Ellen Ripley, Alien, 1979
Ripley was possibly the first action heroine, and an actual female survivor of a horror film. She isn't the damsel in distress and she isn't rescued; she fights, and she survives. Ripley isn't sexualised at all - she has a practical outfit just like the males in the film, and she isn't portrayed in any sexual way - she is viewed just as most male characters are, which is one of the things that makes her so popular.
The Legend of Korra is an animated series for Cartoon Network that features not only a lead female character, but a lead PoC bisexual female character. This is huge for a children's animated show, and really makes Korra stand out from other characters. Not only that, but she is written very well - she has agency, she does what she wants without worry about what other people thinks she should do. She can be loud and boisterous, but is a female character that, even in 'bossy' moments, would never be referred to as a 'bitch', like many loud and decisive female characters are. She is kind, with high moral standards despite her main role being as a fighter, making her a more rounded character. Her design is age appropriate and again practical - it is in no way sexualised, and shows her heritage. Korra is one of the most thought out lead character in animated TV, female or male, and will no doubt influence a lot of future female characters.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer was a show that already had in interesting premise before the character Buffy is introduced; there is always a strong, almost superhuman being in the world at any one time to take on the evil all by themselves, and this is always a woman.
Buffy, at first glance, is a very feminine, stereotypical cheerleader. Except this changes when we find out that she burned down her last gym, and she has superhuman strength - she is not any ordinary girl. Usually super feminine characters do not get to be physically strong - strong characters are usually much more buff/butch, and action hero-esque. Buffy does not look like or act like this, with every outfit being what a teenage girl life Buffy could and would pick out for themselves. (This isn't to say that everything about the show and premise is inherently feminist, but that is unrelated to what my practical piece is about).
Lightning is the lead character on Final Fantasy XIII, and I find her to be an interesting character - not least because she takes the role of the strong, stoic character that you rarely see female characters take, let alone lead ones. Through out the series she begins to break down the walls that make her seem more of an 'ice queen', and this development continues throughout the game, although it doesn't change her personality much. She has a very practical outfit, and although she does show a fair bit of skin, on the whole, her outfit does not look sexual, nor is she usually ever posed or shown as a sexual or idealised character, making her design work really well.
When thinking about the redesigns I might want to do for my practical project, I want to keep in mind how/why these designs work so well, and what makes them stand out from other female characters. I need to make sure that I definitely get enough personality into the characters I redesign, and present them in a way that isn't stereotypical, sexualised or out of character.
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what characters could be redesigned?
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