Why can't more female characters in science fiction be as progressive as Fuji Akiko?

[karadinart]

One of my great joys (and lasting influences) in childhood was watching Japanese tokusatsu shows such as Ultraman, possibly because my father worked at NASA, I ate up everything science fiction. I could say two defining role models for me were Nichelle Nichols (Star Trek) and Sakurai Hiroko who played the role of Fuji in Ultraman. (both shows were created in 1966)

Fuji, as a member of the Science Patrol was on equal footing with her male colleagues, (even wearing the same uniform) she always proved herself levelheaded and capable in all situations, she was sent on recon missions on her own, and one of the only times she had to be ‘rescued’ she had been transformed into ‘Giant Fuji’ (shown here) and her colleagues had to attempt to get her back without resorting to violence.

A few episodes showed Fuji in her everyday life, including one where she covets a string of pearls and after a successful mission, she goes shopping with a colleague to pick up a necklace, making a point of purchasing them with her hard-earned monster fighting salary. In some episodes she is shown with her younger brother, an honorary member of the Science Patrol, yet this relationship never comes off as maternal, as she encourages him to undertake dangerous situations.

In the series run, she was never shown as anyone’s romantic interest, or that romance in itself was one of her goals (though there was an implied affection between herself and Hayate and in later films of Ultraman (the franchise is still going in Japan) she and Hayate were married.

But I wanted to point out, she was a fully realized character, with her own hopes and career goals within the Science Patrol, and more importantly, she was always treated with respect, and confidence in her abilities by the other members of her team. Not to mention they were able to tease each other, and the feeling was of a close knit family. I feel a bit of sad nostalgia that the future shown to me in Ultraman about gender equality has not come true as yet.

Comments

[koshien.livejournal.com]

Sci-fi tends to be progressive when it comes to good female roles which is probably why I'm often drawn to it.

I was always in awe of characters like Sarah Connor, Pris, Vasquez and Leeloo and then disappointed that it was hard to find good characters outside of sci-fi. They were not just strong females they were fully fleshed beings with flaws too.

The everyday stuff that you mention with Fuji must of been a bit of a dig at the typical Japanese female role, earning her own money to buy something that traditionally a man would buy a woman in Japan.

The best equality hit for me has to be that of the Mass Effect video game series where from the beginning you play a character that can either be male or female. The game plays exactly the same whichever character you play except for the voice and physical look of the character. You can also choose to be gay/straight/bi and it's not seen as an issue - if you find someone attractive and start a long series of chats, flirts and then only consummate at the very end of each game in a tasteful and emotionally connected way.

Most things started turning to shit with female portrayals after Sex and the City - "female empowerment"

[karadin.livejournal.com]

I just recall in the early 90's shows like Buffy and Xena were big crossover hits, and where are such shows now? Films and tv have less female protagonists, and when they do have female characters, they revolve around male characters, women are half the population, but are only represented by 17% and less on screen, and most of the women on tv (with the exception of the UK are 30 and under) lets not forget shows like the Golden Girls.

I was disappointed that the one film I wanted to see this summer, Pacific Rim, only had one female character in it, in the entire film there was only one female who had one line of dialouge. *sigh* It's as if they don't even try to pretend anymore to make things somewhat representative.

[koshien.livejournal.com]

And as I recall as many boys as girls watched Buffy and Xena. Just because we have Dame Maggie et al doesn't mean there isn't a bias towards the under 30s here too. But there is a backlash to it that I hate, the whining, middle class matron, endless TV shows with these botoxed hasbeen bitches whining about how young people spend all their time on cellphones, drink booze and have too much sex, but for the presenters it's essential to keep on top of twitter, shamelessly perve over male guests on their shows (including making them take their shirts off) and mention every ten minutes about how stressful their lives are and how they deserve a bottle of wine or two every night to unwind. Hypocrites! I'd rather have under 30's airhead talk thanks!