By Elise DeYoung

The Hunger Games, Divergent, Gravity, and The Twilight Saga are all examples of well-known films in today’s industry including a lead female role. Females in lead roles in the movie industry have become more and more common over time. In the past, you would rarely see a woman with the lead role of any movie, let alone being the heroine. Nowadays, there are many movies with a strong female character or protagonist who influences young adults.

Many find it encouraging that so many recent young adult movies and novelshave featured a female protagonist that can act as a role model for young women. The female heroine roles are looked up to mainly because of their internal strength rather than their physical strengths.

Most people enjoy movies like The Hunger Games because they like the main character, Katniss, who is more focused on surviving rather than focusing on her love life. Many women in particular like the idea of eliminating the “damsel in distress” stereotype found in many movies and novels today. Although some claim that The Twilight Saga also has a strong female role, it could also be argued that the main character, Bella, was too passive and dependent.

These female-led novels and movies are becoming popular because young adults can relate to the characters. Fans relate to the movie Divergent by comparing some of today’s culture to the movie. Young women in general don’t feel that they have power to do what they want and to voice their own opinions. The circumstances in Divergent are much more extreme than those found in the US, but there are still many boundaries in the movie that relate to boundaries women face today.

Creators of these types of novels and films hope that this new wave of female-driven movies inspires more to be created and to be successful. Many also hope that the creation of more female leads will encourage and inspire young adults of today.