I recently read a bit in Elle concerning childhood heroes and role models that we watched on TV as both children and adults, and I found it really fascinating. I sat there with 'The Secret Life of the Zoo' on in the background, fixated on this article, which got me to thinking about the characters that have pretty much moulded me into the person I am now, or have formed my weird made up alter-ego-esc creation that I've concocted within my subconscious. The girl I wish I was.
It has become more prominent within the media that representation is important! I read a Tumblr post last year, after the release of the new Star Wars movie, in which a young girl got excited over the main character being a woman. I believe there are so many women in films, books, and TV shows who can shape us as human beings, and who we look up to for advice on careers, life lessons and our own sense of self. Ever since I was a kid watching TV shows on Nickelodeon and Disney Channel, I have been the type of person to be easily led, which I don't think is always a bad thing, when I'm being led by the right thing. There are so many titbits resonating within my mind - things that I will always remember. Why is it, I often wonder, that I can remember so many lines from the cartoons and tv shows I watched as a child but I can't remember anything I learned in maths in high school (embarrassed face emoji)? I will always remember that the french for 'cheese omelette' is 'omelette du fromage' thanks to Dexters Laboratory - but it's not just pointless knowledge like that that has stayed with me throughout the years.
Even now though, as a 23 year old woman, I am influenced by characters I see on screen. I fall in love, instantly, with those I relate to, or those I wish to be like. It has always been true that we see the adventures these characters go on and we wish we could be them - have the adventure, the ups, the downs, the fights and battles, the great job and the interesting love life. Sometimes though, it is just the essence of their character that entices us. We love their wit, their courage, their kindness, their burliness and their strengths. We love seeing passion and stubbornness. I get so giddy when someone talks about their favourite character and why they love them so much. I love that I work with teenagers in a school, and they tell me how awesome so and so is and how much they think *insert superhero* is cool. Yes, I am one who gets a little agitated by the amount of time teenagers spend on their phone or watching Netflix, but it's also true that so many life lessons can be learned in an hour of one TV show.
From growing up in the nineties (hello fellow 'sad adults') to being a woman in her twenties, I have found several role models when perusing what the small screen has to offer. I have been given the courage to pursue my dreams, and I've even been turned against them. I have been convinced to become a better, healthier me. Here, I will explain some benefits of watching TV - Sorry, not sorry health nuts. Here's a glass of water to throw over me - TV soap style.
#1 - My ultimate woman crush, role model, protector, all round boss babe - Imperator Furiosa.
(Charlize Theron, Mad Max: Fury Road, 2015)
I have pretty much always had long hair, and I thought only Ruby Rose could alter that fact. That was, of course, until I went to see Mad Max with my ex boyfriend and I fell instantly in love. Deserving of it's many wins at the Oscars this year, Mad Max: Fury Road is a fast paced, action packed, and down right entertaining two hour car chase, which involves heavy drum beats and a guy on an electric guitar (and yes, I have downloaded the soundtrack - great gym workout tunes). However, despite all this, my favourite thing about the movie is the (low key) main character. The title of the movie is not 'Imperator Furiosa', but she is the one I watch the movie for (and when Tom Hardy plays the lead, that's saying something). This could be quite the spoiler alert here, but the movie focuses on Furiosa smuggling out the leader of the Citidel, Imortan Joe's, 'wives', saving them from becoming breeders.
We are not things!
The message here alone is clear - that every human being is ... well ... a human being! They have their own thoughts and feelings, and do not deserve to be kept as 'things'. That alone is a great message, but behind all this, is Furiosa. Sporting grungy black boots and a buzz cut, Furiosa is a gun toting, hard hitting, 'war rig' driving woman. She is strong, powerful, smart, persistent...and a soft spoken, caring saviour. She exudes all these qualities on screen for millions of girls to see, all whilst having a disability - Furiosa is missing an arm. Such a wide spectrum of young women can relate to this character which Theron plays so brilliantly. They can relate to this woman who seems impregnable, but still cries and screams. Not only this, but for representation of women in the media, it is a phenomenon. You only have to listen to the music change when (SPOILER) she gets stabbed. It is a real tragedy, to the main character, the 'wives', the 'many mothers' and, yes, the watcher.
I cannot explain my love for this character, other than I can tell you she's made me take up boxing and consider cutting all my hair off. I watched Mad Max: Fury Road everyday for two weeks, like a young girl gazing longingly up at the screen, head in her hands, eyes full of wonder.
#2 - My current life - Penny.
(Kaley Cuoco, The Big Bang Theory, 2007 - Now.)
Even though there is a lot of complaints about The Big Bang Theory, and a lot of videos, forums and
blog posts discussing, and often disparaging it's plot and characters (why do people find it so weird that girls read comic books? Why do people make fun of 'nerd culture'?), I myself find great resonance within one of it's main characters - the blonde, cute and friendly girl-next-door, Penny. The reason I relate to her so much, is because she is a girl my age, working - in most of the series - at the
Cheesecake Factory, all whilst trying to make it as an actress. Last year, I was working at a supermarket and it felt like my life was going no where. I was earning minimum wage even though I had a degree and didn't know what I wanted to pursue in life. I went from thoughts of teaching abroad to marketing to PA, and eventually decided I wanted to pursue journalism, but suffered a great knock back when I didn't get into the university I wanted.
I've been in LA for 10 years, I've accomplished nothing.
I found comfort in the fact that Penny was going through the same thing I was, but she found her feet when she was in her thirties, and had abandoned becoming an actress, when she discovered she didn't need to it be happy. I find comfort in the fact that it took her quite some time. So despite all the silly arguments that come out of a TV show that's just designed to make people laugh, I have found a reason to keep calm and carry on.
#3 - Booze and Brawn - Jessica Jones.
(Krysten Ritter, Jessica Jones, 2015)
I've always been the type of girl that dresses for comfort. I wear the same leather jacket all the time. I wear the same leggings or jeans, and the same oversized tshirts. In face, when my leather jacket went in the wash recently, I felt lost and confused and wondered often what my name was. For me, it's that item of clothing that I put on and all my change, my credit card, my ID and my lipbalm is already in the pocket. I'm starting with this, because Jessica Jones is pretty much my kind of style. Simple loose jeans and black boots, a messy room and no make up. When I watch her on screen I want to dress like her and look like her. So I that as a reason to love her, plus the fact that she has superhero powers...
Jessica isn't a superhero, she is a private investigator who just happens to have powers, but this isn't the main reason I look up to her as a role model. See, (more spoilers here) the villain in Jessica Jones is a man (played by David Tennant) who can make people do whatever he asks of them. I once told a man to go screw himself - can you imagine?! This includes making women have sex with him. The show deals with the issue of rape and consent, and as someone who is a victim of that, I found Jessica to be someone I could greatly relate to, enough that I often teared up at the show.
Because of her trauma, Jessica suffered from anxiety and panic attacks - something that is becoming more of a prominent problem in our society today. As I mentioned earlier, representation is important. It is important for people to see that even the most physically strong and powerful can suffer anxiety. They can be victims themselves. The character, however, perseveres and remembers her strength, and it is this quality that I admire.
#4 - The basic, average girls, here to save the world - Kim Possible, Sam, Clover and Alex.
(Kim Possible, 2002 - 2007/Totally Spies, 2001 - 2013)
Okay, I am really going back to being a child here. I was 10 years old when Kim Possible first came out, and I remember seeing adverts for it on cable. The Disney Channel was a luxury we didn't have
at the time, but I remember seeing this teenage girl with a bare midriff, kicking ass Charlies Angels style, fighting crime and cheerleading, and I remember wanting so badly to be able to watch this show. Growing up with an older brother, I was always into battles, strength and 'boyish' things. I watched PowerRangers and Dragonball Z, and loved the thought of training to get stronger. However, along with this, I identified as a girl. I liked the thought of being a cheerleader who wore Mean Girls like mini skirts. Kim Possible was my ultimate hero - along with Sam, Clover and Alex of Totally Spies.
These girls saved the world, all whilst maintaining lives as normal teenagers. They dealt with crazy love lives, fashion faux pas and the school b*tches. We all loved seeing Mandy and Bonny get their comeuppance, much like Libby in Sabrina the Teenage Witch. As much as these shows were meant for young girls and boys who didn't much think deeply about their role models, these characters have helped shape me. They've shown me, and the rest of society, that it's okay to be girls, love fashion and wear make up, and still kick ass. There's meaning behind their message - girls can be strong. They can be persuasive. They can actually save the world...
#5 The Pirate King - Elizabeth Swann.
(Keira Knightley, Pirates of the Caribbean, 2003)
I'm going to start off here by saying - I'm very much into pirates. I love the stories, the desire for freedom, life at sea, swashbuckling rogues - the whole agenda! I've clocked many hours on Assassins Creed: Black Flag, read One Piece (a manga about pirates), watch Black Sails (more to come on that later), have looked at tattoo designs with a pirate motif, and read fiction about them, as well as fact pages about the famous loveable (kinda) renegades - Blackbeard, Charles Vane, Anne Bonney, Benjamin Hornigold and Bartholomew Roberts. Of course, I was more than keen to see Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, when it was released in the cinemas in 2003. Jack Sparrow has become everyone's favourite dreadlocked, tattooed pirate. He is indeed a favourite character of mine, but no character from the franchise has stuck to me like Elizabeth Swann.
Elizabeth Swann is played by Keira Knightley, who is one of my favourite actresses, but that is not the reason her character sticks with me. Watch the franchise (I'm talking 1-3), and you see Swan go from corset-wearing damsel in distress to ... well... Pirate King. She is not afraid to use a sword, and
is the first to delve into battle while the men fight and argue.
They will hear the ring of our swords and they will know what we can do!
Just like every other one of my role models here, Swann shows strength and courage, and not only
this, but she represents women in such an amazing way.
Barbossa: Jack is one of the nine pirate lords! You have no right!
Elizabeth: ...KING!
At the start of the first movie, Gibbs references women as a bad luck omen, which proves very, very untrue! She is a pirate nerd from the beginning, always asking questions, and she is clearly very interested in Will - the pirate boy. I like that this character is not scared despite all the stories about them, instead, she is fascinated. She knows about 'parlay' and 'the pirates code'. Clearly, she is not just a well brought up 'Governors daughter' - she is smart and ambitious...as well as very adventurous and curious.
You protect her?
What makes you think I need protecting?
#6 Speaking of pirates...The Pirate Queens of Nassau - Eleanor Guthrie, Max, Anne Bonney.
(Hannah New, Jessica Parker Kennedy, Clara Paget, Black Sails, 2014 - Now.)
I told you, I'm very much into pirates, and Eleanor Guthrie is the trade boss of Nassau in the Black Sails series. Eleanor single handedly manages all the pirate business and trade in Nassau, picking up after her father, and builds an empire. She is beautiful and determined, as well as being a great leader and negotiator. The series identifies the downside of being a woman at the time, and seeing such a strong character smash through the glass ceiling despite her limitations is great, as well as historically realistic. Just like Eleanor, the mistress of the brothel, Max, gives us insight into the world of prostitution. Max is raped, abused and broken hearted, but still maintains a caring attitude, all whilst
being smart enough to work her way up to becoming one of the richest women on the island of Nassau. She does this working with Anne Bonney, the blood thirsty ragged pirate girl with a dark history, who we see cry and breakdown. These girls are role models for me because they're strong despite adversity. They're clever and realistic. They work with what is given to them. As a 23 year old woman, they give me the strength to keep going, and they give me reason to believe that there is always a way.
Read the article, 'Channel Her', Hannah Swerling, in Elle UK April 2016.
It has become more prominent within the media that representation is important! I read a Tumblr post last year, after the release of the new Star Wars movie, in which a young girl got excited over the main character being a woman. I believe there are so many women in films, books, and TV shows who can shape us as human beings, and who we look up to for advice on careers, life lessons and our own sense of self. Ever since I was a kid watching TV shows on Nickelodeon and Disney Channel, I have been the type of person to be easily led, which I don't think is always a bad thing, when I'm being led by the right thing. There are so many titbits resonating within my mind - things that I will always remember. Why is it, I often wonder, that I can remember so many lines from the cartoons and tv shows I watched as a child but I can't remember anything I learned in maths in high school (embarrassed face emoji)? I will always remember that the french for 'cheese omelette' is 'omelette du fromage' thanks to Dexters Laboratory - but it's not just pointless knowledge like that that has stayed with me throughout the years.
Even now though, as a 23 year old woman, I am influenced by characters I see on screen. I fall in love, instantly, with those I relate to, or those I wish to be like. It has always been true that we see the adventures these characters go on and we wish we could be them - have the adventure, the ups, the downs, the fights and battles, the great job and the interesting love life. Sometimes though, it is just the essence of their character that entices us. We love their wit, their courage, their kindness, their burliness and their strengths. We love seeing passion and stubbornness. I get so giddy when someone talks about their favourite character and why they love them so much. I love that I work with teenagers in a school, and they tell me how awesome so and so is and how much they think *insert superhero* is cool. Yes, I am one who gets a little agitated by the amount of time teenagers spend on their phone or watching Netflix, but it's also true that so many life lessons can be learned in an hour of one TV show.
From growing up in the nineties (hello fellow 'sad adults') to being a woman in her twenties, I have found several role models when perusing what the small screen has to offer. I have been given the courage to pursue my dreams, and I've even been turned against them. I have been convinced to become a better, healthier me. Here, I will explain some benefits of watching TV - Sorry, not sorry health nuts. Here's a glass of water to throw over me - TV soap style.
#1 - My ultimate woman crush, role model, protector, all round boss babe - Imperator Furiosa.
(Charlize Theron, Mad Max: Fury Road, 2015)
I have pretty much always had long hair, and I thought only Ruby Rose could alter that fact. That was, of course, until I went to see Mad Max with my ex boyfriend and I fell instantly in love. Deserving of it's many wins at the Oscars this year, Mad Max: Fury Road is a fast paced, action packed, and down right entertaining two hour car chase, which involves heavy drum beats and a guy on an electric guitar (and yes, I have downloaded the soundtrack - great gym workout tunes). However, despite all this, my favourite thing about the movie is the (low key) main character. The title of the movie is not 'Imperator Furiosa', but she is the one I watch the movie for (and when Tom Hardy plays the lead, that's saying something). This could be quite the spoiler alert here, but the movie focuses on Furiosa smuggling out the leader of the Citidel, Imortan Joe's, 'wives', saving them from becoming breeders.
We are not things!
The message here alone is clear - that every human being is ... well ... a human being! They have their own thoughts and feelings, and do not deserve to be kept as 'things'. That alone is a great message, but behind all this, is Furiosa. Sporting grungy black boots and a buzz cut, Furiosa is a gun toting, hard hitting, 'war rig' driving woman. She is strong, powerful, smart, persistent...and a soft spoken, caring saviour. She exudes all these qualities on screen for millions of girls to see, all whilst having a disability - Furiosa is missing an arm. Such a wide spectrum of young women can relate to this character which Theron plays so brilliantly. They can relate to this woman who seems impregnable, but still cries and screams. Not only this, but for representation of women in the media, it is a phenomenon. You only have to listen to the music change when (SPOILER) she gets stabbed. It is a real tragedy, to the main character, the 'wives', the 'many mothers' and, yes, the watcher.I cannot explain my love for this character, other than I can tell you she's made me take up boxing and consider cutting all my hair off. I watched Mad Max: Fury Road everyday for two weeks, like a young girl gazing longingly up at the screen, head in her hands, eyes full of wonder.
#2 - My current life - Penny.
(Kaley Cuoco, The Big Bang Theory, 2007 - Now.)
Even though there is a lot of complaints about The Big Bang Theory, and a lot of videos, forums and
blog posts discussing, and often disparaging it's plot and characters (why do people find it so weird that girls read comic books? Why do people make fun of 'nerd culture'?), I myself find great resonance within one of it's main characters - the blonde, cute and friendly girl-next-door, Penny. The reason I relate to her so much, is because she is a girl my age, working - in most of the series - at the Cheesecake Factory, all whilst trying to make it as an actress. Last year, I was working at a supermarket and it felt like my life was going no where. I was earning minimum wage even though I had a degree and didn't know what I wanted to pursue in life. I went from thoughts of teaching abroad to marketing to PA, and eventually decided I wanted to pursue journalism, but suffered a great knock back when I didn't get into the university I wanted.
I've been in LA for 10 years, I've accomplished nothing.
I found comfort in the fact that Penny was going through the same thing I was, but she found her feet when she was in her thirties, and had abandoned becoming an actress, when she discovered she didn't need to it be happy. I find comfort in the fact that it took her quite some time. So despite all the silly arguments that come out of a TV show that's just designed to make people laugh, I have found a reason to keep calm and carry on.
#3 - Booze and Brawn - Jessica Jones.
(Krysten Ritter, Jessica Jones, 2015)
I've always been the type of girl that dresses for comfort. I wear the same leather jacket all the time. I wear the same leggings or jeans, and the same oversized tshirts. In face, when my leather jacket went in the wash recently, I felt lost and confused and wondered often what my name was. For me, it's that item of clothing that I put on and all my change, my credit card, my ID and my lipbalm is already in the pocket. I'm starting with this, because Jessica Jones is pretty much my kind of style. Simple loose jeans and black boots, a messy room and no make up. When I watch her on screen I want to dress like her and look like her. So I that as a reason to love her, plus the fact that she has superhero powers...Jessica isn't a superhero, she is a private investigator who just happens to have powers, but this isn't the main reason I look up to her as a role model. See, (more spoilers here) the villain in Jessica Jones is a man (played by David Tennant) who can make people do whatever he asks of them. I once told a man to go screw himself - can you imagine?! This includes making women have sex with him. The show deals with the issue of rape and consent, and as someone who is a victim of that, I found Jessica to be someone I could greatly relate to, enough that I often teared up at the show.
Because of her trauma, Jessica suffered from anxiety and panic attacks - something that is becoming more of a prominent problem in our society today. As I mentioned earlier, representation is important. It is important for people to see that even the most physically strong and powerful can suffer anxiety. They can be victims themselves. The character, however, perseveres and remembers her strength, and it is this quality that I admire.
#4 - The basic, average girls, here to save the world - Kim Possible, Sam, Clover and Alex.
(Kim Possible, 2002 - 2007/Totally Spies, 2001 - 2013)
Okay, I am really going back to being a child here. I was 10 years old when Kim Possible first came out, and I remember seeing adverts for it on cable. The Disney Channel was a luxury we didn't have at the time, but I remember seeing this teenage girl with a bare midriff, kicking ass Charlies Angels style, fighting crime and cheerleading, and I remember wanting so badly to be able to watch this show. Growing up with an older brother, I was always into battles, strength and 'boyish' things. I watched PowerRangers and Dragonball Z, and loved the thought of training to get stronger. However, along with this, I identified as a girl. I liked the thought of being a cheerleader who wore Mean Girls like mini skirts. Kim Possible was my ultimate hero - along with Sam, Clover and Alex of Totally Spies.
These girls saved the world, all whilst maintaining lives as normal teenagers. They dealt with crazy love lives, fashion faux pas and the school b*tches. We all loved seeing Mandy and Bonny get their comeuppance, much like Libby in Sabrina the Teenage Witch. As much as these shows were meant for young girls and boys who didn't much think deeply about their role models, these characters have helped shape me. They've shown me, and the rest of society, that it's okay to be girls, love fashion and wear make up, and still kick ass. There's meaning behind their message - girls can be strong. They can be persuasive. They can actually save the world...#5 The Pirate King - Elizabeth Swann.
(Keira Knightley, Pirates of the Caribbean, 2003)
I'm going to start off here by saying - I'm very much into pirates. I love the stories, the desire for freedom, life at sea, swashbuckling rogues - the whole agenda! I've clocked many hours on Assassins Creed: Black Flag, read One Piece (a manga about pirates), watch Black Sails (more to come on that later), have looked at tattoo designs with a pirate motif, and read fiction about them, as well as fact pages about the famous loveable (kinda) renegades - Blackbeard, Charles Vane, Anne Bonney, Benjamin Hornigold and Bartholomew Roberts. Of course, I was more than keen to see Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, when it was released in the cinemas in 2003. Jack Sparrow has become everyone's favourite dreadlocked, tattooed pirate. He is indeed a favourite character of mine, but no character from the franchise has stuck to me like Elizabeth Swann.
Elizabeth Swann is played by Keira Knightley, who is one of my favourite actresses, but that is not the reason her character sticks with me. Watch the franchise (I'm talking 1-3), and you see Swan go from corset-wearing damsel in distress to ... well... Pirate King. She is not afraid to use a sword, and
is the first to delve into battle while the men fight and argue.
They will hear the ring of our swords and they will know what we can do!
Just like every other one of my role models here, Swann shows strength and courage, and not only
Barbossa: Jack is one of the nine pirate lords! You have no right!
Elizabeth: ...KING!
At the start of the first movie, Gibbs references women as a bad luck omen, which proves very, very untrue! She is a pirate nerd from the beginning, always asking questions, and she is clearly very interested in Will - the pirate boy. I like that this character is not scared despite all the stories about them, instead, she is fascinated. She knows about 'parlay' and 'the pirates code'. Clearly, she is not just a well brought up 'Governors daughter' - she is smart and ambitious...as well as very adventurous and curious.
You protect her?
What makes you think I need protecting?
#6 Speaking of pirates...The Pirate Queens of Nassau - Eleanor Guthrie, Max, Anne Bonney.
(Hannah New, Jessica Parker Kennedy, Clara Paget, Black Sails, 2014 - Now.)
I told you, I'm very much into pirates, and Eleanor Guthrie is the trade boss of Nassau in the Black Sails series. Eleanor single handedly manages all the pirate business and trade in Nassau, picking up after her father, and builds an empire. She is beautiful and determined, as well as being a great leader and negotiator. The series identifies the downside of being a woman at the time, and seeing such a strong character smash through the glass ceiling despite her limitations is great, as well as historically realistic. Just like Eleanor, the mistress of the brothel, Max, gives us insight into the world of prostitution. Max is raped, abused and broken hearted, but still maintains a caring attitude, all whilst being smart enough to work her way up to becoming one of the richest women on the island of Nassau. She does this working with Anne Bonney, the blood thirsty ragged pirate girl with a dark history, who we see cry and breakdown. These girls are role models for me because they're strong despite adversity. They're clever and realistic. They work with what is given to them. As a 23 year old woman, they give me the strength to keep going, and they give me reason to believe that there is always a way.
Read the article, 'Channel Her', Hannah Swerling, in Elle UK April 2016.
