While browsing around TV Tropes today, I found this. In an effort to address those who think I derail threads with this issue, I'm starting this thread to discuss it properly.
I have generally rejected the "Women in Refridgerators" idea as it applies to comic books, but this article makes a very good point - the death of a female character, stuffed inside a refridgerator or not, is a big deal because she's a woman.
Male characters, especially background characters, have to earn the sympathy of the audience whereas female characters are granted it immediately and can only lose it. This takes quite a bit of effort since behaviours - violence, sexism and even rape - that would cause a male character to lose sympathy are typically ignored if it's a woman.
In the three major battles of the Star Wars trilogy, despite having several high ranking female officers, the bulk of the Rebel Alliance's armed forces are male. This is true of most action films with such large scale battles.
Of course, if a film is intending to be realistic understandably presents the devaluing of male lives that national service, conscription and restrictions upon female service enshrine in law (save for the Netherlands and Israel). Oh and the whole "women and children first" thing.
Ironically, the reason why we were supposed to be upset about the only Expendable Male whose death is treated with anything approaching sympathy in A New Hope was left on the cutting room floor.
Typically, the death of a female character, even a tertiary character with little purpose in the story other than to be killed, will be treated with far greater importance than a male character of similar importance. The death of a Gwen Stacy or a Sue Dibney is treated as much worse than a Jack Drake.
I have generally rejected the "Women in Refridgerators" idea as it applies to comic books, but this article makes a very good point - the death of a female character, stuffed inside a refridgerator or not, is a big deal because she's a woman.
Male characters, especially background characters, have to earn the sympathy of the audience whereas female characters are granted it immediately and can only lose it. This takes quite a bit of effort since behaviours - violence, sexism and even rape - that would cause a male character to lose sympathy are typically ignored if it's a woman.
In the three major battles of the Star Wars trilogy, despite having several high ranking female officers, the bulk of the Rebel Alliance's armed forces are male. This is true of most action films with such large scale battles.
Of course, if a film is intending to be realistic understandably presents the devaluing of male lives that national service, conscription and restrictions upon female service enshrine in law (save for the Netherlands and Israel). Oh and the whole "women and children first" thing.
Ironically, the reason why we were supposed to be upset about the only Expendable Male whose death is treated with anything approaching sympathy in A New Hope was left on the cutting room floor.
Typically, the death of a female character, even a tertiary character with little purpose in the story other than to be killed, will be treated with far greater importance than a male character of similar importance. The death of a Gwen Stacy or a Sue Dibney is treated as much worse than a Jack Drake.
