It's always fun to watch female characters on screen breaking the stereotypes of their time periods. Periods of history like the 1800s, where a woman is meant to act with grace and politeness and dream of becoming a mother. In some cases, women were limited to certain jobs and careers.
Film and television is a great way to break these set ideals that are put on women. It wasn't every day you saw a strong-headed woman like Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) rise the ranks to create one of the top government agencies, S.H.I.E.L.D. There are more inspirational women in film and tv that took their own path despite the disapproval from the peanut gallery. Let's take a look at what characters broke the mold.
GLOW
Back in the era of WWA and WWF, female wrestlers were scarce and instead seen as pawns to a story than actual athletes. Many would recall the infamous "Attitude Era" that over-sexualized female talent. The comedy-drama series GLOW revolves around fictional characters inspired by the real-life Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling (or GLOW) founded by David McLane
GLOW started in 1986 after McLane saw the appeal and reaction audiences had to female wrestlers. At the time, females still weren't seen as athletes to be taken seriously in the wrestling circuit. The show detailed a look at the rise of female wrestlers who, with training, could enthrall an audience with gimmicks, storyline, and dangerous wrestling just like the men.
A League Of Their Own
The 1992 film, A League of Their Own detailed the shift in sports when it came to the inclusion of female players in the 1940s. The film is even registered in the Library of Congress for its cultural and historical significance. Back during WW2, men were the only ones allowed to play major league baseball.
Women instead played on recreational teams. But when the war threatens to close major league baseball, a new route is taken. A group of talented women are scouted to create the first female league. At first, many disapproved and thought women weren't meant to play professionally. They proved everyone wrong by going to the World Series.
G.I. Jane
The army was once thought to be only fit for strong and brave men who could handle rigorous training and brutal war. The film G.I. Jane changed that perception but also highlighted a shift in army recruitment. Women were allowed to enlist in the Navy and military in 1917 and 1948.
The film followed the journey of Lieutenant Jordan O'Neill (Demi Moore) who is selected as a test candidate to see if a woman can handle Navy training. She faces backlash and assault by her male companions but perseveres. She ends up proving her commander wrong and saving his life.
Mulan
Disney's animated film Mulan tells a brave story of a young girl sacrificing herself to save her father and family. It also tells the story of a woman breaking free of the common ideals of her society.
She struggles with looking proper and impressing the local matchmaker in finding her a suitor. Mulan doesn't want that life and looks for something more. When the army request soldier, she realizes she must disguise herself and take her father's place. She breaks the mold seeing as she is the first female soldier in the Chinese army. She also becomes highly skilled in combat not often seen during the time of the Han dynasty.
Catherine The Great: The Great
Hulu released a comedy-drama show titled The Great focused on the Russian Empress Catherine the Great (Elle Fanning). The show takes place in the late 1700s as Catherine comes to marry the current emperor of Russia, Peter III (Nicholas Holt).
In the show, Catherine is belittled by her husband who believes a woman should have no say in politics or be a bother in daily life. Catherine does the opposite as she plans to kill her husband to become a ruler. In history. Catherine becomes empress by a coup d'état and is successfully one of Russia's longest and most successful rulers.
Diana: Wonder Woman
Audiences have to give props to Wonder Woman for breaking common misconceptions about women and instead empowered them. Diana (Gal Gadot) grew up on a hidden island inhabited by only woman warriors. They are highly skilled in combat, defense, and weaponry. In the film, their backstory also told that Zeus created an army of women, not men.
Diana as an adult also broke the stereotype when she visits England for the first time. Dian was brought up as a strong fighter. Steve's (Chris Pine) assistant chastises Diana that she needs to look more proper and like a lady. Hence her makeover and Diana disapproving of many outfits because they're not combat-ready. She even joins in fighting the war.
Carol Danvers: Captain Marvel
Captain Marvel astounded fans and became a huge role model of female strength for young girls and audiences. The role of Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) is much more than her acquired powers. She became a strong and determined member of the United States Air Force.
At the time, female pilots weren't common but Danvers pursued her dream anyway despite being told she'll never make it. She proved herself against the USAF's "Boys Club" culture. She outranked her colleagues and became the best pilot on record and earned the title of "Captain." At the time, being a female pilot didn't allow her to fly in combat. She found her way around it.
Jo March, Little Women
In the late 1800s, women are meant to look well-kept, wear dresses, and have a desire to marry. In the film Little Women Josephine "Jo" March (Saoirse Ronan) isn't the typical young woman. She is an aspiring writer who prefers comfortable slacks to a petticoat.
She has no desire to marry or follow the traditional markers of a lady's life. Instead, she wants to have a successful career as a published author. She faces ridicule by male peers for her writing but manages to get her story published. To appease her editor and stay true to herself, she changes her books ending after he disapproves of the main character not getting married.
Sara Howard: The Alienist
The year was 1896, New York City. The TNT show The Alienist broke the mold of a proper woman during the time period with the main character Sara Howard (Dakota Fanning). Howard grew up with her father and learned to stand up for herself and drink whiskey.
She became the first secretary under Roosevelt as the police precinct. She was constantly told vulgar remarks and made inferior by her male colleagues. Howard persevered and stood fast against what a "sophisticated" woman needed to be. In the second season, she becomes a private detective with her own agency which was seen as a blasphemous career for a woman.
Hidden Figures
Hidden Figures was a 2016 film based on a non-fiction book about a group of Black mathematicians at NASA during the Space Race in 1961. The film not only showcased the immense contribution and talent of the real-life woman but also the shift in female science careers at the time. The United States was still segregated and allowed for almost no advancement in careers for African Americans.
Katherine Johnson (Taraji P. Henson) becomes the human supercomputer who does the final calculations for Mercury 7 for the Space Task Group and the first black female on the team. Mary Jackson (Janelle Monáe) becomes the first black female engineer for NASA. Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer) becomes the first black supervisor of the Programming Department overlooking the IBM 7090 computer at NASA.