films, books, video games, and television shows which feature a woman as its lead and main character.

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This tumblr is dedicated to archiving and analyzing meda (whether it be literature, film, video games, etc.) that feature a woman as the main lead. The purpose of this is to accurately track the way women have been depicted-- not as side characters, but when telling stories about them. As such, I make note of their careers, their ages, their sexualities, and much more and then chart them to show the trajectory of our perception of women through time.

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American Experience Sins of Our Mothers 1989

At the age of 13, Emeline was sent by her parents from Fayette, Maine to live and work in the mills at Lowell, Mass. Within a year she had been seduced, given birth to an illegitimate son, given him to strangers and returned to her parents' home in Maine. In a tragic turn of events, many years later she marries a man from Massachusetts, who is later revealed to be her illegitimate son. Using town and church records and interviews with townspeople who knew her, the program reveals attitudes about community, morality and social conditions in 19th century New England.

Rated TV-PG

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American Experience Eudora Welty: One Writer's Beginnings 1989

Eudora Welty: One Writer's Beginnings explores the life and creative evolution of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Southern author, weaving personal anecdotes, readings, and archival footage to reveal how her upbringing shaped her iconic literary voice.

TV-PG

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Alice Adams 1935

Based on the award-winning novel by Booth Tarkington, this comedic drama follows a young working-class woman as she attempts, unsuccessfully, to climb the social ladder. When she meets the wealthy Arthur Russell, he is amused by her efforts to maintain an upper-crust facade, and she is thrilled when he agrees to have dinner at her family's home. Things teeter on the brink of disaster as the Adams clan frantically tries to create an evening of fine dining.

Pre-MPAA

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Black Christmas 1974

As winter break begins, a group of sorority sisters, including Jess and the often inebriated Barb, begin to receive anonymous, lascivious phone calls. Initially, Barb eggs the caller on, but stops when he responds threateningly. Soon, Barb's friend Clare goes missing from the sorority house, and a local adolescent girl is murdered, leading the girls to suspect a serial killer is on the loose. But no one realizes just how near the culprit is.

Rated R

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Kaya's Escape! Janet Shaw

In the fall of 1764, after Kaya and her sister are kidnapped from their Nez Perce village by enemy horse raiders, she tries to find a way to escape back home.

Published 2002

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Codename: Sailor V Naoko Takeuchi

Prior to becoming Sailor Venus in Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, Minako Aino fought injustice as Sailor V alongside her talking cat companion, Artemis. Join Minako as she discovers her magic powers and fights crime in the name of love and justice!

1991-1997

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The Mists of Avalon 2001

Based on the bestseller by Marion Zimmer Bradley, The Mists of Avalon tells the story of the women behind King Arthur: including his mother, Igraine, his half-sister, Morgaine le Fey, his aunt Viviane, the Lady of the Lake, and his wife, Gwenwyfar.

No Rating

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Meet Kaya: An American Girl Janet Shaw

In 1764, when Kaya and her family reunite with other Nez Perce Indians to fish for the red salmon, she learns that bragging, even about her swift horse, can lead to trouble.

Published 2002

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Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Naoko Takeuchi

Usagi Tsukino is a normal girl until she meets up with Luna, a talking cat, who tells her that she is Sailor Moon. As Sailor Moon, Usagi must fight evils and enforce justice, in the name of the Moon and the mysterious Moon Princess. She meets other girls destined to be Sailor Soldiers, and together they fight the forces of evil!

Published 1991-1997

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The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter 1980

Among the many sweeping social changes engendered by World War II was the influx of women into previously male-dominated workplaces. Documentary filmmaker Connie Field interviews five of these women. Black and white, urban and rural, poor and middle-class, the former defense employees relate their treatment during and then after the war, when they often faced discrimination from their male co-workers and employers, even as they were publicly praised for leading the war effort at home.

No Rating

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A Very Long Engagement 2004

Mathilde is told that her fiancé has been killed in World War I. She refuses to believe this, however, and begins trying to find out what actually happened on the battlefield the night he was supposedly killed, enlisting the help of a private investigator. During her search, she stumbles across evidence of the inhumane and morally bankrupt system used by the French to deal with deserters, and hears from other men who were sentenced to extreme punishment.

Rated R

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American Experience Ida B. Wells: A Passion for Justice 1989

This documentary for the television series American Experience depicts a portrait of the Reconstruction era told through a profile of crusading journalist Ida B. Wells, with Wells' memoir excerpts read by Toni Morrison.

Rated TV-PG

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Cavalcade 1933

Upper-crust Londoners Robert and Jane Marryot and their working-class counterparts, Alfred and Ellen Bridges, experience life's many triumphs and tragedies from the Boer War at the dawn of the 20th century up to 1930s.

Pre-MPAA

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The Heiress 1949

Catherine, a young woman who stands to inherit her father's large fortune, falls in love when she meets Morris, who gives her the love and affection her father doesn't, and which she desperately needs. Catherine's father, believing Morris is only after the money, tells Catherine she will be disinherited if she marries him. Morris' true intentions are put to the test when he finds out about the amended will.

Pre-MPAA

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The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie 1969

Jean Brodie is a free-spirited teacher at a Scottish girls' school during the 1930s. She encourages her young pupils to embrace romantic ideals, educating them about love and art rather than hard facts. However, her controversial teaching philosophy draws the ire of the school's headmistress, Miss Mackey, and, as Miss Brodie becomes entangled in a love triangle, her behavior towards her favorite students becomes increasingly manipulative.

Rated PG

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The Handmaiden 2016

With help from an orphaned pickpocket, a Korean con man devises an elaborate plot to seduce and bilk a Japanese woman out of her inheritance.

No Rating