How many on-screen badass women can you name?

(I’ll update the list periodically.)


Badass On-Screen Women


  • Everybody remembers Ripley, but Aliens was a solid gender equality movie… filmed way back in 1986. Remember Vasquez and Ferro? Totally believable, flawed and likeable badasses. I find today’s characters to be way too perfect to be believable. Wonder Woman is a good example. I find her annoying.

  • TankovayaDiviziya@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    Where is the love for Chrisjen Avasarala? The UN General Secretary Queen of the Earth from The Expanse lore? The Space Iron Lady!

    I admire her more than other traditional depiction of bad ass action stars who are either a man or a woman. I realised I admire mental acuity more than raw strength. Avasarala is Machiavellian but a pragmatist, and ready to get her hands dirty if needs be in spite of her privileged upbringing. Her main drawbacks though is that she is too willing to get her hands dirty, especially at the first episode when she personally oversaw the torture of a Belter in a blacksite. She was also willing to use her family image to gain political sympathy. But one could argue it’s for the greater good, not that I am excusing both of her egregious and questionable actions. As I said, she is a pragmatist after all and looks at the bigger picture and have long term scope. She was right about slowly colonising the New Worlds. Avasarala is an anti-hero but she’s right in more ways than none.

    • thedirtyknapkin@lemmy.world
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      9 months ago

      “i know you love sticking your dick in everything, but try not to fuck this one”

      top 20 one liners for me. she was one of my favorites in that series.

      • friendlymessage@feddit.de
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        9 months ago

        “do not put your dick in it, it’s fucked enough already”

        “Where are you going with this?” - “wherever I god damn like”

        It’s not only the quotes, the delivery is just perfect

    • BaronVonBort@lemmy.world
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      9 months ago

      Avasarala and (TV) Drummer were absolute badasses.

      “Let’s go hydrate… with some beers” is said too much in my household.

    • Krzd@lemmy.world
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      9 months ago

      Avasarala is absolutely the top, Bobby is IMO a close second though. (Going by the books)

    • Rodeo@lemmy.ca
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      9 months ago

      I can’t stand the actor’s gross smokers voice, but she was an awesome character and her voice actually kind of fit with it. It’s harsh and untempered, just like the character.

      • TankovayaDiviziya@lemmy.world
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        9 months ago

        In the hands of a lesser actress, that smoker voice would not have been irritating. But Shoreh Agdashloo is such a great one that I did not mind her voice. I almost forget her smoker voice when I watch her.

  • ace_garp@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    ‘Landlady’ is the absolute correct choice.

    From Wikipedia:

    Cheung Cheun-Nam, known professionally as Yuen Qiu (Chinese: 元秋; born 19 April 1950), is a Hong Kong actress and martial artist. She is an expert of both Chinese martial arts and Beijing-opera skills, and was apprenticed at the Peking Opera School under the same master, Yu Jim-yuen, as Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung.

    After being away from the Hong Kong film industry for nearly 20 years, she landed a role in Kung Fu Hustle only by chance. She was accompanying a junior woman fellow of the China Drama Academy at the audition but the director’s eye was on her. It was reported that Stephen Chow convinced her to take on the role only after unremitting and persistent persuasion.[citation needed]

    Yuen later appeared in the movie Kung Fu Mahjong, with Yuen Wah, and has been active in cinema since then. (20 more films)

  • SapphironZA@lemmings.world
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    9 months ago

    Ellen Ripley, no contest.

    No superpowers, no special training, no special technology. Simply the wisdom to see a job that needs done and the bravery and determination to do it.

    • khannie@lemmy.world
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      9 months ago

      Her first interactions with newt were so soft too. Really amazing character played by the perfect actress for the role.

      Aliens is my favourite movie of all time.

      • Rolando@lemmy.world
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        9 months ago

        Newt was badass too.

        Hudson: Seventeen DAYS!? Hey man, I don’t wanna rain on your parade, but we’re not gonna last seventeen HOURS!!! Those things are gonna come in here just like they did before! And they’re gonna come in here AND THEY’RE GONNA GET US!!!

        Ripley: Hudson! This little girl survived longer than that with no weapons and no training!

        Newt: [salutes]

  • Shurimal@kbin.social
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    9 months ago

    Every female character in The Expanse. There simply were no non-badasses in that show🙃

    • Chetzemoka@lemmy.world
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      9 months ago

      Naomi rescued herself by jumping unprotected across an entire expanse of vacuum and then rigged a signal to communicate with her friends, not even from scraps, but from literally nothing.

      Fucking genius badass. Hence my username.

  • FierroGamer@sh.itjust.works
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    9 months ago

    Don’t mind me, I’m just here to mention princess Mononoke and lady Eboshi from the same movie, I would list a few but there’s too many comments to parse so I just looked for those thinking they might not have been mentioned.

    • AngryCommieKender@lemmy.world
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      9 months ago

      Also basically every single main character in Spirited Away. The luck dragon might be male, and several supporting characters are, but the main protagonist, antagonist, and teacher character are all girls/women

      • TengoDosVacas@lemmy.world
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        9 months ago

        And there is nothing self-serving or self-glorifying about their actions. They simply see that a job has to be done and they do it.