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More Power to Females on Screen

While male protagonists in books. dramas and movies hog all the limelight there are a couple of leading ladies – Clarice Starling in The Silence of the Lambs and Sabrina Fairchild in Sabrina – who make the cut Powerful

More Power to Females on Screen

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Unlike male protagonists, female protagonists are not always decorated with physical strength, which is the case in terms of many male protagonists. In terms of female protagonists, it is their complexity, and representation of feminine aspects that label a character as strong.


Female protagonists are rarely projected in the same manner as male protagonists are. Although there doesn't exist a lack of female protagonists in books and stories, not many have been made into films. A specific research once showed that till 2014, only 12 per cent of film protagonists were female.

Unlike male protagonists, female protagonists are not always decorated with physical strength, which is the case in terms of many male protagonists. In terms of female protagonists, it is their complexity, and representation of feminine aspects that label a character as strong. The attitude towards the challenges placed in front of them and how they navigate through their journey is more important.

We don't often come across female superheroes like male superheroes. The ratio is very less. However, we do come across female characters that are more powerful than their male counterparts in the way they go about life and its adversities. There are, however, two female characters whose analysis helps us reflect the existence of aspiring female protagonists.

CLARICE STARLING (The Silence of the Lambs, 1991)

Clarice Starling from The Silence of the Lamb is a quiet, intelligent and musing character that the screens witnessed in the history of cinema. Played by Jodie Foster, Clarice is very reserved and carefully safeguards her personal information inside a coat of 'calm and collected'. However, when Hannibal, the central villain in the film offers her information in exchange for personal details of her life, Clarice comes face to face with her past. She faces the urgency to solve it first.

She grew up in the small town of Virginia. Her father was a police officer who embraced death while he was on duty. She was raised by him. She was about 10 years old at that time. After her father's death, she shifted to live with her uncle and faced something traumatic that gave her deep scars. As a result of this, she ran away from her uncle's farm.

She is a student at the FBI Academy. As a fresh recruit, she hangs along with her smartness, hard-work and manages to stand at the top of her class. This attracts the authority to pass on the responsibility of interviewing Hannibal Lecter to her. He is an imprisoned killer who possesses unconventional intelligence. A serial killer called Buffalo Bill is on the loose and the FBI needs to gather information about him. Hannibal has this information and Clarice thus has to clear the air of negotiation with Hannibal to crack the case.

Apart from being an FBI agent-in-training she also desires to join the Behavioral Science Unit as a psychological investigator, and with her high grades, she picks up the pace to reach there.

The single lady is interested in psychology and nabbing criminals. She aids her mentor, FBI director Jack Crawford. Jack is proud of Clarice and respects her the same way Clarice respects him. He helps her escalate through the FBI ranks quickly and assigns her to Hannibal Lecter. She is someone who is focused on her career more than romance. When questioned by Hannibal if she is interested in Jack, she responds that, it doesn't interest her.

Clarice's challenge is to catch Buffalo Bill. This deranged serial killer abducts and skins plus-sized women. To Clarice's luck, Bill leaves evidence in his victim's mouth. The calling card is a moth pupa, which belongs to the rare Death's-head Hawkmoth.

Sabrina Fairchild (Sabrina, 1954)

A female protagonist, caught in the midst of a love triangle, Audrey Hepburn's character, Sabrina is an intelligent woman who is desired for her brains and beauty. Sabrina is unique in the way her story is layered alongside her maturation. She is not limited to being an object of desire.

Sabrina from Sabrina Fairchild is one of the most charming and idealistic female characters of all times. Deemed as one of the most remembered romantics, she is a dreamer who is on a journey to conquer the life that she desired. However, there is a possibility that what she thought she always wanted might not be what she really needs.

She grew up in the remote area of Long Island. She is the daughter of a loving chauffeur, who is employed at the wealthy Larrabee family. They are the owner of one of the world's largest plastic companies. Sabrina noticed the everyday life of the Larrabees, and developed a crush on David. He is a playboy heir who stands on top of the family fortune. However, her infatuation goes unnoticed by the lad.

She returns home to the Larrabee estate after spending two years in Paris. She is now a different person. She reflects that Paris inflicted an experience of transformation on her. She asserts that she has learned how to live her life. She has figured out how to be in the world and to belong in the world. She realised that it is not ideal to just stand aside and watch. She decides to never run away from or love again.

The young dreamer is a former employee at Vogue Paris. For two years, she worked with Vogue magazine in Paris. She acquires fashion skills during her stay in Paris. She comes out of Paris with a glamorous and fashionable aura like never before.

The young lady is also interested in capturing pictures. She discovered the importance of beautiful things during her stay in Paris. She desires to capture everything that sees in film on her lens. She is someone who has an upper hand in terms of photography skills.

David is her love interest and she faces a decision-making moment when she comes to know that he is getting married. If she doesn't act at this point in the story, she will never be able to put her feelings for her childhood love on the table.

Her challenge is David's irritable, yet principled brother, Linus. Although Sabrina's primary attraction is David, situations make her spend more time with Linus. She finds it difficult to figure out if Linus' feelings are real, or manufactured, like the plastic which their family produces.

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