Celebrating Women in Pop Culture

Celebrating Women in Pop Culture

Fried Green Role Models

Roles in Hollywood's mainstream feature films that celebrate strong and admirable female characters are rare. While female heroine roles, per se, are more frequent, these roles are typically fantasy-based characters that exude more sexuality than real-world virtue. Examples of this type of fantasy-based roles include Angelina Jolie's roles in "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider" (a scantily-clad super-hero) and "Mr. And Mrs. Smith" (a hit-woman married to a hit-man). There are films, however, that have celebrated women as strong individuals who are defined by their pursuit of self-betterment and resiliency. These are virtues that both women and men should aspire to, and it is helpful for women to see these virtues embodied by "typical" and "average" women. One such movie that depicts two women who display these qualities is "Fried Green Tomatoes."

"Fried Green Tomatoes" features two relatively distinct plots, the first revolving around Kathy Bates' character ("Evelyn Couch") and the second revolving around Mary Staurt Masterson's ("Idgie Threadgoode"). Bates portrays a middle aged housewife who struggles with a lackluster marriage, a purposeless life, body image and weight issues, sexuality issues and impending menopause (called "her changes" by co-star Jessica Tandy). In the first third of the movie, Bates identifies her struggles, in the second part of the movie, she succumbs to or is controlled by them, and last part of the movie she finds the resolve to take action to address her issues.

What makes Bates' character a powerful celebration of women, is that she embodies the ability to change women have within themselves. In dealing with the same issues that millions of middle age women struggle with every day, she finds the tools to change inside herself. She develops a new found belief (or perhaps harnesses a dormant belief) that she can change her attitude, behavior and outlook all by herself and solely for the sake of bettering herself. Her journey of self betterment is not connected to her husband, children or society's approval. Her only goal is genuine happiness and inner serenity.

Mary Stuart Masterson's character undergoes a similar transformation, however, her journey is initiated by her willingness to follow the example of another. As a young woman, Idgie has a very self-destructive plan for her life, involving hard drinking, gambling and cheating death whenever possible. When Mary Louise Parker's character enters her life, she is exposed to a woman who is at once self assured, dignified and responsible. Idgie sees this as a better blueprint for living and overtime abandons her earlier philosophy of living hard and not caring. By the end of the movie she is a pillar of consistency in her community and the one people seek out for sage advice.

Bates' and Masterson's characters share similarities that are quite profound in their celebration of women. First and foremost, these women do not self-perpetuate their own misery. They learn how to get out of their way (Bates from Tandy and Masterson from Parker) and they have the courage to take action to apply what they learn. That they are not motivated by external approval is evident in how Bates communicates with her husband at the end of the movie and how Masterson stands up to the Klan.