#laurel hedare

[gay-aunt-jackie]

Watching Catwoman for the plot.

The plot:

[sociopath-analysis]

Female Sociopaths in Popular Media (Part 50)

Go here for Part 1. It provides an explanation for this list. Also, check out the master list which includes analyses of all the included characters. (Some analyses still may not be completed as of yet.) If this is the first part you’ve seen, reblog one of those two posts. Otherwise, feel free to reblog this one.

This will be the last gallery I’ll be posting for a while since I’ll be taking a break from the blog for a while. I haven’t been active on this blog for a while and I’ll explain more later, so I decided to make it an official thing. I’ll be coming in from time to time to finish missing profiles, but for the most part, I won’t be as active on here.

Pictured above:

Raishan, the Diseased Deceiver[1] (voiced by Matthew Mercer) from Critical Role (2015-present[2])

Princess Alesia Aurollrea from Nidome no Yuusha (2016-present[2]) and its manga adaptation (2018-present[2])

Lady Hana (voiced by Hiroko Midorikawa[3]) from Ghost of Tsushima (2020)

Dominique Baldwin (voiced by Kaori Mizuhashi (JP) and Fryda Wolff (EN) from Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night (2019)

Marissa Wiegler (played by Cate Blanchett) from Hanna (2011)

Haruko Haruhada (voiced by Mayumi Shintani (JP) and Kari Wahlgreen (EN)) from FLCL (2000-2004)

Cindy Burman, aka Shiv[4] (played by Meg DeLacy) from CW’s Stargirl (2020-present[2])

Hildyr from Cinderella Phenomenon (2017)

Laurel Hedare[5] (played by Sharon Stone) from Catwoman (2004)

Thule Society Chairman Dietlinde Eckhart (voiced by Kazuto Katou (JP) and Kelly Manison (EN)) from Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie: Conqueror of Shamballa (2005)

[1] Art created by Kageyama Satsuki. [2] Valid as of mid-December 2020. [3] I could not find the English VA for some reason. At the time of posting, I’m still looking. [4] Thanks to an anon for recommending this one. [5] It’s female sociopaths from popular media. That doesn’t always mean good media.

If you wanna help me, you can fact check my profiles on the master list. I haven’t seen a lot of the things that these characters come from, so I don’t have a lot of firsthand knowledge. If you have seen/played/read any of the works that I have included, look through the profiles and see if there are any inaccuracies I need to edit.

And when I get back to a more productive output, you can suggest some characters for me to include on the list by leaving a comment on any of the posts, sending an ask, or messaging me. You’ll be credited for helping me when I include them in the gallery post. If you don’t want to be credited, just ask and I’ll leave your name off the post.

[gay-aunt-jackie]

Laurel Hedare (Sharon Stone) and Catwoman (Halle Berry), "Catwoman" (2004)

[sillyfuckrandomthoughts]

This opinion on the supergirl movie might sound biased as someone who hates Tom King and is unironically fond of Catwoman 2004, just know that I do still think that while the movie has quite a few flaws, misogyny has definitely been overly influential in the reception

But...

I genuinely think Laurel Hedare is a FAR better villain, at least she didn't feel like Jared Leto's Joker or Jesse Eisenberg's Lex Luthor, at least she had a personality outside of "Oh I'm so dark, evil and scary"

[autisticsupervillain]

It's Complete Monster Friday!

Today's Complete Monster of the Week: Laurel Hedare

[gritsandbrits]

"What's with the axe Burdine?"

"To cut corners in our little competition!"

All hail to the REEEIIINING QUEEN of FASHION!

Two glamorous bad girls whose schtick involves the beauty industry. Older models who made their own company, opposing younger heroines they see as a threat.

But only one comes out on top for having a entertaining, bombastic and thrilling performance. That one: Burdine Maxwell, the fairy godmother of PINK!

While Burdine may not go to the extreme lengths Ms. Hedare did, at the same time she has a lot more personality, her voice actresses clearly had a good time playing her, snd well she's pink and pink is my favorite color. Not to mention her rivalry with the Bratz isn't based on a guy but in business: a rival magazine steadily growing in popularity is a sure threat to an older magazine declining in popularity. Burdine's character actually makes sense as she symbolizes how business especially the beauty industry can be stuck in old ways, in contrast to the Bratz' inclusiveness. Not to mention being a hilarious pastiche of Barbie, outdated as it may seem now.

Had Catwoman 2004 had better writing maybe Laurel couldve been the closest we had to a female Lex Luthor or a worthy addition to cinematic movie villainesses. But due to Sharon's stony performance, her characters lacks the charisma many a villain has on their resume. Not to mention her villain plans aren't that smart in hindsight and only worked due to the movie's Idiot Plot.

[flamecanary]

Earlier today, a friend posted a link to a piece on The Atlantic about the mythology of “Karen”, and a couple of lines jumped out at me. Specifically:

1. “The target of Karen’s entitled anger is typically presumed to be a racial minority […], and so she is […] using her white femininity to present herself as a victim, when she is really the aggressor[…]” 

and 

2. “[a] white woman’s tears were, again, a weapon to unleash the authorities[…]” 

Between the brilliant episode on Calendar Girl from The New Batman Adventures that Joshua Unruh and Caleb Masters did today on their podcast, An Animated Discussion, and those two lines, I was reminded of the 2004 Catwoman movie. (I know. I’m sorry, too.) But the reason I bring it up is because there’s a scene in the movie where Laurel Hedare, played by Sharon Stone, a white woman with power, uses her power and privilege to frame Patience Philips, aka Catwoman, played by Halle Berry, a Black woman. 

Of course, the cherry on top of the framing her are crocodile tears as she sends the police after Catwoman for the alleged murder of her husband, and the fact that she at first pretended to be on Catwoman’s side so that she could use her as an end to her own means. Sure, Patience is in some ways empowered because of the mythology around Catwoman that the movie has set up, but it should also be pointed out that Laurel Hedare herself has nearly unbreakable, rock-hard skin as a result of the toxic cosmetics cream she’s been liberally applying for a long time, and thus is literally using a form of delicate, white femininity to present herself as the victim of Patience’s empowered Black woman. 

The movie itself never actually delves into the racial politics of these two women; more than likely it’s a happy accident caused by Berry having been cast as Catwoman after Ashely Judd, a white woman, walked away from the film after having been attached to it for a while. Still, it’s an interesting moment in movie history, wildly relevant to current events, and if the story was ever retold in any capacity, I’d love to see a little bit of focus and light shed on the racial, classist, and political dynamics that both bring Laurel and Patience together and separate them. Also, I realize that as an Indian guy, I’m definitely not the authority on this topic, but that moment from the movie came to mind unbidden, especially because of the wicked smile that Hedare gives once the cops give chase to Catwoman, right after she was pretending to cry and grieve. (If you’re wondering about the Calendar Girl connection, it’s because both Calendar Girl and Laurel Hedare were beautiful models who were considered too old to model any more and were considered to be ageing out of the industry, which is honestly just bullshit.) 

[gritsandbrits]

I keep thinking about Laurel Hedare from the Catwoman movie and realize that Burdine Maxwell from the Bratz cartoon was a better fashion-based villain than her.