The Villainized Woman

design by: Shafia Motale

Mrs Marisa Coulter - His Dark Materials

words by: Rubie Barker

Adapted from Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy, the BBC drama of the same name gives us the cunning and yet caring character of Mrs Marisa Coulter, mother to the main protagonist Lyra Belacqua. Portrayed by Ruth Wilson, Mrs Coulter, as the BBC describes her, is someone “who has risen to power in a patriarchal society against the odds” but yet is still seen as a villain. Showing little remorse for others’ deaths and her willingness to kill others definitelymarks her as a villain. Yet she is constantly coming to the rescue of Lyra, stopping her from being separated from her daemon at the end of Season 1 and although she abducts her to do it, she keeps Lyra safe at the end of Season 2 after the revelation that Lyra is the “second Eve”. Not to mention, according to the books *spoiler alert*, if the TV show does go on to follow the plot of the third book, The Amber Spyglass, she may be willing to sacrificeher own life for that of her daughter’s. Maybe she is a bit too quick to kill others, but her defianceof patriarchal norms and her care for her daughter makes her a villain I can support.

Miranda Priestly - The Devil Wears Prada

words by: Daisy Olyett

Before we nostalgically plunge into our favourite noughties filmsto remind us of which women on screen inspired us in the shadow of International Women’s Day, it is worth reconsidering the depiction of notorious female villains. The legendary The Devil Wears Prada for example immediately labels girl boss character Miranda Priestly as the “Devil”. A woman who has worked for her position, defies expectations and then rightfully enjoys the power she has earned comes under serious criticism throughout the film despite embodying what many women want from life today.

The issue I have with her portrayal comes with her dynamic with Nigel Kipling, her trusty designer who offersa helping hand to main character Andrea Sachs. Midway through the filmMiranda effectivelytakes Nigel’s promotion for herself, but as graduation comes closer and the prospect of findin a job looms, I’m starting to understand how you’re really out for yourself in the job market. We’re paid less than men, get less opportunities and often get tossed aside once we pass a certain age. So why do we still label Miranda Priestly as a villain when all she is doing is surviving a patriarchal system that she herself is oppressed by?

Amy Dunne – Gone Girl

words by: Nicole Rees-Williams

The initial shock over Amy’s villainous acts in Gone Girl arises because Amy and Nick’s marriage is typical for on-screen marriages. The relationship has lost its passion, its promises, and the husband begins an affai. This is a storyline we’ve all seen before. But, instead of simply filingfor a divorce, Amy sets up a comprehensive scheme to frame Nick for her ‘murder.’ Considering this malevolent plan – why do we findourselves rooting for Amy? It stems from the fact that society has conditioned us to view a husband being lazy and unfaithful as ‘typical.’ Amy is required to be this perfect, ‘cool’ wife who never loses her temper but when the same is expected of Nick, he feels unfairly targeted. Amy’s reaction to Nick’s lack of effortin their marriage is extremely exaggerated, yes, but her diabolical plan is built on emotions that are so universally felt by women who have been in relationships with men like Nick.

Amy is morally complex. You cannot help but empathise with her whilst also recoiling at the actions she takes. She brings so much dimension to the role of the villain, and that is because her villainy is so utterly female.

Harley Quinn - DC Universe

words by: Shivika Singh

It has been more than 25 years since the character of Harley Quinn aka Dr Harleen Frances Quinzel was introduced to the comic-book world but the true nature of her character is still debated. This insane femme fatale came up as one of the most popular characters of DC comics.

However, her incarnation in Suicide Squad (2016) is controversial and speaks volumes about issues with female characters in comics. The filmfeatures the most romanticized version of physical and emotional abuse inflictedby Joker on his partner, Harley Quinn. The movie deviates from the comics and manipulates the storyline, glamorizing the abuse by attempting to represent Joker and Harley Quinn as some ideal couple. Many of the deplorable things that she did were with the intention of pleasing her lover, Joker. She even shows empathy at certain points like refusing to fightBlack Canary because she is pregnant. It becomes difficulto truly hate her character upon realizing Joker’s continuous manipulation of Harley into doing his bidding and harassing her for his psychopathic objectives.

More than a villain, she was a tragic character who ultimately wanted to be loved but ended up being wrongfully villainized and sexually objectified

film & t

Our Hopes for LGBTQ+ People On Screen

As a bisexual girl growing up in Sri Lanka, I never saw myself represented on TV or in films.In fact, it’s still very rare that I get to see South Asian LGBTQ+ characters on screen, particularly in stories set in South Asia. I got excited for a moment when I found out that Netflix planned to adapt Shyam Selvadurai’s, Funny Boy. However, having watched it, I was left utterly disappointed (the book is still amazing, however, and you should definitelycheck it out!). Whilst there have been other shows that represent South Asian LGBTQ+ characters, including Siddhartha in Grand Army and an episode of the docu-series The Big Day that follows a gay Indian couple as they plan their wedding, in general, South Asian LGBTQ+ representation in mainstream media is very rare. So here’s what I want to see: more South Asian representation in LGBTQ+ roles and LGBTQ+ stories set in South Asian countries. Because LGBTQ+ children in South Asia need to be told that they’re not alone. They’re not “strange” or “a little bit funny”. Their gender identity and sexual orientation is completely valid and they have a community that will support them.

words by: Aruni Deraniyagala

I hope there will be more LGBTQ+ representation in both children’s and young adult films.Much of my childhood was influencedby Disney princess filmssuch as Aladdin (1992) and Pocahontas (1995) which promoted a heteronormative lifestyle in mainstream media. Children’s films like How to Train your Dragon (2014) and Sailor Moon (1991) included LGBTQ+ characters but subvertly, with nothing to distinguish them as part of the community. ParaNorman (2012) paved the way for LGBTQ+ representation in both children’s and young adult cinema, becoming the firstmainstream animated filmto feature an explicitly gay character. During this decade, the rise of representation doubled with popular teen movies Call Me by Your Name (2017) and Love Simon (2018) bringing together worldwide audiences to the experience of young LGBTQ+ persons.

However most of these filmspushed male-narratives of coming out experiences or struggling sexual identity, leaving a rather large gap for other LGBTQ+ representation. My first encounter with Lesbian representation within mainstream television was Orange Is the New Black (2013). The rawness and normalisation of homosexual relationships within the show helped me start exploring my own sexuality as the experiences I watched resonated with an incredible sense of comfort with me. I hope to see more LGBTQ+ characters that serve as role models for children and young adults so that they have someone to look up to. I always wonder if I had accessed LGBTQ+ representation earlier on in my life, whether I would have started exploring my sexuality earlier as well.

words by: Martha Jennings

design by: Lucy Battersby

LGBTQ+ has ‘B’ in it for a reason. I feel like the closest filmand TV has got to capturing the sense of bisexuality was bi-panic called “Jade and Beck” from Victorious and even though now we see them this way, it wasn’t the intention of the producers. They just wrote an insanely attractive heterosexual couple who happened to be the *ding* moment for a lot of people who fitsomewhere between 1 and 6 on the Kinsey Scale. I wish screenwriters purposefully included bisexual or pansexual people in their productions. Currently, any character who has only ever dated people of one gender and suddenly starts to have a crush on someone who falls out of this safe heteronormative box – is labelled homosexual. I understand that it is the case for some people, but as a bisexual heteroromantic demihomoromantic woman I am telling you – sexuality is not that easy (can’t you tell from how I label myself?).

I want to see proud bisexuals who do not perpetuate harmful stereotypes, who don’t cheat on their partners with someone of the other gender, who don’t lose friends over the label and who label as bi even in a straightpassing relationship. I want to see people falling for people because I am tired of being fetishised as a material for a unicorn in a threesome, tired of my love being worth less just because I am not black or white. I am marble and it’s beautiful.

words by: Maja Metera

We know LGBTQ+ on screen representation is substandard, but some of us have worse representation than others. As a bisexual woman, I think we deserve a much better portrayal than we’ve been given. The only characters we get are the ‘I don’t want to label my sexuality’ women, which allows the writer to flirtwith a gay relationship but ultimately go back to playing it safe, or the ‘Depraved Bisexual’ who is just the wrong side of crazy and sleeps with any person who comes across her path. Can we stop, please?

I would simply love to see realistic portrayals of bisexual women. Let’s start there. Then ideally some touching upon the issues bisexual women uniquely face such as, being erased from narratives with an opposite-sex partner, feeling unwanted in both gay and straight spaces, and the weird fetishisation many of us have to face. Give me true, realistic and meaningful characters and their journey through accepting their sexuality, ideally with a lovely relationship arc at the end because who doesn’t love, love?

words by: Amy Leadbitter