RescueMes?

I've seen the advertisement for the new movie, Last House on the Left more times than I can count. It doesn't look all that great, and I don't think I'm going to go see it. From what I can tell, it's about this girl who's beaten badly by some sort of an attacker, and her father subsequently seeks revenge.

I really don't know to much about the movie, but what I do know is this: I am sick of women in the movies who need to be rescued from everything.

Sure, we make movies about career women and strong, courageous single mothers and all that, but a vast majority of women in movies need saving from one thing or another- whether it's a vicious rapist, a criminal organization, or Doc Oc.

I know that in the recent Taken, Liam Neeson's daughter is kidnapped and rather than paying the ransom, he goes directly after the people who have taken her.

In a world where violence is neither uncommon nor surprising, when are these women going to start saving themselves? Oddly enough, the most liberating example that I've seen recently is Enchanted, which I talked about in one of my previous blogs. The main character, a prissy, pretty princess, is the one who rescues Patrick Dempsy from an evil dragon queen.

Another great example? Mulan. For a Disney movie with clever songs and a talking dragon, it's a phenomenal demonstration of a woman taking her fate into her own hands, saving not only her self, but her entire country. Mainstream Hollywood needs to recognize the potential and strength of their female characters. We are not just damsel's in distress waiting to be rescued by our fathers and boyfriends and charming superhero's. We are fully capable of fighting for ourselves and fighting back.