long live the lesbian
Why is the survival rate so low for lesbians on the silver screen? Zora from The Shannara Chronicles, Rose from Jane The Virgin, Kira from The Magicians, Nora and Mary Louise from The Vampire Diaries, Denise from The Walking Dead and of course Lexa from The 100. These seven women have two simple things in common. They are all lesbian/bisexual characters. And they have all been killed off of their respective shows in 2016. And they're only half the fatalities so far – fourteen queer women have actually been killed off of television shows so far this year. Those fourteen women made up a massive 40% of the queer females currently on our television screens. Every one of these deaths have been devastating and disturbing and detrimental to the LGBTQ community. But none of them have had quite the impact as the death of Commander Lexa from The 100. The 100 is a sci-fi show set on a postapocalyptic earth that follows a group of young people as they become the
first humans to return to Earth from space following nuclear explosions – but the world is not as uninhabited as it first seems. Lexa was the leader of the “grounders” (the people still on the Earth) and she fell in love with Clarke – the bisexual, unofficial leader of the “skypeople”. Their relationship and feelings for each other built slowly over the course of season 2 and 3 as they balanced their growing attraction to each other with their responsibilities to their people. Fans of the show fell in love with their pairing as they were falling in love with each other. The creators of the show promised an authentic romance and that there was no need to worry about the fates of the characters. And then in the seventh episode of season three Lexa and Clarke gave into their feelings for each other and consummated their relationship. It was raw and real and what the fans had been desperate for. Later on in the very same episode Lexa was killed by a stray bullet. The gun had been fired by Titus
– Lexa's mentor/fatherfigure as he attempted to kill Clarke (if this sounds familiar that's because it is – Tara McLay met a very similar end in Buffy The Vampire Slayer thirteen years ago).
called Executive Suite died after chasing her female love interest into traffic. But the world is arguably a brighter place for the LGBTQ community in 2016 – so why are our lesbian characters still considered so This is obviously a disposable? Heather trope that has been Hogan is a senior TV affecting lesbian/ editor for Autostraddle, bisexual characters for and has wrote about an exhaustingly long lesbians on various time – in fact 40 years shows for years, ago a lesbian character managing to make it named Julie from a show into an art-form. She
thinks we're constantly loosing them because “The trope lives at an intersection of a lot of cultural problems. Lesbian/bi characters tend to be supporting characters rather than main characters, and it's always easier to kill off supporting characters. Lesbian/bi characters also are women and it's been a problem in pop culture for decades that women characters get killed of to advance the plot of male characters.
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The world is arguably a brighter place for the LGBTQ community in 2016 – so why are our lesbian characters still considered so disposable?
Lesbian/bi characters are also much more likely to be on supernatural/ sci-fi/fantasy/crime where people are more likely to die (than on say, family dramas or in sitcoms). And, up until just now, there's never been a loud pushback when it happens, so lesbian/bi characters seem much more disposable.” And the pushback has definitely been loud. Companies such as Maybelline and Target have announced they will no longer air adverts during episodes of The 100. Mainstream media sites such as Variety have wrote about the issue. Jason Rothenberg, The 100 showrunner, has seen his social media followers plummet dramatically. But most importantly some light has came from this dark story in the shape of over one hundred thousand dollars being raised by fans for LGBT charity The Trevor Project. So why exactly has the reaction to this death in particular prompted such an intense reaction? As Heather says: “I think the reason Lexa's death gained so much attention is that she was part of a queer couple (which always attracts more passionate fans) at a time when people are learning how to harness the power of social media as a platform for activism on a show where the writers and showrunners had gone to painstaking lengths to
convince queer women that the queer characters on their show were going to be treated with respect. I also think The 100 fandom included a lot of younger women who haven't been beaten down by this trope their whole lives and accepted it as inevitable.” However, it hasn't all been backlash and outrage. Some viewers have argued that in this particular show nobody is safe, after all Clarke's male love interest Finn was also killed off at the beginning of season two. The 100 attempts to emulate shows such as Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead and argue that anybody can be killed off at any point. Pair this with the fact Alycia Debnam-Carey who played Lexa had a bigger role in Fear The Walking Dead so was only available for a limited amount of episodes and surely it could be argued her death was almost inevitable? Heather Hogan doesn't agree - “I think the problem with this conversation comes when showrunners try to justify in-universe decisions to a group of people who are impacted by their storytelling in the real world. Of course it makes sense in the universes of fantasy and sci-fi shows that people are going to get killed. But stories don't exist in a vacuum and when a minority that has been historically oppressed and persecuted
explains that what you're doing in your story is making life harder for them in the real world, trying to justify that by hiding behind the world you built is callous and cruel.� And these storytelling decisions really do have an impact on the people the characters represent. A study by GLAAD showed that seeing a gay character on television had the same effect on viewers as knowing a gay person in real life. Television is our escape
but it is also our education, as is ingrained in us right from when we are toddlers and Big Bird teaches us the alphabet on Sesame Street. We watch it to see society reflected back at us, to see characters we can relate to, and to see them live the lives we wish we could. For young people coming to terms with their sexuality this can mean seeing a gay character find love and acceptance, and daring to dream that they too will find love and acceptance. When LGBTQ teenagers
are four times more likely to commit suicide than their straight peers it can be literally life-saving for them to have a character they relate to on television. As Heather says “I think when you add any minority character to a TV show you absolutely have a responsibility to understand the world that you're putting your stories into, and how the world has historically treated that minority, what the struggles are of that minority at this moment in time, and what storytelling tropes have
harmed that minority in the past.” Its not just lesbian/bisexuals that need better representation though, transgender characters are horribly under-represented on television. With transgenders in North Carolina currently not even allowed to use the public bathroom that corresponds to their gender identity and trans women being murdered at a disturbingly high rate, it is vital that this community also receives the representation that it deserves. Heather agrees, saying “It is also absolutely essential that we see more stories about trans women played by trans women. We are living through a pandemic of violence and hateful legislation against trans women and we cannot move forward without the help of the people who create TV (thereby shaping public opinion). The world for lesbian/bi characters isn't great right now, but it is infinitely bleaker for trans women.” For the people that this trope affects the process of watching television can be exhausting. To watch a show and become attached to a character,
to see yourself in them, to have them influence your opinion of yourself and help you with your own personal sexuality and identity and to then have them torn away – is simply devastating. It's cruel, and for the vast majority of the time the death is not even necessary but rather a plot device used to further another characters storyline, or for shock value or a quick ratings boost. Or the show decided to introduce a lesbian character and then just couldn’t think of a story for them. Many fans have said they will no longer watch The 100, they'll support the actors and actresses of the show but not it's creators. Many have said they have lost all hope for lesbian/bisexual characters on television. And for them Heather has these words of encouragement - “Look at what's happening with Lexa and have heart and keep fighting. I've never seen anything like it. I don't think the world will be the same shape for queer characters after this.”
reviews
The Walking Dead: Season 6.5
The second half of The Walking Dead’s sixth season started with a bang, but the cliffhanger finale is all the show’s viewers can talk about – which is a shame because this was a season containing some of the best moments of the series yet. From the premiere that gave us Carl’s life-changing bullet wound and three character deaths in the space of sixty seconds to Rick and Michonne acting on their feelings for each other, this was a season full of moments that shocked the audience. None more so than the death of Denise. Although this gave us one of the bestacted death scenes the show has had in a very long time,
it felt far too early – Denise was building relationships with people in the group other than her girlfriend Tara and was showing real character development. In fact if it wasn’t for Merrit Wever’s fantastic performance her death would have felt a lot more like a cheap plot device (especially as she wasn’t even given an original death, in the comics that arrow lands in Abraham’s eye) in order to create problems for the group with their resident doctor out of the way. This season gave us some incredibly strong episodes. “Not Tomorrow Yet” felt more like a slick heist thriller than
a zombie drama show, as the group invaded one of Negan’s outposts. However, it was the following episode “The Same Boat” that was the season’s real highlight. Showing Carol and Maggie being held hostage and interrogated by two characters that were essentially alternative versions of themselves, the episode was full of incredible performances by it’s mainly female cast. Lauren Cohan did an excellent job, it was the first time she had been given much to do except be concerned about Glenn for a while, and she took full advantage of it. But, it was Melissa McBride who was the true star of the episode,
if not the full series. Her portrayal of Carol’s unraveling as she starts to realise the person she is becoming was completely captivating - if this episode doesn’t win McBride an Emmy then nothing will. It wasn’t just the Carol show for the full season though. Abraham left Rosita for Sasha, which was quite possibly the best thing he could have done for her as she immediately became a much more interesting character, and she can build relationships with other members of the show. Christian Serratos did a solid job with their break up scene and will hopefully get
given a lot more to do in the future. Eugene also stepped up, enabling his character to become more than just the “comedic relief”, and a more integral part of the team. All this was in preparation for the big finale and Negan’s introduction. Jeffrey Dean Morgan did a great job with the character, managing to inhabit his comic-book characteristics without making him too largerthan-life. Unfortunately all anybody is focusing on is the cliffhanger ending and who exactly got to meet Negans’s bat. The cliffhanger has been labeled cheap and insulting to fans, and while it was
disappointing it’s the kind of ending that shows such as Lost have been doing for years. The real problem is that the 90-minute episode did such a fantastic job of building the tension leaving the whole audience on the edge of their seat – and now there’s six months for that tension to be forgotten about before viewers see who Negan’s victim was. However, if the season 7 premiere can make that cliffhanger worthwhile and the writers stop letting the characters continuously make the same mistakes, while continuing to let them grow, season 7 could be the best of the series so far.
Living up to its fantastic second season was always going to be a challenge for The 100. There was a gap of nearly a year between the season two finale and season three premiere, giving plenty of time for new viewers to find the show via streaming services and the cast and crew to build hype across social media and different events. Unfortunately so far the third season just hasn't managed to live up to that hype, or rather, elements of the third season haven't lived up to that hype. The first few episodes of the season were strong, the third episode “Ye Who Enter Here” in particular was an incredibly tense hour of television, with an emotional and hard-hitting twist at the end that nobody expected, as Mount Weather was detonated killing 36
members of the Farm Station, including Bellamy's girlfriend Gina. However, this put into motion a chain of events that have started to unravel the show as a whole. The 100 has always been especially good at character development and arcs. So to see the character of Bellamy Blake do a complete 180 within the space of a couple of episodes – going from a person who tries to do the best by his people to a cold-hearted killer is incredibly disheartening. And what's even more disheartening is that recent episodes seems to imply that his character is once again meant to be a “good guy” with no real redemption arc. The writers seem to be hoping that Bob Morley's (who it must be said has been doing the best he can with the poor material he's been given) charm and freckles will make the audience forget
that Bellamy killed hundreds of innocent Grounders that were trying to protect him for no legitimate reason. Jasper is another character who has gone on a downward spiral. Luckily he hasn't started meaninglessly killing innocent people, rather he's just started treating everyone around him with contempt and dabbling with alcoholism. Neither of them manage to be quite as unlikable as the new chancellor Pike though, a man who has a philosophy consisting of “kill everyone before they have a chance to kill us” that even on this shows brutal depiction of earth just doesn't seem justified. It's clear what the show is trying to do – show the audience how the constant death and fighting has affected the characters. However, it's not gave the characters a
chance to show any emotion in order to justify their actions to the audience – meaning the viewers resent the characters and their actions rather than emphasise with them.
television, she is seen trying to accept the decisions she made in the past and trying to escape the pressure to look after her people – even as she continues to make every decision based on what is best Luckily the shows female for her people. Her connection characters manage to provide and relationship with Lexa was some heart and likeability for one of the strongest storylines the audience. Raven manages on the show – killing Lexa off to battle the loss in her life and in the way the show did was her disability while actually insulting to the viewers and enabling the audience to the storyline itself (read about symphasise with her and be on all the ways this decision was her team, its hard to believe she wrong in our “Bury Your Gays” was originally meant to die in feature). There was only two Season One. Octavia continues positives from Lexa's death. to simultaneously be one of the It gave us two outstanding strongest yet most vulnerable performances from Eliza Taylor characters on the show as she and Alycia Debnam Carey deals with choosing between in the space of five minutes, her brother and the grounders. first when they admitted their And of course there's Clarke. feelings to each other and One of the most complex then as Lexa dies in Clarke's characters currently on arms. But also it managed to tie
together the shows two main storylines of the city of light and the conflict between the grounders and the skypeople. Apart from the sudden unlikeability of the characters and the questionable decisions to kill off certain characters, the show's main problem has been the disjointed flow of the storyline as the episodes jump between locations. Seemingly trying to emulate the Game of Thrones formula it simply confuses the audience and leaves many storylines unresolved. With the show already renewed for another season and only four episodes of the current season left, we can only hope that the writers manage to turn things around. Because ultimately this show's cast and basic premise are just too good to go to waste.
The 100 Season 3a
the top
5
female fronted shows you need to watch
Orphan Black
Orphan Black is a show that deserves far more attention than it gets. It focuses on a group of clones discovering each other and the organisation that created them, and the dangers this introduces to their lives. The clones are all played by the incredible Tatiana Maslany who somehow manages to play half a dozen characters with more skill and heart than some actors can play one. You fully believe that each clone is their own individual character and regularly forget that the same actress is playing them all. With characters ranging from a suburban housewife to a lesbian scientist to a rebellious young mum all viewers will find one they are able to connect with. The supporting cast are all excellent and season four has got off to a strong start, promising to be the best season yet.
Wentworth
Set in a woman’s prison, Wentworth probably suffered from unfortunately being released within the same couple of months as that other little show about women in prison Orange Is The New Black. However, they’re incredibly different shows, with Wentworth giving a much more brutal depiction of life behind bars. There’s a lot less sex scenes and drama and a lot more prison riots and shower stabbings. Focusing on housewife Bea who was sent to prison after attempting to murder her abusive husband, the show gives just as much focus and importance to her new cellmates as she becomes the prisons top dog. The first season was fantastic, season two lost its way slightly but season three was back to the top of its game, with an incredible finale that will hopefully lead to an incredible season four.
Scream Queens While none of its characters can necessarily be described as good people Scream Queens still manages to get you rooting for them. Set in a sorority at a university that is being targeted by a serial killer, the show continuously pokes fun at the social media and pop culture driven world we live in, with one girl even live-tweeting her own murder. Grace is meant to be the main character, and although the most realistic, the Chanel’s and the brilliant Jamie Lee Curtis as Dean Munsch are much more fun to watch. The show is also great for horror fans as it continuously pays homage to classics from the genre. Season two starts filming this year, with a new location and some changes to the cast, so hopefully it can capture the same magic of the first season.
Game of Thrones Game of Thrones doesn’t always treat its female characters particularly well, but then it doesn’t treat any of it’s characters particularly well. However, from trainee assassin Arya Stark to female knight Brianna to Queen Mother Cersei (played to perfection by the incredible Lena Headey), the show is full of women that are just as, if not more, competent as their male counterparts. Characters such as Marjorie and her grandmother are shown to be masters of manipulation, and of course you can’t forget Daenerys Targaryen – mother of dragons and breaker of chains. Although some of the scenes can be hard to watch, viewers can take heart knowing there’s a good chance the women are going to end up coming out on top.
Pretty Little Liars
If you take out the crazy villains and dramatic twists Pretty Little Liars is, at it’s heart, a show about four teenage girls dealing with the world around them as they try and work out who exactly they are. Although the most recent seasons have been slightly problematic and managed to go off the rails, it still retains some of the charm that made it so good to begin with. The chemistry between the girls is the heart of the show and some of their performances are fantastic, if this was a HBO show Troian Bellisarrio and Sasha Piertese would have been nominated for Emmy’s by now. If you don’t want to invest in all six seasons then at least watch the first two, and let yourself get lost in the craziness as the girls are stalked by the all-knowing, all-powerful “A”.
“I guess some people object to powerful depictions of awesome ladies.” Leslie Knope