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Female Rage: 26 Films That Accurately Portray A Woman’s Anger
While there is a lot of media with female characters and even protagonists, the ratio of male to female character ratio in literature is roughly 4:1. So it’s not surprising that people would have to actively seek out media that specifically features women.
An internet user wanted to hear from other women what films they thought best depicted genuine “female rage” and netizens delivered. Revenge, rage, and frustration are all featured in people’s suggestions, so be sure to upvote your favorite examples as you scroll through and comment your own ideas below.
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#2
I’m gonna have to go with Ripley from the Aliens movies. She’s a calm, cool and collected competent female professional with a perfect amount of righteous indignation at the inhumane callousness of her corporate handlers and that epic “get away from her you b***h!” mama bear instinct that will always stand out to me.
Part of the reason for this lack of representation is that women do not have nearly as much of a foothold in cinema as men. Only 18% of all Hollywood directors, executive producers, producers, writers, cinematographers, and editors are female. As a result, it’s not hard to imagine that stories of “female fury” are overlooked in favor of more male-centric narratives. It’s not impossible for a man to write an angry woman, but more likely that a woman would write a more lasting one.
If we think about the top films of any given year, between 10 and 20% will be headlined by a woman. Hence the need for viewers to actively reach out for advice on films that depict something specific from the perspective of a woman. This is similarly true for casting in general, for example, in 2014, only 28.1% of characters in 100 top-grossing films were female.
It’s similar in other roles. Amy Pascal is the studio chief for Sony, the only female leader in a major film studio. The same can, unfortunately, be said of pay as well. While times are changing and there is some variety in different cohorts, overall, in some years a Hollywood female actress will make just forty cents for each dollar earned by a male counterpart. Remember, in general, when people talk about the pay gap, it’s normally around 20% less, not 60%.
#8
'Girl, Interrupted' was probably the first movie I saw that portrayed female rage and mental illness in a sympathetic light. It really stuck with me
The few female specialists that do still make a name for themselves in Hollywood are often subject to rampant abuse and hateful comments. The website s*** People Say to Women Directors (& Other Women in Film) contains just a fraction of stories from the industry if you are curious to learn more. More darkly, the me too movement was a direct result of a male-dominated industry where abusers could limit access to talented women who opposed them.
#12
There are some moments / speeches from Angela Bassett (Queen Ramonda) in Black Panther 2 which are incredible, although rage mixed with anguish
The question about female rage may have been sparked by the simple, but unfortunate fact that all too often a woman’s role in a film is to look nice. In the 56 top-grossing films of 2018 around the world, female characters were four times more likely than men to be shown wearing revealing clothing or be completely [undressed] and nearly twice as likely to be shown as partially [undressed].
This is equally as true for prime-time television, where women were overall the minority of characters anyway. In fact, unlike in other industries, the representation gap is actually growing in television. So, unfortunately, portrayals of accurate “female rage” are likely as few and far between as accurate portrayals of female anything. Hopefully, these statistics can be evened out and more than one in ten directors will actually be a woman.
#17
Mr Hollands Opus, the scene where his wife has a breakdown for not being able to communicate with her son.
#18
Not quite rage per say, but the scene in Princess Kaguya (Ghibli film) after a man dies in pursuit of her hand in marriage, she breaks everything around her and runs back to her hometown as a streak of destruction across the countryside. The film is animated and this scene is drawn with mostly strokes of thick black charcoal and really shows the raw emotion of anger, sorrow, and frustration. The whole scene felt like a very realistic reaction as well as accurate portrayal of the anger inside of women.
#19
I like Florence Pugh’s monologue as Amy in Little Women to Teddy about being a woman in that time. I thought that was excellently done. The whole film isn’t about that. But that scene was A+
#21
couldn’t choose just one, so: gone girl the virgin suicides pearl and x midsommar raw the vvitch black swan possession heavenly creatures i’m obsessed with feminine rage, and i have sooo many book recs about it as well!
#23
Obligatory not a film but the first series of Killing Eve. Particularly Sandra Oh's character.
#24
I like “The Break Up.” Jennifer Anniston’s character did a great job of illustrating how women can get frustrated in a relationship even when they like the guy.
#25
I think Kate Winslet and Jodie Foster both portray anger/rage very well in Carnage. That pent up anger and resentment finally forcing its way out is something that I think a lot of us can relate to.
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