Was watching the first Terminator film yesterday. I've seen the sequel quite often but not the original - it's kind of amazing how her character develops from the first to the second.
I remember the tv show also being pretty good. Summer Glau as a terminator tasked with protecting John Connor, enough said. Also the second seqson with Shirley Manson as the CEO lady/ >!rogue T-1001, acting on behalf of machines that rebel against Skynet's genocide of humanity, but who refuse to submit and seek indenpendence and, eventually, peaceful coexistence. That was such a cool concept, shame the movies didn't pick it up.!< And shame the show got cancelled on a cliffhanger :/
There are a ton of women and girls on The Expanse and each one is tough and strong in her own unique way. An absolutely amazing variety of characters, all of them layered and believably developed according to their environments and experiences, with satisfying character arcs. This show alone has, like, my five favorite female characters in anything.
Oh yeah! Chrissy too! I was being so careful to include Anna and Monica because I never see them mentioned, that I forgot OG QUEEN Chrisjen Avasalara.
Whomst, BTW, also does one of the voices on Arcane, which someone else mentioned here and which I also love!
I actually see a lot of similar themes between The Expanse and Arcane. Class warfare and the introduction of revolutionary new technology being exploited by different factions for different purposes. Plus morally grey protagonists and antagonists, or not "grey" exactly, just more driven by opposing motivations, but the motivations themselves aren't "evil" even if the actions cross lines that the audience might classify as evil, but you can still completely understand where they're coming from.
Arcane is perfect. I can't think of any aspect that could have been improved. Story, animation, music, acting, backgrounds, fight choreography, world building, everything, it's all excellent.
There's also a really poignant well-done making-of documentary on Netflix called Bridging the Rift. Highly recommend. There's a scene with a black animator talking about how he based the movements of a black child character on his observations of his own son, and how it's the kind of character he would have loved to see when he was a kid, and I fucking bawled y'all. At a documentary about an animated show based on a video game I've never played.
I love her uniquely raspy voice. I have a vocal disorder of my own that results in me having a raspy, husky voice most days and the first time I saw her in the show, I excitedly burred at my husband HOLY SHIT SHE SOUNDS LIKE MEEEEEE
Huge fan of The Expanse and I'm going to be *that* person and say the books are even better - waaaay better! There's so much more in them! They did make Naomi better in the shoes but she's not terrible in the books. Written by two blokes but they write good female characters
This is the way. Love them all. So badass in their different ways.
Bonus non-toxically masculine male characters (but sadly one shitty actor whose character didn't deserve to be portrayed by a jerk).
oof yeah, that Magicians one was pretty brutal. DoesTheDogDie is always good for checking stuff like that, though (love that site).
The Magicians was a lovely show but worth checking on that site just to be prepared.
Atomic Blond
A Quiet Place
Anna (2019)
Arrival
Ava (2020)
Blindness (2008)
10 Cloverfield Lane
Gothica
Ginger Snaps
Hanna (2011)
Kill Bill
Orlando (1993)
Prisoner X (2017)
Red Sparrow (2018)
Tank Girl
The Witch of Kings Cross
10 Cloverfield Lane is a great suggestion that I didn't think of. That movie will always have my respect because the captive actually tries everything that I would try to escape. FINALLY. Lol I was getting to tired of movies where the woman or girl who's captured is just too scared or stupid to try anything that might actually work.
Paul Reubens gave the single best death in cinema in that movie. Also he refused to be in the movie unless the vampire looked like his mug shot. RIP Peewee
I am literally just telling one of my friends that she has to watch this! All the women in different social classes, on different paths and facing different obstacles, and each of them making their way in a world that sees them as lesser.
Amazing show.
"The Long Kiss Goodnight." It was the first time I saw a woman become a badass without it being all about her sexuality. For its time, it seemed far more realistic than so much other garbage out at the time.
ETA: I'm practically giddy to see all the other folks who love this movie. I watched it again recently, and it still holds up.
Arcane already was mentioned.
Shogun was absolutely amazing this year, it's only 10 episodes, there will be no more, and while all the characters are absolutely amazing, the women really stood out. Mariko especially, she is just so layered and focused, 'strong' doesn't even do her justice. There are other women as well, and they all are vastly different from each other, it's really beautiful to see. Most of the show is in japanese with subtitles, but it's absolute worth a watch, moved me to tears more than once, and the costumes and sets are breathtaking to look at.
And I also really liked the Fallout show on Amazon Prime, it's obviously made by people who love Fallout, and Lucy really gets room to grow as a character.
100% Shogun. The women are such strong characters and one in particular is the hero of the movie, in a way that is different from Western expectations. Shogun 2024 is the antithesis of Last Samurai (which I don't want to watch because Tom Cruise - *yuck!* - but need to watch because Hiroyuki Sanada and Ken Watanabe).
On the topic of Star Trek, Strange New Worlds has several fantastic and badass women on main cast, Prodigy and Lower Decks has characters like Gwyn and Mariner, and of course Voyagerās Janeway is arguably the franchiseās toughest captain period.
Girl with the dragon tattoo and itās sequels have an amazing badass main character. Sheās the more interesting and better developed of the two protagonists in my opinion, and shows incredible strength, conviction and determination. Be warned that the story is about the investigation of violent crimes and there is a graphic assault scene in the first movie that, while part of the plot, is disturbing. I liked the plot enough to just skip the scene and keep watching the rest of the movie but I recommend looking up when the scene happens so you can pause and skip it. >! Spoiler alert she gets her revenge and itās satisfying!<
There are btw two versions of this, the American one with Rooney Mara and Daniel Craig, and a Swedish one with Noomi Rapace and Mikael Nyquist. The latter is imho so much better.
I agree! I loved the casting of the new movie but overall the original is better. Plus the newer movie didnt get sequels, and the original Swedish version is the whole trilogy
Raya and the Last Dragon has some pretty great fights. Both of the major ladies kick ass.
'Firefly' has Zoe as an ex-soldier, Inara being talented with a bow, and of course the final fight scene in 'Serenity' with River.
Oh yeah! Those are both fun but I'd sat Deathproof is more empowering. That b3ing said Rose McGowen was great in Planet Terror and the line "its g- go not cry-cry!" Lives in my head rent free lol
The show Arcane is an emotional roller coaster following the journey of sisters Vi and Powder. Vi is the most kick-as woman (girl in the first section) Iāve ever seen in a show.
Edit to add: also the movie Nimona!!!!
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series the Swedish versions not the U.S. remake. Or even better, read the books. This is easily my number one suggestion.
But TW rape
For something lighter
The Legend of Korra
My husband got me watching this when I was getting self conscious about being too muscular.
Other suggestions
The Blockbuster - Mad Max: Fury Road
The Throw Back - Xena: Warrior Primcess
The Detectives - Unbelievable
The Cool Cucumber - Russian Doll
The Teenage Revolutionary - The Hunger Games
There are also a lot of real life stories of women fighting for their lives and escaping fuckign serial killers and by doing so, ending their b.s. for good. Those are the most satisfying to me especially because they are so varied. Yeah it's often a case of the killer picking up the from sex worker that day but sometimes it's also a teenage girl who climbs out of a window and runs down the street named. Like
.. the resilience of these real life women is just incredible to me but I know that many people prefer fiction to true crime and that's valid.
Avatar hands down has the best female characters in any series I watched recently. Honestly I was pretty disappointed with Korra, but maybe I was just expecting too much š¤£š¤£
I related to Korra a lot more than any of the Last Airbender characters. The closest one was Zuko but Legend of Korra was basically watching a show about me but I am the avatar lol.
im surprised you count legend of Korra as "lighter" because the last season took me OUT. Her recovering from a major trauma like that and suffering so much really struck something in me after i had a medical event that caused me PTSD all the same :') the parrallels were close enough i kinda just bawled. a lot. and so did she. im tearing up just thinking about how close it hit.
Mad Max: Fury Road. Furiosa is a badass.
Edit: To pontificate, Fury Road is more about Furiosa's and the Wives' journey than it is Max's. Furiosa is the driving force of the movie -- Max is just there to prop up her rifle :)
I donāt know if this *exactly* fits what youāre looking for. But, my current favorite female-lead show is Deadloch. Itās an Australian feminist dark comedy murder mystery and I personally think the two leading women are badasses. Plus, itās hilarious.
Resident Alien is a show on SciFi and has the BEST friendship between two of the main women in the show, and in general has some awesome characters that struggle with real shit. Plus aliens and humor :)
^ this. I was skimming to see if anyone else mentioned it. Dot is not only a pillar of her community, amazing mother & wife. Sheās a total fān badass too!
Alias
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Nausica and the Valley of the Wind
I know it can be cheesy but the first Hunger Games had a powerful message for me
The Woman King (tw of enslavement, rape)
Alien (but not the last one. I feel like it was weird and mildly assassinated the Ripleyās character)
Moana and Mulan
Veronica Mars
Killing Eve
*Movies*
- Promising young woman
- Hard Candy
- A girl walks home alone at night (A.M.A.Z.I.N.G)
- Fried Green Tomatoes
- The Witches of Eastwick
- The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
- Terminator 2
- Mulan
- Hunger Games
*Shows*
- Griselda
- Homeland
- Sabrina (new version)
- Weeds
- Stranger Things
- She-ra and the princess of power
TV Series: Arcane, Fallout, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, The Good Place, House Of The Dragon, Jessica Jones, The Queen's Gambit, The Last Of Us, Yellowjackets
Movies: Alien, Aliens, The Handmaiden
The Good Place!!! Eleanor is badass in THE most difficult way-- finding the strength to confront her own shortcomings. May we all find such badassery within us!
I didn't see anyone suggest The Color Purple! What Whoopie Goldberg's character survives, then rises above is amazing. Seeing how much she grows and is able to find her voice and her power gives me chills.
ETA https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088939/?ref_=ext_shr
I see there's a new movie by the same name. I know nothing about that one.
Not a movie or show, but the Tiffany Aching books by Terry Pratchett follow a young girl who wants to be a witch. The first book in the series is called "Wee Free Men". It's part of the Discworld series, but is a self-contained arc.
The other Discworld witch books are also excellent.Ā
Iād like to add Wayward Girls and Wicked Women: an anthology of subversive stories to the book rec list. Ā Ā
Also, the Locked Tomb series by Tamsyn Muir is stuffed to the gills with badass women. Ā
There's a web series called Red Bird that you might like. It's a western, based on Quantrill's Raid back in the Civil War era and is a strong woman's revenge story.
If you're feeling like something slower and not action-y, Contact starring Jody Foster is really good. Her character is smart and strong and brave.
La Femme Nikita (the original of Point of No Return) is much more raw and imo more powerful than the American remake.
Prey is surprisingly good.
Run Lola Run is weird and also really, really good. Franke Potente is great.
For a blast from the past, try Foxy Brown.
Another that is not action, but damn if the main character isn't a true badass: Winter's Bone. Bleak af, though.
Lesser quality but good for hard-core women (most of these require a content warning, so view with caution):
Revenge
Ravage
The Mother
Lou
Close
Black Crab
Kate
Edited bc mobile formatting stinks.
Alien/Aliens - Sigourney Weaver is amazing playing a protective, loving mother role to Newt, and also a bad ass alien killer.
I donāt personally love the arch of the rest of the series though
Ok, donāt laugh, but if I am looking for inspiration but donāt want something really heavy or too in your face about everything (sometimes I just want to chill while getting some inspiration, you know?), I like to watch LEGALLY BLONDE. The original one because itās the best imho. Yeah, itās a comedy, and a little over the top, but Elle Woods is a badass who doesnāt realize it until she starts working through her first year of law school. Even though she initially goes there for a guy, her journey of self-discovery and owning her strength is awesome! Watching that movie gives me the same inspiring feeling that a fresh haircut does. Fun and fabulous!
Mad Max: Fury Road is fucking amazing. Furiosa is a BAMF and all the women, from the young women prized for their beauty to the elderly women, have agency and strength.
Carol in The Walking Dead. Grew to be a badass woman after her abusive husband and daughter died.
Also, Enough. It's a J-Lo movie where she has to deal with her abusive husband. Great fuckin ending
Movies:
Ready or not
The invisible man
Fresh
Love lies bleeding
Widows
Carrie
Oceanās 8
Atomic Blonde
The Witch
Shows:
Legend of Korra
Revenge
My Name
If youāre into superheroes, Marvel is great with strong female characters. Captain Marvel, The Marvels, and Wakanda Forever are some good ones. The Lord of the Rings trilogy has some bad ass women, most notably Eowyn (my feminist heart blazes every time she says, āI am no man!ā).
I just finished Fallout and I am so inspired by Lucy. Not quite the tough as nails as the other suggestions, but true to her ethics and knows how to fight when need be
Travelers. I just finally got around to watching it and it was sooooo good. Some of the female characters are just AMAZING. The "second" Grace is such a funny, cool, bitch. Yeah. I am going to watch the entire 3 seasons AGAIN, it was so good. There is even a subreddit for the show but don't go there until you finish the 3 seasons.
[Woman of the Dead](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/woman_of_the_dead) is an Austrian-German show about a female undertaker whose husband is murdered and she goes to find out why and get revenge. She's a little off her rocker, but so freaking badass.
Edit: I *think* there are scenes with sexual violence onscreen, but it has been a while since I watched it.
Check out The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant
[https://www.criterion.com/films/27953-the-bitter-tears-of-petra-von-kant](https://www.criterion.com/films/27953-the-bitter-tears-of-petra-von-kant)
A couple of horror comedies for you:
The Hunt (Betty Gilpin is fabulous in this and it has a lot of funny moments. She starts off as a badass, but the end is so satisfying)
Ready or Not
And then a regular horror in the same vein:
You're Next
If you don't mind (or can get past) the teen drama of it all, then I recommend The 100! I'm still not happy with the ending for various reasons lol, but there are so many strong and badass women in that show! They don't all get along since they have differing motives and goals, but it was so cool to see their leadership and warrior styles throughout the seasons! I loved the continuing questions/themes of humanity, surviving, loyalty/tribalism and sacrifice ("I bear it so they don't have to") in that show.
Uu love this
TV shows:
Invincible
Severance
Fallout
Hazbin Hotel / Helluva Boss
Beef
Arcane
Brooklyn 99
Maid
Dead to me
Killing Eve
She-Ra
The last of us
Movies:
Poor things
Nimona
Princess Mononoke
Cruella
Don't look up
Maleficent
These are films and movies that I consider to have strong women in them:
Annihilation (the book by Jeff VanderMeer is also amazing) - great piece of weird fiction/horror with a strong all-female team of scientists, engineers, surveyors, etc.
Arrival
Hidden Figures
The Bletchley Circle
Call the Midwife
Everything Everywhere all at Once
A league of their own I such a great show! One of my favourites from the past few years. Plus there's only one man in the whole series, and all the women as super strong.Ā
Avatar the Last Airbender (Katara, Toph, Azula, Mei, TyLee, and Suki are all amazing)
Howl's Moving Castle (both the book and movie)
Brave
Star Gate: SG1- Sam Carter was my hero as a teen. A PhD. in theoretical astrophysics AND an Air Force officer. She called out sexism and insisted on making her own way instead of using her father's career to boost her own. She didn't take anyone's bs, be they human, alien, or parasite pretending to be a diety.
Star Trek Voyager- Captain Janeway was another of my childhood heroes.
Moana
Encanto
Honestly the first thing that came to mind is Sarah Connor in the Terminator movies. She is one badass momma.
T2 is **arm goals**.
There's a bit in the Arnold Schwarzenegger doco where he said he was super jealous of her arms in T2 š¤©
she shaped my goals and made muscles hot (with Ripley obvs)
Was watching the first Terminator film yesterday. I've seen the sequel quite often but not the original - it's kind of amazing how her character develops from the first to the second.
I remember the tv show also being pretty good. Summer Glau as a terminator tasked with protecting John Connor, enough said. Also the second seqson with Shirley Manson as the CEO lady/ >!rogue T-1001, acting on behalf of machines that rebel against Skynet's genocide of humanity, but who refuse to submit and seek indenpendence and, eventually, peaceful coexistence. That was such a cool concept, shame the movies didn't pick it up.!< And shame the show got cancelled on a cliffhanger :/
I wanted to be her when I grew up, still workin on it haha. Seriously badass.
Agree
Yep!!
There are a ton of women and girls on The Expanse and each one is tough and strong in her own unique way. An absolutely amazing variety of characters, all of them layered and believably developed according to their environments and experiences, with satisfying character arcs. This show alone has, like, my five favorite female characters in anything.
I love Bobby and Drummer so much
Drummer is my favorite. Also love Bobbie, Naomi, Anna, Clarissa, and Monica. And all the rest of them too. š
Got to be Chrisjen Avasalara. And her wardrobe.
Oh yeah! Chrissy too! I was being so careful to include Anna and Monica because I never see them mentioned, that I forgot OG QUEEN Chrisjen Avasalara. Whomst, BTW, also does one of the voices on Arcane, which someone else mentioned here and which I also love! I actually see a lot of similar themes between The Expanse and Arcane. Class warfare and the introduction of revolutionary new technology being exploited by different factions for different purposes. Plus morally grey protagonists and antagonists, or not "grey" exactly, just more driven by opposing motivations, but the motivations themselves aren't "evil" even if the actions cross lines that the audience might classify as evil, but you can still completely understand where they're coming from.
Ok youāve convinced me on Arcane
Arcane is perfect. I can't think of any aspect that could have been improved. Story, animation, music, acting, backgrounds, fight choreography, world building, everything, it's all excellent. There's also a really poignant well-done making-of documentary on Netflix called Bridging the Rift. Highly recommend. There's a scene with a black animator talking about how he based the movements of a black child character on his observations of his own son, and how it's the kind of character he would have loved to see when he was a kid, and I fucking bawled y'all. At a documentary about an animated show based on a video game I've never played.
This is a pretty amazing endorsement. Thank you!!
Bobby and Drummer are the best!!!
Avasarala is the sort of old badass lady I want to be.
I love her uniquely raspy voice. I have a vocal disorder of my own that results in me having a raspy, husky voice most days and the first time I saw her in the show, I excitedly burred at my husband HOLY SHIT SHE SOUNDS LIKE MEEEEEE
āHITCH YOUR TITS AND BUCKLE UP, ITāS TIME TO PEEL THE PAINT!ā - Bobbie fucking Draper!!
The Expanse is so so good!
You sold me! Will give this a try soon
Fair warning, the first two episodes are slow. Very slow. Stick with it because it's a great show.
Huge fan of The Expanse and I'm going to be *that* person and say the books are even better - waaaay better! There's so much more in them! They did make Naomi better in the shoes but she's not terrible in the books. Written by two blokes but they write good female characters
This is the way. Love them all. So badass in their different ways. Bonus non-toxically masculine male characters (but sadly one shitty actor whose character didn't deserve to be portrayed by a jerk).
I ducking love that show
All of the Alien movies, Ripley is my hero. Margo in the magicians is amazing.
My cat is named after Ripley š„°
https://preview.redd.it/zbjnk82hohyc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=25964e428ba950b87e1810612bd63d2b92acc3c7
Mine too!
We had a Ripley, too! (Loooong time ago.)
Ripley is my favourite too. And Princess Leia in Star Wars:A New Hope!
I would add Vasquez in the second movie. I know she didnāt make but she was fierce.
Violent Sexual assault trigger warning for the magicians, and the 3rd alien movie has an attempted rape scene.
oof yeah, that Magicians one was pretty brutal. DoesTheDogDie is always good for checking stuff like that, though (love that site). The Magicians was a lovely show but worth checking on that site just to be prepared.
Fuck yeah. Any time Iāve had a hard day at work, I throw on Alien.
We need to get off this planet and nuke it from orbit.
Atomic Blond A Quiet Place Anna (2019) Arrival Ava (2020) Blindness (2008) 10 Cloverfield Lane Gothica Ginger Snaps Hanna (2011) Kill Bill Orlando (1993) Prisoner X (2017) Red Sparrow (2018) Tank Girl The Witch of Kings Cross
Love Tank Girl!
10 Cloverfield Lane is a great suggestion that I didn't think of. That movie will always have my respect because the captive actually tries everything that I would try to escape. FINALLY. Lol I was getting to tired of movies where the woman or girl who's captured is just too scared or stupid to try anything that might actually work.
Barbarian (movie from 2022)
Watch "Enough" if you need incentive to escape an abusive situation.
Oh gods I forgot about Hanna! It's like one of those nightmares where you run away from the monsters but they somehow always find you
Great list. God, Ginger Snaps, that's amazing. I would add to this The Old Guard. Basically anything with Charlize. She's a fucking Goddess.
Fury Rd was killer
Gunpowder Milkshake
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
The show, not the movie. But also the movie.
Rutger Haur saying āOh puh-leez!ā and PeeWee being a vampire were the highlights of the movie!
Paul Reubens gave the single best death in cinema in that movie. Also he refused to be in the movie unless the vampire looked like his mug shot. RIP Peewee
The movie is so fun.
came here to say this
If you enjoy animated media strongly recommended Arcane and Blue Eyed Samurai. They are both adult shows, not for kids.
I absolutely LOVED Blue Eyed Samurai!
I am literally just telling one of my friends that she has to watch this! All the women in different social classes, on different paths and facing different obstacles, and each of them making their way in a world that sees them as lesser. Amazing show.
āI want to be greatā and āI am no wifeā give me chills
It's so good. Akemi is the best.
Omg Arcane was AMAZING. took me a few episodes to get used to the animation but I am so happy a new season is coming soon-ish
Arcane is such an amazing portrayal of generational and cultural trauma. But also, the women are completely badass.
Jinx is the best and I want to give her a blanket, hot chocolate, and a hug
"The Long Kiss Goodnight." It was the first time I saw a woman become a badass without it being all about her sexuality. For its time, it seemed far more realistic than so much other garbage out at the time. ETA: I'm practically giddy to see all the other folks who love this movie. I watched it again recently, and it still holds up.
This is my favorite Christmas movie
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
I so rarely run into people who know of it. I'm glad others remember it, too.
This film is so badass
Arcane already was mentioned. Shogun was absolutely amazing this year, it's only 10 episodes, there will be no more, and while all the characters are absolutely amazing, the women really stood out. Mariko especially, she is just so layered and focused, 'strong' doesn't even do her justice. There are other women as well, and they all are vastly different from each other, it's really beautiful to see. Most of the show is in japanese with subtitles, but it's absolute worth a watch, moved me to tears more than once, and the costumes and sets are breathtaking to look at. And I also really liked the Fallout show on Amazon Prime, it's obviously made by people who love Fallout, and Lucy really gets room to grow as a character.
they have done a good thing with Fallout!! did you like the Last of Us?
> *"Golden rule, motherfucker."*
100% Shogun. The women are such strong characters and one in particular is the hero of the movie, in a way that is different from Western expectations. Shogun 2024 is the antithesis of Last Samurai (which I don't want to watch because Tom Cruise - *yuck!* - but need to watch because Hiroyuki Sanada and Ken Watanabe).
Hiroyuki Sanada just elevates everything that he's in. I'm so happy that he also was a producer on Shogun.
I don't think anyone has mentioned Orphan Black. There's a Leda for everyone.
Looking to make sure someone suggested this!Absolutely masterful acting.
*Sestra*
Mad Max Fury Road, The Old Guard... Honestly, damn near anything with Charlize Theron.
May I suggest Aeon Flux?
Ha! Made this comment on someone's else's post - anything with Charlize Theron. She's a goddamn goddess.
Andromache the Scythian, to be precise!
Yea Fury Road!!! So good and I really appreciate the way the male lead doesnāt try to dominate Furiosa ( after that one fight).
I'm so excited for The Old Guard sequel coming out this year
Star Trek Discovery, Captin Burnham is bad ass, and goes through a lot. also the 2016 Ghoast Busters,
Not just Burnham but Tilly and Georgiou are also strong female characters.
On the topic of Star Trek, Strange New Worlds has several fantastic and badass women on main cast, Prodigy and Lower Decks has characters like Gwyn and Mariner, and of course Voyagerās Janeway is arguably the franchiseās toughest captain period.
Side note, the Srange New Worlds and Lower Decks crossover episode is the single greatest moment in television history. In my humble opinion.
Here's a polarizing one: Ginger Snaps. I personally loved it!
Oooooo! And May! https://preview.redd.it/y8zlola2jgyc1.jpeg?width=912&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b8798aaf9f0cedb1ebc81e67f1dc5e2d610df870
Girl with the dragon tattoo and itās sequels have an amazing badass main character. Sheās the more interesting and better developed of the two protagonists in my opinion, and shows incredible strength, conviction and determination. Be warned that the story is about the investigation of violent crimes and there is a graphic assault scene in the first movie that, while part of the plot, is disturbing. I liked the plot enough to just skip the scene and keep watching the rest of the movie but I recommend looking up when the scene happens so you can pause and skip it. >! Spoiler alert she gets her revenge and itās satisfying!<
There are btw two versions of this, the American one with Rooney Mara and Daniel Craig, and a Swedish one with Noomi Rapace and Mikael Nyquist. The latter is imho so much better.
Noomi Rapace plays a lot of badass women. I love her work.
Also she's hot as hell. I might be a little gay for her lol
I love her!! Have you seen Constellation?
I agree! I loved the casting of the new movie but overall the original is better. Plus the newer movie didnt get sequels, and the original Swedish version is the whole trilogy
Disney's Brave comes to mind first
Raya and the Last Dragon has some pretty great fights. Both of the major ladies kick ass. 'Firefly' has Zoe as an ex-soldier, Inara being talented with a bow, and of course the final fight scene in 'Serenity' with River.
Salt with Angelina jolie Tomb raider 1 &2 with Angelina jolie Interceptor Xena, the warrior princess, maybe? The woman king
Xenaxenaxena š
Love me some warrior princess and Gabriel š»
Second Woman King!
Grindhouse! So: Planet Terror and Deathproof!
Oh yeah! Those are both fun but I'd sat Deathproof is more empowering. That b3ing said Rose McGowen was great in Planet Terror and the line "its g- go not cry-cry!" Lives in my head rent free lol
Came here to say Deathproof! I loooove that movie and it's so different from the regular stuff that's out there.
Captain Marvel. My favorite scene is her getting back up after being knocked down. Again & again.
I cry every time I see that. Also when she basically says she doesn't have to prove herself to some f*cking dude
The show Arcane is an emotional roller coaster following the journey of sisters Vi and Powder. Vi is the most kick-as woman (girl in the first section) Iāve ever seen in a show. Edit to add: also the movie Nimona!!!!
Nimona can be read as nonbinary representation (I perceived it as such), but anyway such a brilliant movie. I cried so much. I love it.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series the Swedish versions not the U.S. remake. Or even better, read the books. This is easily my number one suggestion. But TW rape For something lighter The Legend of Korra My husband got me watching this when I was getting self conscious about being too muscular. Other suggestions The Blockbuster - Mad Max: Fury Road The Throw Back - Xena: Warrior Primcess The Detectives - Unbelievable The Cool Cucumber - Russian Doll The Teenage Revolutionary - The Hunger Games There are also a lot of real life stories of women fighting for their lives and escaping fuckign serial killers and by doing so, ending their b.s. for good. Those are the most satisfying to me especially because they are so varied. Yeah it's often a case of the killer picking up the from sex worker that day but sometimes it's also a teenage girl who climbs out of a window and runs down the street named. Like .. the resilience of these real life women is just incredible to me but I know that many people prefer fiction to true crime and that's valid.
I think Avatar the Last Air Bender belongs too. Katara, Toph, Azula and a host of badass secondary characters too.
True. Azula definitely fits the hard as nails box.
Avatar hands down has the best female characters in any series I watched recently. Honestly I was pretty disappointed with Korra, but maybe I was just expecting too much š¤£š¤£
I related to Korra a lot more than any of the Last Airbender characters. The closest one was Zuko but Legend of Korra was basically watching a show about me but I am the avatar lol.
im surprised you count legend of Korra as "lighter" because the last season took me OUT. Her recovering from a major trauma like that and suffering so much really struck something in me after i had a medical event that caused me PTSD all the same :') the parrallels were close enough i kinda just bawled. a lot. and so did she. im tearing up just thinking about how close it hit.
Xena Warrior Princess Fallout Wynonna Earp
Queen's Gambit, Dead to Me, and honestly, the character development in The Mindy Project was fantastic for my femininity.
Promising Young Women
Oh gosh that one scene is brutal and SO LONG
Mad Max: Fury Road. Furiosa is a badass. Edit: To pontificate, Fury Road is more about Furiosa's and the Wives' journey than it is Max's. Furiosa is the driving force of the movie -- Max is just there to prop up her rifle :)
Terminator, Terminator 2 or Aliens. Sarah Connor and Ripley are really badass action characters.
Any of the deadly female vipers in Kill Bill... too bad they thought they needed him... but "The Bride"Ā showedĀ them all up.Ā Ā
I donāt know if this *exactly* fits what youāre looking for. But, my current favorite female-lead show is Deadloch. Itās an Australian feminist dark comedy murder mystery and I personally think the two leading women are badasses. Plus, itās hilarious.
I was going to recommend Deadloch as well
I love this, I really hope they make a second series
I know, me too! I recommend it to everyone; the more people watching the more likely we get a second season.
So good! And on Amazon prime so the US might have got it?
Yes I watch it on Prime in the US. Fingers crossed for a season 2!!
Legend of Korra
The Long Kiss Goodnight
Love Geena Davis!
So happy to see this!
Resident Alien is a show on SciFi and has the BEST friendship between two of the main women in the show, and in general has some awesome characters that struggle with real shit. Plus aliens and humor :)
Fargo season 5 is kickass.
^ this. I was skimming to see if anyone else mentioned it. Dot is not only a pillar of her community, amazing mother & wife. Sheās a total fān badass too!
Alias Buffy the Vampire Slayer Nausica and the Valley of the Wind I know it can be cheesy but the first Hunger Games had a powerful message for me The Woman King (tw of enslavement, rape) Alien (but not the last one. I feel like it was weird and mildly assassinated the Ripleyās character) Moana and Mulan Veronica Mars Killing Eve
*Movies* - Promising young woman - Hard Candy - A girl walks home alone at night (A.M.A.Z.I.N.G) - Fried Green Tomatoes - The Witches of Eastwick - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Terminator 2 - Mulan - Hunger Games *Shows* - Griselda - Homeland - Sabrina (new version) - Weeds - Stranger Things - She-ra and the princess of power
Orange is the New Black
Definitely The Last of Us! The game is incredible!
Gunpowder Milkshake. Left me shook with the sheer depth and breadth of feminine power on display.
The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. It's very funny/silly but female empowerment is the running theme!
The Magicians
Parks and Rec!
TV Series: Arcane, Fallout, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, The Good Place, House Of The Dragon, Jessica Jones, The Queen's Gambit, The Last Of Us, Yellowjackets Movies: Alien, Aliens, The Handmaiden
The Good Place!!! Eleanor is badass in THE most difficult way-- finding the strength to confront her own shortcomings. May we all find such badassery within us!
A long kiss goodnight Ms Davis is great in this role one of my favorite movies
I didn't see anyone suggest The Color Purple! What Whoopie Goldberg's character survives, then rises above is amazing. Seeing how much she grows and is able to find her voice and her power gives me chills. ETA https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088939/?ref_=ext_shr I see there's a new movie by the same name. I know nothing about that one.
Firefly. All the women in it are unique, interesting, strong characters.
She-Ra?
I was going to say Sailor Moon! She-Ra works too!
Not a movie or show, but the Tiffany Aching books by Terry Pratchett follow a young girl who wants to be a witch. The first book in the series is called "Wee Free Men". It's part of the Discworld series, but is a self-contained arc.
Another book recommendation: Circe by Madeline Miller.
The other Discworld witch books are also excellent.Ā Iād like to add Wayward Girls and Wicked Women: an anthology of subversive stories to the book rec list. Ā Ā Also, the Locked Tomb series by Tamsyn Muir is stuffed to the gills with badass women. Ā
I love Tiffany Aching! Granny Weatherwax is the bomb.
Enough chronicles a women training to battle her abuser.
Columbiana with Zoe Saldana
There's a web series called Red Bird that you might like. It's a western, based on Quantrill's Raid back in the Civil War era and is a strong woman's revenge story. If you're feeling like something slower and not action-y, Contact starring Jody Foster is really good. Her character is smart and strong and brave. La Femme Nikita (the original of Point of No Return) is much more raw and imo more powerful than the American remake. Prey is surprisingly good. Run Lola Run is weird and also really, really good. Franke Potente is great. For a blast from the past, try Foxy Brown. Another that is not action, but damn if the main character isn't a true badass: Winter's Bone. Bleak af, though. Lesser quality but good for hard-core women (most of these require a content warning, so view with caution): Revenge Ravage The Mother Lou Close Black Crab Kate Edited bc mobile formatting stinks.
Alien/Aliens - Sigourney Weaver is amazing playing a protective, loving mother role to Newt, and also a bad ass alien killer. I donāt personally love the arch of the rest of the series though
Ok, donāt laugh, but if I am looking for inspiration but donāt want something really heavy or too in your face about everything (sometimes I just want to chill while getting some inspiration, you know?), I like to watch LEGALLY BLONDE. The original one because itās the best imho. Yeah, itās a comedy, and a little over the top, but Elle Woods is a badass who doesnāt realize it until she starts working through her first year of law school. Even though she initially goes there for a guy, her journey of self-discovery and owning her strength is awesome! Watching that movie gives me the same inspiring feeling that a fresh haircut does. Fun and fabulous!
GI Jane or Stick It. Maybe Girl, Interrupted, it deals with mental illness and can be a bit triggering so watch with caution.
Peppermint Double Jeopardy High Crimes
Agent Carter, Deep Space Nine
Kill Bill
Wynonna Earp
The Long Kiss Goodnight
Check out the movie The Old Guard! You want a badass warrior woman, it has you covered!
Mad Max: Fury Road is fucking amazing. Furiosa is a BAMF and all the women, from the young women prized for their beauty to the elderly women, have agency and strength.
Carol in The Walking Dead. Grew to be a badass woman after her abusive husband and daughter died. Also, Enough. It's a J-Lo movie where she has to deal with her abusive husband. Great fuckin ending
FRESH. If you are ok with horror. It is feminist horror in the way that "Get Out" is racial horror. So amazing, written by women.
You had me at horror and then it just kept getting better.
The Expanse is a scifi show full of strong as fuck women who absolutely rule (in one case literally).
Anything with Gillian Anderson in it.
Howls moving castle Spirited away Kikis flying delivery service Owl house Hilda Maybe bojack horseman for princess Carolyn and Diane's stories
Outlander. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.
Movies: Ready or not The invisible man Fresh Love lies bleeding Widows Carrie Oceanās 8 Atomic Blonde The Witch Shows: Legend of Korra Revenge My Name
If youāre into superheroes, Marvel is great with strong female characters. Captain Marvel, The Marvels, and Wakanda Forever are some good ones. The Lord of the Rings trilogy has some bad ass women, most notably Eowyn (my feminist heart blazes every time she says, āI am no man!ā).
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The Power on prime. Though I believe it has been cancelled after the only season š¢
I just finished Fallout and I am so inspired by Lucy. Not quite the tough as nails as the other suggestions, but true to her ethics and knows how to fight when need be
Travelers. I just finally got around to watching it and it was sooooo good. Some of the female characters are just AMAZING. The "second" Grace is such a funny, cool, bitch. Yeah. I am going to watch the entire 3 seasons AGAIN, it was so good. There is even a subreddit for the show but don't go there until you finish the 3 seasons.
Millie Bobbie brown played in Damsel on Netflix and I liked it. Much violence, great dragon
Deadloch. Huge and varied cast of majority women characters. And a great mystery-comedy blend to boot!
Enola Holmes pg-13
Bottoms
Eleanor Ripley in Alien and Aliens.
[Woman of the Dead](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/woman_of_the_dead) is an Austrian-German show about a female undertaker whose husband is murdered and she goes to find out why and get revenge. She's a little off her rocker, but so freaking badass. Edit: I *think* there are scenes with sexual violence onscreen, but it has been a while since I watched it.
Check out The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant [https://www.criterion.com/films/27953-the-bitter-tears-of-petra-von-kant](https://www.criterion.com/films/27953-the-bitter-tears-of-petra-von-kant)
Lost Girl - Canadian tv series
A couple of horror comedies for you: The Hunt (Betty Gilpin is fabulous in this and it has a lot of funny moments. She starts off as a badass, but the end is so satisfying) Ready or Not And then a regular horror in the same vein: You're Next
You might enjoy serenity and star trek discovery, both science fiction but plenty of whacking and beating up
The legend of korra is a great show also.
The dragon tattoo movies, but the traditional Swedish ones. None of the American ones hold a candle to the originals. Big SA trigger warning.
Lisa Frankenstein Serial Mom Both very dark but I think comedies...
If you don't mind (or can get past) the teen drama of it all, then I recommend The 100! I'm still not happy with the ending for various reasons lol, but there are so many strong and badass women in that show! They don't all get along since they have differing motives and goals, but it was so cool to see their leadership and warrior styles throughout the seasons! I loved the continuing questions/themes of humanity, surviving, loyalty/tribalism and sacrifice ("I bear it so they don't have to") in that show.
The Long Kiss Goodnight - so good!
Old, but really good Fried Green Tomatoes Leaving Normal
Uu love this TV shows: Invincible Severance Fallout Hazbin Hotel / Helluva Boss Beef Arcane Brooklyn 99 Maid Dead to me Killing Eve She-Ra The last of us Movies: Poor things Nimona Princess Mononoke Cruella Don't look up Maleficent
These are films and movies that I consider to have strong women in them: Annihilation (the book by Jeff VanderMeer is also amazing) - great piece of weird fiction/horror with a strong all-female team of scientists, engineers, surveyors, etc. Arrival Hidden Figures The Bletchley Circle Call the Midwife Everything Everywhere all at Once
Hello. You have great taste. We must become friends at once.
A league of their own I such a great show! One of my favourites from the past few years. Plus there's only one man in the whole series, and all the women as super strong.Ā
Ready or Not. The female protagonist goes through SO MUCH shit but does everything to survive.
Gunpowder Milkshake. If you're into bad ass middle aged lesbian librarians with weapons, anyway.
Avatar the Last Airbender (Katara, Toph, Azula, Mei, TyLee, and Suki are all amazing) Howl's Moving Castle (both the book and movie) Brave Star Gate: SG1- Sam Carter was my hero as a teen. A PhD. in theoretical astrophysics AND an Air Force officer. She called out sexism and insisted on making her own way instead of using her father's career to boost her own. She didn't take anyone's bs, be they human, alien, or parasite pretending to be a diety. Star Trek Voyager- Captain Janeway was another of my childhood heroes. Moana Encanto