Super Bitches and Action Babes

<p> With actress Pam Grier's breakthrough in <I>Coffy</I> and <I>Foxy Brown</I> women entered action science fiction war westerns and martial arts films--genres that had previously been considered the domain of male protagonists. This ground-breaking cinema however was--and still is--viewed with ambivalence. </p><p> While women were cast in new and exciting roles they did not always arrive with their femininity intact often functioning both as a sexualized spectacle and as a new female hero rather than female character. This volume contains an in-depth critical analysis and study of the female hero in popular film from 1970 to 2006. It examines five female archetypes: the dominatrix the Amazon the daughter the mother and the rape-avenger. The entrance of the female hero into films written by produced by and made for men is viewed through the lens of feminism and post-feminism arguments. Analyzed works include films with actors Michelle Yeoh and Meiko Kaji the <I>Alien</I> films the <I>Lara Croft</I> franchise <I>Charlie's Angels</I> and television productions such as <I>Xena: Warrior Princess</I> and <I>Alias.</I></p>