Women’s Month: 9 movie titles, series celebrating women empowerment

Check out these movie and series titles that celebrate women. Image: INQUIRER.net

Who run the world? Women do!

Like any other human being, women and their contributions to society deserve to be acknowledged and celebrated every day. On National Women’s Month, we need to go the extra mile to show our appreciation for these individuals who are also our mother, sister, daughter, friend. They may be some kind of a woman who we look up to, unafraid to stir controversy to change the norm and walk the path less traveled, so that the girls of the future could run. 

By this time, many inspiring, fearless, and empowered female characters have graced our screens and continue to do so; regardless of whether they play the lead or supporting role in film or television, we will forever carry these women close to our hearts. 

Check out these nine titles that focus on female characters that embody empowerment, and changed the cinematic landscape that now values women’s representation on screen. And though we can’t name them all, it’s time that we remember some of these iconic films that influence women of all ages.

Erin Brockovich

What is more inspiring than a story based on real life? Erin Brockovich (2000) tells the story of a single mother who needs a job to provide for her three children. Despite being faced with a male-dominated industry, Erin (portrayed by Julia Roberts) dives into the workforce of law without any experience to back her up, but she is a woman who knows how to play the cards. Erin shows that one might not need a degree when you have wit and determination. 

Erin is a symbol that women endure no matter the struggles. This is a story of women’s empowerment because the main character shows that women can juggle motherhood and their careers despite living in a world that keeps telling them that they need to only choose one. This narrative uplifts the representation of women on screen, as it shows women’s looks and status are nothing compared to their unwavering potential. 

Legally Blonde

In a world where women are often judged by how feminine they look, Legally Blonde (2001) challenges the stereotype by introducing a female character, Elle Woods (portrayed by Reese Witherspoon), who is not unafraid of her womanhood (basically having blond hair and her too girly outfits) and her ambition, despite the common mindset that women, especially in the early years, only belong to the kitchen and are not allowed to dream. 

Despite the fact that Elle’s initial reason to enter law school was to win her boyfriend back, Elle realizes her hidden passion for the constitution and works hard to deserve her space in the courtroom. Legally Blonde raises the standard for accurately representing women on screen as it emphasizes that women should not be afraid to look and act ladylike, as it has nothing to do with the things they can bring to the table. 

Little Women

Based on the novel of the same name, this nth movie adaptation of Little Women (2019) shows that women can have different dreams, and it doesn’t make them less or superior to one another. Despite the fact that these four sisters, Jo (Saoirse Ronan), Amy (Florence Pugh), Meg (Emma Watson), and Beth (Eliza Scanlen), lead different lives, they remain supportive of each other. This narrative showcases the magic of having a sister who loves you in spite of it all. In one of the most memorable dialogues in the movie, delivered by Jo, it perfectly encapsulates that women are more than their gender and physical appearances, as they have ambitions, talent, minds, and everything in between that can never amount to or fit into a single box. 

The Help

Emma Stone delivers an astounding performance in this 2011 film that also stars Viola Davis, Bryce Dallas Howard, Jessica Chastain, Sissy Spacek, and Octavia Spencer, who won an Oscar, BAFTA, Critics’s Choice, and Golden Globe award for best supporting actress. The Help is about a young white journalist, Skeeter Phelan (Stone), who develops a close friendship with two black maids during the Civil Rights Movement in the Mississippi, a southern US state perhaps more known for resisting the struggle of the “colored”. The black maids (Davis and Spencer), while working as maids, strive to receive respect rom white folks, while Skeeter aspire to be free of restrictions and expectations of what a woman her age ought to do. Spencer’s character is sassy, with a hunger for change, and determination to rise above her station.

Mona Lisa Smile

Another Julia Roberts-starrer is the Mona Lisa Smile (2003), which seeks to break down conventions that women are just meant to be house runners and home keepers. With support from equally empowered actresses Julia Styles, Kirsten Dunst, Ginnifer Goodwin, and Maggie Gyllenhaal, Mona Lisa Smile challenges the idea of patriarchal society where women are viewed as nothing more than decoration while the men went out to do “serious business.” Roberts as the feminist Katherine Watson, Art History professor at an all-female college defies opposition from school administration and even her hardline conservative students, who soon learn that there is more to life than marriage after graduation.

Enola Holmes

This movie is a narrative that redefines norms. Enola Holmes (2020) follows a quick-witted and courageous teenager (portrayed by Millie Bobby Brown) who challenges social expectations and misogynistic views. In her journey to find her mother and her purpose, Enola battles patriarchy because women are more than “proper manners” and “womanly duties” that are often immediately instilled in them even before they get the chance to think for themselves. Despite being told during the Victorian era, this narrative reinforces the concept that women have the power to empower themselves and the world, may it be in conversations on politics or any difficult subject that needs to be challenged, despite the world telling them that they could never have a voice.

Anne with an E

Focusing on the life of a deeply passionate adopted 13-year-old girl and her equally loving family and friends, Anne with an E (2017–2019) centers on the lead character, Anne Shirley, of the 1908 classic work of children’s literature, Anne of Green Gables. This narrative showcases that women can have intense feelings and dreams, no matter how big or small. It also successfully addresses significant issues from then to today: human rights, freedom of speech, social justice, gender parity, and even sexuality. 

Scandal and How to Get Away with Murder 

Aside from the fact that these two television series are headlined by two equally talented and empowered black women, Scandal (Kerry Washington as Olivia Pope) and How to Get Away with Murder (Viola Davis as Annalise Keating), these narratives do not only show that women can dominate and excel in a male-dominated workforce, but most importantly, that women can exhibit a sheer complexity that goes beyond their gender. 

In a world where women are expected to act according to the world’s standards: gentle, compliant, unpassionate, and lenient, Olivia Pope and Annalise Keating show that women can be morally complex and can make bold decisions about their lives, their work, and the people around them. These two female characters convey that women are not one-dimensional, and it’s time that people stop seeing the female gender as superficial.