Girl Heroes
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The book, Girl Heroes: The New Force In Popular Culture (2002), by Dr. Susan Hopkins (a Lecturer in The School of Journalism and Communication, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia), is a cultural analysis of the contemporary archetype of the girl hero in popular culture. As developed and inspired by the Spice Girls and their vision of Girl Power, girl heroes (both real and fictional) are self-controlled, successful, feminine characters, who are often sexually aware. In addition to the Spice Girls, Hopkins explores the roles of Britney Spears; supermodels; Lara Croft; Xena; the Charlie's Angels of the 2000s; Sabrina, the Teenage Witch; Mulan; The Powerpuff Girls; and Buffy in developing this new image which informs and inspires pro-active, strong, and empowered behaviour in adoring female fans.
Girl Heroes draws comparisons between these images and earlier, similar ones, such as those created by Emma Peel of The Avengers, the 1970s television show Wonder Woman, Madonna and the Charlie's Angels of the 1970s, pointing out the relative independence of this archetype from male, parental, or even peer support [1].
One of the most interesting aspects of the book is Hopkins' identification of the way in which our sense of self-identity is increasingly registered against the degree to which we exist within the media. This issue extends well beyond feminism and is one of the most important contributions the book has to make to the field of cultural analysis.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Hopkins, Susan. Girl Heroes: The New Force In Popular Culture. Annandale NSW: Pluto Press Australia, 2002. (ISBN 1-86403-157-3)
