Authors Note: repost from Nov 24, 2016
The latest episode of “Walking Dead” was a tear-jerker to mourn the loss of a beloved character, Glen. I teared up with Maggie when she visited his grave, but it was the end of the episode that had three women from different walks of life, sitting around the table holding hands, and I was suddenly overcome with emotion. It was the first time in a long while that I finally saw real feminism on a major television show. This episode was about women coming together and they are the true heroes. They will be the ones that save them all. I realized I was witnessing three-dimensional female characters that were there the whole time, all the time during the show. All the other episodes and characters flashed in my head and I screamed, “THIS is what we’re talking about!” This is a perfect piece of evidence to use as an example of equality done right and not making it a big deal – because it shouldn’t be! That’s the point.
“Walking Dead” in general has well-developed characters and plot which makes the show so riveting to watch that you don’t even realize that also includes (gasp!) WOMEN! That’s right! Who knew you could have an exciting television show that featured rounded female characters that were strong, smart, charming and diverse! The best part is, they don’t brag about it, they just did their jobs. It was right there in front of me, beautifully displayed and not in my face screaming, “look! We’re totally celebrating women! Look! Cookie now, please.”
I feel like Hollywood completely missed the point when they thought of remaking movies and changing the leads to female. Or they create a cool kick-ass female lead but she’s still a sex object. Or you have a strong female lead that isn’t a sex object but she completely lacks character development. Uh, thanks for trying…? It’s very simple, women are just asking male executives, producers, writers and directors to put in as much effort on their female characters as they would their male characters. You know, tell a believable story (AKA do their job). Even consider giving an actress for a role that you initially had for an actor because really, we’re not that different. It’s been done before with “Salt” and it worked out fine.
Hollywood is trying, but it’s not getting it. We don’t want a big grand gesture that lays out the red carpet and screams, “STRONG LEADING FEMALE!” All we want is equality. It’s not a big deal. It doesn’t matter the sex, ALL characters should have an equal amount of range and development. Oh, and equal pay would be nice, but that’s a different discussion.
I want to take this opportunity to thank all the people of “Walking Dead” for doing an impeccable job and for giving me hope. For showing Hollywood that you can have a diverse cast and still be number one. With all the darkness surrounding us now, it’s so nice to see a shining light… even if zombies go towards it once in a while.