A MUST-READ!!!
“…there is a very real problem when you take a female hero and put her in the shadow of a male character. It’s even worse when you take an iconic woman protagonist – already rare as hen’s teeth – and subject her to the same treatment.”
About Lara Croft in Core Design era:
“Up to the release of (Angelina Jolie’s Lara Croft: Tomb Raider), Lara’s motivations had nothing to do with her parents. In fact, she explicitly went against her family’s wishes, and they turned their back on her. Our daredevil heroine had the strength of resolve to reject convention – everything she knew – and set out alone to live life on her own terms. She didn’t mope over her rejection or crave parental affection. She got on with things, and she succeeded.”
About Tomb Raider 2001 movie:
“Lara Croft was stripped of her full agency by caging her in a sphere of male influence. She couldn’t be powerful simply because of who she was. She needed a masculine stamp of approval to explain and legitimise her hero status. She also needed a male character to give her direction because without it she sat bored and inert.”
About Tomb Raider 2018 movie:
“In addition, the vast majority of conversations Lara has in the trailer centre on her father. Other characters (…) only talk to Lara about her father, or compare her to him.”
“Lara Croft – arguably the most iconic female video game character of all time – is reduced to her father’s (admittedly ferocious) errand girl.”