Why are there so few strong female characters in our TV dramas?

Denerick

I'm after watching the last episode of the first season of 'The Killing' (The original Danish version) Its a really great police procedural drama, builds up suspense perfectly with an intriguing and absorbing plot. I've also recently watched another Danish drama, 'Borgen', which is about a female Prime Minister of Denmark. Both shows feature strong, independent women who are highly intelligent and who possess sound judgement and an almost insane courage.

Which leads to me ask, why do these kind of female characters feature so rarely in English speaking drama's and films? Of the most recent shows to hit the small screen in the last decade, I can only think of one main female character (in 'Homeland') who comes anywhere close to meeting these lofty Danish standards. Why is that? I'm a feminist by inclination (Although I'm a man ) and I believe that popular culture does women a great dis-service by their depiction as whiny drawbacks to male heroes/anti-heroes (Think of the Wire (Mc Nulty's ex wife), The Soprano's (Tony's hypocritical wife), Breaking Bad (Mr. White's contradictory and shrill wife) etc. Rarely are they the focal point of any story, and when they are they usually get in the way of the natural development of the plot! (By generally obstructing or irritating the hero/anti hero in some way)

This is just my own idiosyncratic observation, and I'd like to know if others have noticed such a trend in drama's of this kind.

pickarooney

Showtime seems to be the only channel making an effort to screen dramas and comedy shows with strong female leads.

edit: once upon a time is not bad in this respect

Colmo52

Revenge has 2 strong female leads. (Emily & Victoria)

ixoy

Fiona in "Burn Notice" is a strong female character, perfectly capable of working with any of the male cast.

Harry Angstrom

Denerick wrote: »

I'm after watching the last episode of the first season of 'The Killing' (The original Danish version) Its a really great police procedural drama, builds up suspense perfectly with an intriguing and absorbing plot. I've also recently watched another Danish drama, 'Borgen', which is about a female Prime Minister of Denmark. Both shows feature strong, independent women who are highly intelligent and who possess sound judgement and an almost insane courage.

Which leads to me ask, why do these kind of female characters feature so rarely in English speaking drama's and films? Of the most recent shows to hit the small screen in the last decade, I can only think of one main female character (in 'Homeland') who comes anywhere close to meeting these lofty Danish standards. Why is that? I'm a feminist by inclination (Although I'm a man ) and I believe that popular culture does women a great dis-service by their depiction as whiny drawbacks to male heroes/anti-heroes (Think of the Wire (Mc Nulty's ex wife), The Soprano's (Tony's hypocritical wife), Breaking Bad (Mr. White's contradictory and shrill wife) etc. Rarely are they the focal point of any story, and when they are they usually get in the way of the natural development of the plot! (By generally obstructing or irritating the hero/anti hero in some way)

This is just my own idiosyncratic observation, and I'd like to know if others have noticed such a trend in drama's of this kind.

Ever heard of Jane Tennison, Susan "Rita" White, Shirley Valentine, Elsie Tanner, Ena Sharples, Annie Walker?

Most of your examples are from American drama serials. Try looking closer to home.

al28283

I think you might be just noticing the whiney female characters and missing the others. You mentioned McNulty's wife from The Wire who I can barely remember as she was barely in it, but you didn't mention the very strong female characters in that show, some of whom were main characters depending on the season. And if you look at the top 10 shows, drama or not, from the last 5-10 years you'll find pretty much all of them had extremely strong characters just like you mentioned. Less so in drama's because characters like this simply aren't that interesting.

When it comes to the 3 shows you mentioned, it's almost impossible to find any male characters who are "strong, independent, highly intelligent and who possess sound judgement and an almost insane courage."

spank_inferno

The Borgias has quite a few strong female characters.

Richard Dower

Bo on Lost Girl....bass ass!

ixoy

'Eureka' was a show which had the women just as competent as the men. It also constantly mixed up the dynamics and pairings of characters to keep it fresh.

Jolt2007

Damages. Both Patty and Ellen count as strong and female, and both fantastic characters imo.

ejmaztec

There are definitely three prominent female characters in Covert Affairs.

JP Liz V1

Alicia, Diane and Kalinda from The Good Wife three of best female characters on tv currently imo

ixoy

Jolt2007 wrote: »

Damages. Both Patty and Ellen count as strong and female, and both fantastic characters imo.

Good example of a show that lacks any strong male characters. Could be argued that the one featured most prominently in the seasons - Michael - is weak.

feelgoodinc27

Pam, Tara, Sookie and Maryann (Season 2) on True Blood.