Smurfette principle
The Schlumpfine principle ( English Smurfette Principle ) is a concept in film and television, which describes when found in a group of male main characters only a female character. The term was coined in 1991 by the writer and critic Katha Pollitt , who named the principle after Smurfette (in the original "Smurfette") from the series The Smurfs :
"Today's series are either primarily purely male, like 'Garfield', or are organized according to what I call the 'Smurfette Principle': a group of male friends are represented by a single female character, usually very stereotypically. accentuated. "
The principle describes a male-dominated story in which female characters are seen as exceptions to the rule that only exist in a relationship with men. The female character can or does not have to take an active role in the plot. Often this figure simply represents “everything feminine”, and the only trait it has is that it is a woman or a girl. The female characters are often seen as a mother figure, “glamor queen”, as a little sister in pink clothes or as a female sidekick.
development
In 2011, Pollitt brought up the principle again in The Atlantic magazine , as the problem of this uneven distribution of characters was still a topical and relevant one. She emphasizes that the principle is not only found in children's series and cites JJ Abrams' film Super 8 from the year (only one female main character, played by Elle Fanning ), but also the line-up of the news anchors for the US news channel MSNBC that year ( one woman, Rachel Maddow , among numerous male colleagues).
The term “Smurfette Principle” is still in use today and is often found in film or series reviews that address the lack of female (main) roles in blockbusters and successful series.
Examples
Examples of the Smurfette principle can be found in the following series and films:
- Miss Piggy on the Muppet Show
- Princess Leia in Star Wars
- Penny in The Big Bang Theory (in seasons 1-3)
- Elaine Benes in Seinfeld
- Kanga in Winnie the Pooh
- Gaby in TKKG
- April in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
- Gamora in Guardians of the Galaxy
- Black Widow in Marvel's The Avengers
- Eleven in Stranger Things (in seasons 1-2)
- Tess Ocean in Ocean's Eleven
- Trinity in The Matrix
- Tauriel in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug and The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
- Bianca Castafiore in Tintin
Individual evidence
- ↑ The Smurfette Principle - derStandard.at .
- ↑ a b c d e Katha Pollitt: Hers; The Smurfette Principle . April 7, 1991.
- ↑ a b Liz Shannon Miller, Liz Shannon Miller: 'Stranger Things 2' Reinforced a Sexist and Ubiquitous Trope, But Season 3 Could Fix That . October 31, 2017.
- ↑ Jason Richards: The Problem With Smurfette . July 28, 2011.
- ↑ Steve Rose: The Smurfette Principle: why can't Hollywood accept gender equality? . December 11, 2017.
- ↑ a b Tropes vs. Women: # 3 The Smurfette Principle . April 21, 2011.
- ↑ Lee Artz, Bren Ortega Murphy: Cultural Hegemony in the United States . SAGE Publications. June 23, 2000.
- ↑ a b Marvel To Include More Female Representation In Upcoming Films. . October 13, 2015.